Mark Bingham, Gay American Hero

Mark Bingham (1970-2001) lost his life at the age of 31 while helping to defend our nation against a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. The openly gay rugby player was one of the heroic passengers who led a revolt against the terrorists on board United Flight 93. The hijackers planned to slam the plane into the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Instead, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa., killing the terrorists and passengers, but no one else. We will never know how many other lives were spared by this selfless, brave act.

Mark boarded Flight 93 at the last minute, on his way from NYC to California to be an usher in his fraternity brother's wedding. Flight 93 passengers soon learned from cell phone conversations that the World Trade Center and Pentagon had already been attacked. Bingham and other passengers formulated a game plan to overtake the hijackers, according to accounts from the phone calls. Bingham stood 6-foot-4, weighed 225 lbs., and played rugby. His three other on-board accomplices were also athletes. Mark’s mother is convinced their ability to think quickly, along with their physical strength, made a difference in stopping the plane from hitting its target.

Mark Bingham was survived by his partner of six years, Paul Holm, who said this was not the first time Bingham had risked his life to protect the lives of others. Mark was the only child of Alice Hoagland, who has since become a tireless advocate for issues that were important to her son. A retired flight attendant, she promotes aviation safety, supports rugby, and is a spokesperson for the gay community at large. It is at once heart rending and inspirational to witness her efforts and those of the gay rugby community as they develop a wonderful legacy that honors his memory. The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament (Bingham Cup) is a biennial international rugby union competition, predominantly for gay and bisexual men, that was established in 2002 in his memory.

The Flight 93 Memorial is being dedicated today in Shanksville. Please take six minutes this weekend to remember Mark by watching his mother’s video (click link below). She is inordinately proud of her gay son, his bravery and his accomplishments.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/911-26129757/the-legacy-of-flight-93-s-rugby-hero-26505874.html

A 17-ton boulder marks the site of the crash of United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.

Two U.S. Senators honored Mark Bingham on September 17, 2001, in a ceremony for San Francisco Bay Area 9/11 victims, presenting a folded American flag to Mark’s partner, Paul Holm.

The California Alumni Association of the University of California (Berkeley) now annually awards the outstanding achievement of a young alumnus or alumna with the Mark Bingham Award for Excellence in Achievement at its Charter Gala each spring.

George Cukor, celebrated movie director

Born in NYC to Hungarian Jewish immigrants, fabled film director George Cukor (1899-1983), shown at right with a radiant Elizabeth Taylor, was known for his film work on witty comedies and dramatic literary adaptations. His Hollywood career began at the onset of “talkies” and flourished at RKO and later MGM studios, where he directed Dinner at Eight (1933), Little Women (1933), David Copperfield (1935), Romeo and Juliet (1936) and Camille (1936). He was notoriously replaced (by Victor Fleming) as the director of Gone with the Wind (1939), but he went on to direct The Philadelphia Story (1940), Adam's Rib (1949), Born Yesterday (1950), A Star Is Born (1954) and My Fair Lady (1964).

By the mid-1930s, Cukor was not only established as a prominent director but, socially, as an unofficial head of Hollywood’s gay subculture. His six-acre estate at 9166 Cordell Drive in the Hollywood Hills above Sunset Strip, famously decorated in 1935 by actor-turned interior designer William “Billy” Haines (see August 5 post), was the scene of many gatherings for the industry's homosexuals.

Cukor's celebrated "Oval Room" designed by William "Billy" Haines, with its copper clad fireplace surround and grid patterned floor.

The close-knit group included Haines and partner Jimmie Shields, Alan Ladd, writer Somerset Maugham, director James Vincent, screenwriter Rowland Leigh, and costume designers Orry-Kelly and Robert Le Maire. For years, Cukor and composer Cole Porter held competing soirees at their mansions on Sunday afternoons, earning them the nickname “the rival queens of Hollywood.” Cukor remained at his fabled Brentwood home for the last 50 years of his life, making few changes to the original Billy Haines interiors.

It’s now a long-held Academy Award tradition to award a great director for a so-so film, because he’d been passed over so many times before. The first known instance occurred in 1964, when George Cukor won the Best Director Oscar for My Fair Lady (a middling effort), after being snubbed for Born Yesterday, A Double Life, The Philadelphia Story, and Little Women.

Danny Roberts, reality TV Star

Born 1977 in Rockmart, Georgia

Real World New Orleans (2000) featured Danny Roberts, who announced on the show that his boyfriend (later revealed to be Army Capt. Paul Dill) was in the military, bringing to TV viewers the debate over the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Their appearances dramatized in human terms the cost such a policy exacts of those who are directly affected by it. When Dill came to visit Danny on the set, his face had to be blurred in order for him to remain in the military.


Among those positively influenced by Danny’s appearance on the popular show was now-openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris (see post February 18, 2011). In Out Magazine, Harris stated, “The first face that empowered me was Danny Roberts from "The Real World: New Orleans." I think before him I'd never seen anyone wear homosexuality so comfortably. He was around my age. I could look to him as a role model. He represented a way that I could behave and stand tall comfortably without being an overt advocate and without being someone hiding in the shadows. I liked that.”

After the show Danny lived with Paul in North Carolina for two years while Dill was still in the Army. Said Danny, “Ironically, moving in together was the beginning of our undoing. We could not live our lives. We could not be a normal couple. We lived in so much fear. We were forced to live underground.” At the time, Danny’s was one of the most recognizable faces in America. In late 2006, Roberts announced that he and Dill had split up but have remained friends.

Roberts went on to make a few appearances on television in shows such as Dawson's Creek (he played a French exchange student – he holds a degree in French from the University of Georgia); Danny also hosted the DVD collection of gay-themed short films, Boy's Briefs.

Roberts has been a keynote speaker at more than 250 universities and colleges across the country on diversity in sexuality, coming out and the military's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. He describes his presentation style as an "open forum to talk about issues", which is why The Advocate dubbed him "The Accidental Activist". Danny candidly speaks to young people about his sexuality and coming out, just as he did on the Real World. Although Danny denies that he is a role model, his good looks, likeability and down-home charm appeal to both gays and straights alike, bridging the gap for open and honest discussion.

After spending 10 years in New York and Seattle, Roberts returned to Atlanta, Georgia, where he has worked in real estate and publishing. Currently Danny is office manager and recruiter for Sanctuary Real Estate (Atlanta).

Personal trivia: I learned the term “soul patch” when I first saw Danny on Real World; it refers to a small bit of facial hair below the lower lip and above the chin (sometimes called a "royale" or a "flavor saver").