It’s been a sad year with a number of LGBT Icons / Idols from Robin Williams to Joan Rivers who have died in 2014.
Philip Seymour Hoffman 2nd Feb 2014
Birthdate: 23rd July 1967
Age: 46
The Oscar winning actor was found dead in his New York apartment from an acute mixed of drug intoxication. He left 3 children. In 2005 he won Best Actor at the Oscars for his portrayal of Truman Capote. He also played gay in Flawless and Boogie Nights. He said this about playing gay: “When I play somebody gay, I never think of it as ‘I’m playing a gay character.’ It’s interesting to play all the different aspects of the character. There’s something else about the character that’s pulling me there that I identify with. With Flawless, it’s not that he was gay—I found it more interesting that he thought he was a woman. With Capote, it’s the story that he had as an artist. And in Boogie Nights, he was so completely stunted I don’t even think he knew his attractions were of a gay nature.”
Shirley Temple 10th Feb 2014
Birthdate: 23rd April 1928
Age: 85
The iconic former child star died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He ranks 18th on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest female American screen legends of all time. Her family stated that she died of ‘natural causes.’
Sid Caesar 12th Feb 2014
Birthdate: 8th September 1922
Age: 91
Sid Caesar was an actor and comedian was best known for his role in the ever popular 1978 film Grease and the 1982 film Grease 2.
Christopher Malcolm 15th Feb 2014
Birthdate: 19th August 2014
Age: 67
Christopher was the 1st of three deaths in 2014 from the cast of camptastic Absolutely Fabulous. In Ab Fab he played the gay ex-husband of Eddie. His daughter reported his death was from Cancer.
Maria Von Trapp 18th Feb 2014
Birthdate: 28th September 1914
Age: 99
Maria was the second-oldest child of Georg Van Trapp. She and her siblings inspired the musical and film The Sound Of Music, which has long been a favourite of the gay community.
Charlotte Dawson 22nd Feb 2014
Birthdate: 8th April 1966
Age: 47
Charlotte was an Austrailan TV presenter who was a passionate ally for the LGBT+ community. She died by committing suicide at her Woolloomooloo home, in New South Wales. She was also a ambassador against cyber bullying.
Clarissa Dickson Wright 15th March 2014
Birthdate: 24th June 1947
Age: 66
The last of the Two Fat Ladies has died at the age of 66. In an interview with Philly.com in 1998, Dickson-Wright and Paterson talked about how they were very happy with their gay supporters, saying: ‘We’re gay icons,’ she says with glee, as if this is the best thing that’s ever happened to her. “We’re like Judy Garland and Bette Davis.
James Redhorn 21st March 2014
Birthdate: 1st September 1948
Age: 65
James Redhorn was an actor who appeared in over 100 films in his career. He died of melanoma, which was diagnosed in 1992. In 2013 he starred in the gay film: The Perfect Wedding.
Kate O’Mara 30th March 2014
Birthdate: 10th August 1939
Age: 74
Kate O’Mara was famous for her stint in Dynasty, however she was also the second cast member from Absolutely Fabulous to die in 2014. In Ab Fab she played Patsy’s long lost sister Jackie Stone. Her agent Phil Belfield said that she died in Sussex following a short illness.
Frankie Knuckles 31st March 2014
Birthdate: 18th January 1955
Age: 59
The late Frankie Knuckles is known as the Godfather of House Music, a genre which was adopted by the gay community as the preferred sound in many clubs around the world. Knuckles died of Type II diabetes-related complications in Chicago on March 31, 2014 at age 59.
Sue Townsend 10th April 2014
Birthdate: 2nd April 1946
Age: 68
Author Sue Townsend has been known to teenage males since the introduction of her most famous character Adrian Mole in 1982. The books have gone on to sell millions of copies around the world. Townsend died at her home on 10 April 2014 following a stroke
Frank M. Robinson 30th June 2014
Age: 87
Frank M. Robinson was an author, but most notably he was credited as Harvey Milk’s screenwriter. He was the author of 16 books, 3 of which were made into films, The Power, The Glass Inferno (made into The Towering Inferno) and The Gold Crew.
Dora Bryan OBE 23rd July 2014
Birthdate: 7th February 1923
Age: 91
Dora Bryan OBE was the third castmate from Ab Fab who died in 2014. She played the part of Eddie’s Mum’s scene stealer good friend. TGUK writer Roger Walker-Dack noted in his obituary of Bryan, ‘To gay men she was the complete epitome of camp and managed to be as outrageous as she could in all the great comic roles that came her way. None so more when towards the end of her career she played go to June Whitfield’ best friend in the Jennifer Saunders ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ a role, which earned her another BAFTA Best Actress Nomination.’
Robin Williams 11th August 2014
Age: 63
Robin Williams was found dead at his home, after an apparent suicide in August 2014. His death shocked the world. Robin Williams rose to fame in the 1970s during a TV series called Mork and Mindy which ran from 1978 to 1982. It wasn’t until Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society that William’s cemented his name as one of the Hollywood greats. He also found success playing gay characters, doing so twice, first in Birdcage and then again in 2014 in Boulevard.
Lauren Bacall 12th August 2014
Birthdate: 16th September 1924
Age: 89
Lauren Bacall passed away in New York at the age of 89, after a career that spanned seven decades. She became a bit of a gay icon, winning legions of fans, with her films, How To Marry A Millionaire (opposite Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable), Written On The Wind as Rock Hudson’s muse and the mother of Barbra Streisand’s character in the 1996 film, The Mirror Has Two Faces. She was known as deeply liberal and anti-Republican. In an interview with Larry King in 2005 she said, ‘being a liberal is the best thing on earth you can be. You are welcoming to everyone when you’re a liberal. You do not have a small mind.’ She died from a Stroke.
Joan Rivers 4th September 2014
Birthdate: 8th June 1933
Age: 81
Joan Rivers passed away after being on life support in Mount Sinai Hospital. She had suffered a cardiac arrest in New York in September. She was 81. In a statement, her daughter Melissa said she died surrounded by family and friends, and she thanked hospital staff for their “amazing care”.