KEVIN COOK
Claim to Fame: Heiress apparent to Darcelle’s
throne,
Kevin
Cook (aka Rose
Empress XLIV Poi
son Waters) is the
man behind Port
land’s most visible
drag personality.
So They Say:
“One of the girls
goes, ‘I did not
know until that
last day that you were a man. I’m like, ‘What are
you—Helen Keller? I’m enormous. I wear so much
makeup. My hair is so big. Who walks around in se
quins and feathers?’ ” (Dec. 7, 2007)
Who’s Next: Sahel Scities, aka Tim Byars,
who’s “not only a fabulous entertainer and tal
ented makeup artist, he’s a darn nice fellow who is
mature and grounded beyond his years.”
This Cook has several irons in the fire: a full-
time job at Pintland Monthly and Seattle Metropoli-
tan magazines that requires frequent travel from the
Rose City to the Emerald City; diehard volunteerism
for Camp Starlight, an annual summer adventure for
kids affected by HIV/AIDS; and a packed calen
dar as the “hostess with the mostest” for numerous
charitable events. But it’s her weekend appearances
at Darcelle XV Showplace where Poison gets to dis
play the quick wit and sharp tongue that Portlanders
have come to love for the past 20 years.
GUS VAN SANT
metri
Claim to Fame: The filmmaker who put Port
land on the map as an indie mecca.
So They Say: “My films show a real severe
world. If I tell things the way I see them, eventu
ally it’ll help. I don’t want to propagandize being
gay to the straight world.” (January 1990, about
making films about outsiders)
Since 1985, Van Sant has been making Port
land proud with a string of acclaimed films that
bounce from
indie (Drug
store Cowboy)
to mainstream
(Good
Will
Hunting)
to
experimental
(Elephant). All
of his strengths
converge with
Milk,
which
is certain to garner Oscar recognition for Sean
Penn’s moving portrayal of slain San Francisco
City Supervisor Harvey Milk. Opening Nov. 26,
the highly anticipated epic promises to open
minds about queer equality at a time when we
need it badly.
THOMAS LAUDERDALE
Claim to Fame: Bandleader for world-famous
“little orchestra” Pink Martini.
So They Say: “It’s not like we’re a band who
gets stoned and then gets in the cargo van and goes
trxxllin’ down the freeway. It’s more like the band
that travels in Some Like It Hot...except there are
only a couple of drag queens.” (May 4, 2007)
Formed in 1994 to entertain at gay rights
benefits, Pink Martini has evolved into that
rarest of musical acts with an audience full of
hipsters, grandparents and every age in be
tween. Fresh off a guest gig with Oregon Sym
phony for a Ger
shwin solo, Lau
derdale will join
Pink
Martini
to perform new
material
from
its fourth album,
due next year,
Dec. 28 at Crys
tal
Ballroom.
The band then
heads to Los
Angeles to celebrate New Year’s Eve with two
shows at Walt Disney Concert Hall with jazz
great Jimmy Scott.
DONNA DRESCH
Who’s Next: Nike executive Jackie Thomas,
Bean prods, “if she decides to be.”
Claim to Fame: Queer musician and activist
icon; member of prominent Northwest rock bands,
including seminal dyke-core punks Team Dresch.
Who’s Next: Beth Ditto, who has spread the
gospel of queer love, acceptance and activism
in Portland and abroad in her punk/blues band
Gossip. She also volunteers for the Rock ’n’ Roll
Camp for Girls.
Donna Dresch, known as “Queen of Grunge,”
began her 20-year stint in the Northwest music
scene as part of the cultural and social movement
known as “queercore” in the 1980s. This style
challenged the homophobia and sexism prevalent
in the straight-male-dominated world of punk
rock. In 1991
she founded in
dependent
la
bel
Chainsaw
Records, which
devoted itself to
supporting iconic
queer
Portland
bands such as
Sleater-Kinney,
The Third Sex
and her own Team Dresch, which is known as the
most outspoken, politically active and emotion
ally potent of her projects. On their 1994 album
Captain My Captain, vocalist Jody Bleyle sings,
“Don’t tell us we only care about the dykes and
fags/don’t try to find fake reasons to hate us/some
people get it/lots more people need it/freedom: it’s
for all or it’s all for nothing!”
TERRY BEAN
pedfit ¿¿e
m /
Terry Bean’s 30 years of gay civil rights
leadership and philanthropy have had a national
impact.
He has founded or co-founded major institu
tions that have kept the movement focused, em
powered and funded, including the Gay &. Lesbian
Victory Fund; Right to Privacy Political Action
Committee; Equity Foundation; and, along with
local activist Jerry Weller (see page 31), the Gay
Rights National Lobby, Human Rights Campaign
Fund and National Fairness Fund, which evolved
into the main
parts of hxlay’s
Human
Rights
Campaign. Bean
was also on the
original board of
directors for the
Gay Games.
Bean speaks
with a passion
that stems from
an ability to affect issues most people feel pow
erless against. Whether he’s talking about suicide
rates among queer kids, the value of sexual minor
ities represented in political office or how HRC
has changed rhe world, Bean approaches political
advances with the same methodology he exhibits
in his business. President and CEO of Bean In
vestment Real Estate, he says: “Patience in invest
ing is a virtue. Investing is for the long haul.”
Bean counts the Gores, the Clintons and
former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts among his
friends. He has influenced dignitaries and Fortune
500 CEOs, revolutionizing national fund raising
through large donor projects.
LAURA CALVO
Claim to Fame: Founding and funding nation
al gay rights organizations. Will take partial credit
when the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
becomes law.
So They Say: “A lot of my activism comes
from a deep desire to have kids not grow up that
way.” (Sept. 21, 2007, on his suicide attempts as
a queer youth)
Claim to Fame: Being part of the progress and
change for equality for queer Americans. Building
a credible presence for sexual minorities in main
stream Democratic Party leadership.
"Helping You Save Time and Money"
John C. Lucy IV
Continued on Page 1 5
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