November 24

Former Navy pilot Tracy Thorne-Begland, age 44, is a living legend of American gay history. Never heard of him? Well, I’m happy to take care of that oversight by relating the story of a man who lives and works in my home state.

Officer Thorne-Begland decided to come out at the height of the Clinton-era gays in the military debate. He appeared on ABC’s Nightline on May 19, 1992, and revealed to anchor Ted Koppel that he was both a homosexual and a military officer. The following year, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – rather than Clinton’s promised repeal of the ban on homosexuals in the military – became law, and Thorne-Begland was honorably discharged. He was reinstated in 1993 after filing suit in federal court, but was discharged again in 1995, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal.

Twenty years ago, Thorne-Begland put a public face on the dilemma of gays serving in the military. He had graduated at the top of his class from Navy flight school in Pensacola, Fla. He was assigned to Oceana Naval Air Station near Virginia Beach as a bombardier navigator and flew A-6 intruder attack planes for three years. He wrestled with having to lie about his sexual orientation and eventually came out to his fellow fliers.

“It was a complete non-issue,” says Thorne-Begland. “Everyone was supportive of me.” Thorne-Begland continued flying with his squadron, and his fellow pilots flew with him without a second thought.

Both his mother and sister knew he was gay at the time, but his brother and father did not. He broke the news to the male members of his immediate family, and then told his entire family that “next week I’m going on TV to tell 13 million of my closest friends” that he was gay. “They thought I was flushing my life down the drain.”

When asked how it felt to come out to millions of people, Thorne-Begland reminisces that it “felt like I was having a personal conversation,” a conversation without any need to cloak his identity. “It was the first time I was who I was.”

When he returned to Virginia Beach, fellow soldiers shook his hand and patted his back. “There wasn’t a breakdown of morale,” says Thorne-Begland, criticizing the accusation by those who aimed to keep gays out of the military. However, his commanding officer, following official protocol, had to implement the strict policy that Thorne-Begland was attempting to challenge publicly.

Although his efforts at the time were ultimately unsuccessful, during his legal battles Thorne-Begland developed a fascination with the law. After spending some time working with the Human Rights Campaign in Washington DC as a spokesperson for their Coming Out Project in the early 90s, Tracy went back to school and received his law degree from the University of Richmond in 1997. Currently, he is a Deputy Commonwealth Attorney for the city of Richmond, dealing with Major Crimes. His life partner, Michael Thorne-Begland, also followed Tracy to Richmond and enrolled in law school.

The two were married in an Episcopal ceremony in 1999. They have twin children, daughter Logan and son Chance. The twins were carried to term by a surrogate in a pregnancy that was the product of sperm from one of the partners and eggs donated by the sister of the other. When Tracy and Michael sought work after obtaining their degrees from the University of Richmond, they both were up-front with potential employers about who they were. There would be no hiding. “I had already lost one career,” said Thorne-Begland. Until 1994, there were no openly gay lawyers in Richmond.

It is easy to contrast Tracy’s costly honesty with that of Florida politician Mark Foley. Tracy grew up in Palm Beach, Florida, and used to see Foley with his boyfriend vacationing at Little Palm Key. Foley became a family friend, and Foley was supportive of Tracy during his travails in the nearly 1990s. When Foley voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, Thorne-Begland had an angry conversation with him, raking him over the coals for such lack of integrity, for taking the road of political survival and hypocrisy.

When President Obama signed the repeal of DADT last December, sitting in the front row was Tracy Thorne-Begland. It was a historic moment, and Thorne-Begland was one of the principal players that made that turnabout possible. We all owe this man, big time.

Tracy with President Obama and life partner Michael.

Instead of that second piece of pumpkin pie, let's count our blessings while sneaking a peek at today's photos of men with sexy tan lines.

November 23

The Artist (opens November 23 in NYC/LA; nationwide December 23)
a black-and-white silent movie from director Michel Hazanavicius

French director Michel Hazanavicius has produced something that will make movie audiences marvel. He has re-created Hollywood of the 1920s, as an homage to film history. Although the director and his stars are French, The Artist was shot in California and has a thoroughly American look and feel. It was shot entirely in black and white as a silent film. Not a typo.

The score plays a major part, and Ludovic Bource (Brussels Philharmonic) makes the most of it by blending original tunes with those of the greats. The film has been eaten up like candy at the many film festival screenings earlier this year.

Jean Dujardin (top photo) stars as a famous silent actor George Valentin, whose life turns upside down with the advent of the talkies. Bérénice Bejo (the wife of the film’s director, shown at right) plays the ingenue Peppy Miller, who leads the way to the motion picture revolution of talking pictures. Handsome, athletic dancer George meets Peppy, a pretty commoner with her own dreams of stardom, through a happy accident, and sparks fly immediately. George is already married, but he helps her get started in the business, not realizing that his own days are numbered. When the sound-era arrives, followed by the Great Depression, his career disintegrates and hers begins to soar, and much of the rest of the film addresses how they handle these changes, while still interacting with each other. American audiences will recognize John Goodman in a supporting role.

This film, of course, channels classic movies such as A Star Is Born (all three versions), Sunset Boulevard and Singin’in the Rain. The latter is about the decline of silent films, whereas The Artist is about the rise of talkies. The director shot the film in real-life Hollywood spots, including Mary Pickford’s home.

Writer/director Hazanavicius managed to shoot this period piece in just 35 days on a budget of $12 million, an amazing accomplishment given the first rate performances, cinematography, editing, costumes, and score. There are just three poignant moments in which sound is briefly heard: (1) a dream sequence in which George finds that everyone and everything around him are capable of making sounds except himself, (2) when George walks out of his studio dressing room and sees a bunch of extras on the lot looking and laughing at him, and at the very end of the film, (3) when George, with Peppy's help, reinvents himself in a way that will allow him to continue to work in the sound era. This glib, almost preposterous happy ending echoes those of silent films of the 1920s.

The Artist should reinvigorate interest in classic silent movies of Hollywood. It’s just odd that the French are the ones who are leading the way.

Dujardin received the award for best actor for his leading role in The Artist at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but a dog nearly steals the show. Have a look at the trailer:



And here's a little more detail:




Can't wait.