Born April 13-14: Deboarh Batts, John Gielgud, Angela

Angela, my sister, is as awesome and amazing as she is publicity shy. Nevertheless, she deserves excellent best wishes from the entire blogosphere, particularly from this corner that owes her so much.

Deborah A. Batts grew up in Philadelphia then attended Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School. In 1994 Bill Clinton appointed her to the federal bench, making her the first openly gay federal judge in U.S. history. Sixty-two today, she is shown above with her portrait, which is the first portrait of a black woman and first of an out person on the walls of Harvard Law School.

Tony winner, Grammy winner, BAFTA winner, John Gielgud is often considered one of the world's finest actors. A consummate performer of Shakespeare on stage and screen, Gielgud was equally at home in historical dramas such as Brideshead Revisited (and Caligula), experimental works such as Beckett's Catastrophe, and contemporary comedies such as Arthur. For nearly forty years he lived with his partner Martin Hensler. In 1953, he was arrested and convicted of cottaging in Chelsea Mews. Afterward the public did not scorn him; rather, at his next appearance on stage he was given a standing ovation. That same year he was knighted. Although he was out and discussed his homosexuality in his autobiography, when he died at ninety-six in 2000, many newspaper articles degayed his life and omitted his partner of almost four decades. When criticized for this, the Washington Post defended their decision saying he was known for being an actor, not for being gay. Their long obituary included the details that he loved to garden and enjoyed trashy commercial paperback novels but not a word about his relationship.

Comments

[Gregory King]

In addition to the Tony, Grammy and BAFTA wins, Sir John won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Arthur." He was performing in the West End during the time the Thatcher government was enacting Clause 28, which prohibitted schools and local governments from "promoting" homosexuality. Sir John, who was not active in any pro-gay organizations, had his bio in the program changed. He removed the listing of all his prior plays and awards and inserted a single sentence: "Sir John Gielgud is a homosexual."