Arthur Bell (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Arthur Bell was a journalist, author and LGBT
rights activist.
Bell, an early member of the Gay Liberation Front
and a founding member of the Gay Activists Alliance in New York City, wrote two books. Dancing the Gay Lib Blues was published in 1971 and he published Kings Don't Mean a Thing in 1978. Bell wrote his first piece for the Village Voice in 1969, an account of the Stonewall riots
, a confrontation between police and the patrons of a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn
that became a flashpoint of the Gay Liberation
movement. He became a regular columnist in 1976 with his column "Bell Tells".
Bell wrote a series of columns about a string of unsolved murders of gay people; these columns, along with the novel Cruising
by Gerald Walker, were the inspiration behind the William Friedkin
film Cruising
. Ironically, Bell wrote additional columns condemning Friedkin and Cruising after reading a leaked early screenplay, deploring what he viewed as its negative depiction of gay people and claiming that it would inspire violence against homosexuals. At Bell's urging, gay activists disrupted the filming of Cruising and demonstrated at theatres where the film was playing.
Bell met author Arthur Evans
, at the time a film distributor, and the two entered into a relationship in 1964. They parted on bad terms in 1971 and Bell included an unflattering portrait of Evans in his book Dancing the Gay Lib Blues. The two reconstructed their friendship and Bell dedicated his second book, Kings Don't Mean a Thing, to Evans.
Bell died June 2, 1984 at the age of 44 from complications related to diabetes.
based a character in his play The West Street Gang on Bell.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights activist.
Bell, an early member of the Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
and a founding member of the Gay Activists Alliance in New York City, wrote two books. Dancing the Gay Lib Blues was published in 1971 and he published Kings Don't Mean a Thing in 1978. Bell wrote his first piece for the Village Voice in 1969, an account of the Stonewall riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
, a confrontation between police and the patrons of a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall is an American bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United...
that became a flashpoint of the Gay Liberation
Gay Liberation
Gay liberation is the name used to describe the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement of the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s in North America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand...
movement. He became a regular columnist in 1976 with his column "Bell Tells".
Bell wrote a series of columns about a string of unsolved murders of gay people; these columns, along with the novel Cruising
Cruising (novel)
Cruising is a novel written by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker and published in 1970.The novel is about an undercover cop looking for a homosexual killer in the world of sadomasochism leather gay bars in Greenwich Village, New York....
by Gerald Walker, were the inspiration behind the William Friedkin
William Friedkin
William Friedkin is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 and The Exorcist in 1973; for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director...
film Cruising
Cruising (film)
Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
. Ironically, Bell wrote additional columns condemning Friedkin and Cruising after reading a leaked early screenplay, deploring what he viewed as its negative depiction of gay people and claiming that it would inspire violence against homosexuals. At Bell's urging, gay activists disrupted the filming of Cruising and demonstrated at theatres where the film was playing.
Bell met author Arthur Evans
Arthur Evans (author)
Arthur Scott Evans was an early gay rights advocate and author, most well known for his 1978 book Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture.-Early life:...
, at the time a film distributor, and the two entered into a relationship in 1964. They parted on bad terms in 1971 and Bell included an unflattering portrait of Evans in his book Dancing the Gay Lib Blues. The two reconstructed their friendship and Bell dedicated his second book, Kings Don't Mean a Thing, to Evans.
Bell died June 2, 1984 at the age of 44 from complications related to diabetes.
Legacy
Playwright Doric WilsonDoric Wilson
Doric Wilson was an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist.He was born Alan Doric Wilson in Los Angeles, California, where his family was temporarily located. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he was raised on his grandfather's ranch at Plymouth, Washington on...
based a character in his play The West Street Gang on Bell.