Scott Smith (activist)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Scott Smith was a gay rights activist best known for his romantic relationship with Harvey Milk
.
for Milk's election to public office from 1974 to 1977 and openly supported and helped after Milk was elected.
Smith was well known for orchestrating the Coors Beer boycott
and putting Milk at the forefront of the issue, creating one of the first public displays of power by the gay community.
There are hundreds of images of Smith, taken by Milk and others, in the Harvey Milk Archives/Scott Smith Collection at the San Francisco Public Library
. After being discharged from the United States Navy
, Milk spent many hours taking pictures. Smith was his favorite model; sometimes Milk spent entire rolls of film just taking pictures of Smith.
Smith fell into a very deep depression after Milk was killed. He was the executor of Milk's last will
and testament.
Smith died from AIDS
-related pneumonia on February 4, 1995 at the age of 46.
, the role of Scott Smith was played by James Franco
.
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
.
Biography
Smith was widely considered the muscle behind many of Milk's endeavors. He organized, created, managed and helped campaignfor Milk's election to public office from 1974 to 1977 and openly supported and helped after Milk was elected.
Smith was well known for orchestrating the Coors Beer boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
and putting Milk at the forefront of the issue, creating one of the first public displays of power by the gay community.
There are hundreds of images of Smith, taken by Milk and others, in the Harvey Milk Archives/Scott Smith Collection at the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
. After being discharged from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, Milk spent many hours taking pictures. Smith was his favorite model; sometimes Milk spent entire rolls of film just taking pictures of Smith.
Smith fell into a very deep depression after Milk was killed. He was the executor of Milk's last will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
and testament.
Smith died from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related pneumonia on February 4, 1995 at the age of 46.
Portrayal in popular culture
In the 2008 feature film MilkMilk (film)
Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
, the role of Scott Smith was played by James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
.