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Have you seen these men?

The search is on for these 2 grooms from a 1957 gay wedding. The drugstore that developed the film refused to turn over the pics when the shop's staff deemed the images "inappropriate." Six decades later, the photos have resurfaced. What’s their story? Where are they now?

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by Anonymousreply 94August 27, 2019 4:55 AM

No doubt they are right here among us, posting in the Alam Wernick threads.

by Anonymousreply 1July 25, 2019 6:44 PM

Why would the store have kept them? No doubt the store worker who deemed them inappropriate jerked off to them daily.

by Anonymousreply 2July 25, 2019 6:48 PM

Probably long dead.

by Anonymousreply 3July 25, 2019 6:48 PM

Agree. Probably dead. Weren’t that hot anyway.

by Anonymousreply 4July 25, 2019 6:49 PM

Did you read the article R2? Not the case at all.

by Anonymousreply 5July 25, 2019 6:54 PM

Direct link to all the photos and the contact form if you recognize anybody.

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by Anonymousreply 6July 25, 2019 6:58 PM

Awwwwww...

by Anonymousreply 7July 25, 2019 7:00 PM

Somebody must know them or be a relative. It's sad these were kept away for so long.

by Anonymousreply 8July 25, 2019 7:04 PM

It's explained in the article, R2.

by Anonymousreply 9July 25, 2019 7:06 PM

So a woman masturbated to them all these years. and then came up with that excuse. Same difference!

Didn't they used to ask for your name and/or address when dropping off film?

by Anonymousreply 10July 25, 2019 7:09 PM

I’ll bet they called each other up all the time, and dialed the phone with a pencil. The one one the right is cute.

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by Anonymousreply 11July 25, 2019 7:13 PM

Lovely pioneers.

by Anonymousreply 12July 25, 2019 7:16 PM

Every man in these photos were brave.

by Anonymousreply 13July 25, 2019 7:21 PM

Dear Lord in Heaven!

by Anonymousreply 14July 25, 2019 7:24 PM

Handsome grooms. Hope they had a happy marriage and life.

by Anonymousreply 15July 25, 2019 7:33 PM

Could they really call it a "wedding" if it wasn't legal?

by Anonymousreply 16July 26, 2019 3:22 AM

Who’ll play them in the movie?

by Anonymousreply 17July 26, 2019 3:31 AM

That was a long time ago. But if ANYONE would recognize these guys, it would be DL eldergays.

by Anonymousreply 18July 26, 2019 3:40 AM

In the late 70’s my friend that worked in one of those drive thru Fotomat kiosks (remember them?) And company policy was anything too risqué too porno-y or too gay would not be returned to the owner. But oddly enough it was sent back to the kiosk, so of course my friend would go through all of them and share with us all the naked photos of men he’d find in the censored bunch.

So yes, there was censorship in photography processing. I remember ads in gay newspapers of photo development businesses that would advertise that they would develop anything, read - gay stuff, so if had anything like a gay wedding you would have to go to a place that would not judge. And hope for the best.

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by Anonymousreply 19July 26, 2019 3:44 AM

Which one of those queens did the floral arrangements? Tragic.

by Anonymousreply 20July 26, 2019 7:48 AM

Bump for pioneering gay men!

by Anonymousreply 21July 26, 2019 3:02 PM

[quote]Every man in these photos were brave.

Oh, dear!

by Anonymousreply 22July 26, 2019 10:22 PM

One hour photo my ass!

by Anonymousreply 23July 26, 2019 10:23 PM

Bumping

by Anonymousreply 24July 27, 2019 2:38 AM

This made me tear up!

by Anonymousreply 25July 27, 2019 3:20 AM

R13 even braver than DL fav Dr.J would would write a paragraph saying as such below a shirtless photo flashing his ass?

by Anonymousreply 26July 27, 2019 3:26 AM

It is so lovely and cute that they "married" anyway or did a personal ceremony that was meaningful to them despite it being taboo and no legal recognition.

by Anonymousreply 27July 27, 2019 4:19 AM

I think all the men in the photo are probably so altered with time that they won't recognize themselves - but the decor in the living room is very distinctive. So 50s modern chic. Someone might remember THAT.

by Anonymousreply 28July 27, 2019 5:22 AM

[quote] I think all the men in the photo are probably so altered with time that they won't recognize themselves

WTF? They may be dead or in the throes of dementia by now, but if one or more of those men is alive and in his right mind, he's not going to be all, "Well, that could be me at the gay wedding I attended in 1957, but I look so different now that I just don't know." I mean, do you look at pics of yourself as a kid/teen/young adult and think, "gee, I don't know who that is"?

by Anonymousreply 29July 27, 2019 7:54 PM

R19, I knew a girl in my high school in the 80s who worked at one of those places and she said all the workers made duplicates of any dirty pictures that came in. She would bring them in to school and show them around. I never saw anything impressive - mostly unattractive middle-aged straight people.

by Anonymousreply 30July 27, 2019 8:53 PM

What do we think of their décor, tasteful friends? J'adore the mod table lamp ensemble and the little demi-curtains.

by Anonymousreply 31July 27, 2019 9:23 PM

I really admire these guys. I wish I had been there and knew them, though I would not want to have to live in world beyond those blinds as a gay man. They seemed to have created something special for each other in a world that was completely and murderously against them.

by Anonymousreply 32July 29, 2019 12:07 AM

[quote] but the decor in the living room is very distinctive. So 50s modern chic. Someone might remember THAT.

Unfortunately we do. Ewwwww!

by Anonymousreply 33July 29, 2019 12:16 AM

More info

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by Anonymousreply 34August 22, 2019 3:34 PM

Brave and loved men. Everyone.

by Anonymousreply 35August 22, 2019 3:45 PM

Maybe a relative of one of the men in the photos will come forward. I imagine all the men must be dead by now.

by Anonymousreply 36August 22, 2019 4:00 PM

The frau who kept the photos took them out every chance she got to show her homely, Christian, pearl-clutching friends. 'Isn't it just disgusting.' she would say. She had no intention of giving them back to the couple.

by Anonymousreply 37August 22, 2019 4:34 PM

[quote]I imagine all the men must be dead by now.

Are you daft?

the pics were taken in 1957. There are 5 or 6 guys who look to be in their early to mid 20s.

over 40 percent of the population born in 1933 is still alive, so it's probable that some of these guys are also.

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by Anonymousreply 38August 22, 2019 4:37 PM

r38 AIDS, dear.

by Anonymousreply 39August 22, 2019 4:38 PM

They broke up a month later, parted ways and both died of AIDS in the 80s. In any case, DL don't care cause they're not hot.

by Anonymousreply 40August 22, 2019 4:39 PM

The groom with the straight hair was pretty cute.

by Anonymousreply 41August 22, 2019 4:43 PM

[Quote] Could they really call it a "wedding" if it wasn't legal?

Sure, why not. A wedding is a social event. Marriage is a social institution. It is only later and in different places that they had legality attached to it.

There are gay weddings even today that take place where they are not legally recognized.

I love all these guys in the photographs.

by Anonymousreply 42August 22, 2019 4:58 PM

“I wonder what they look like now? Probably just a bunch of dust.”

by Anonymousreply 43August 22, 2019 5:03 PM

It’s been discussed amongst us philly gays that the interior construct of the place pictured isn’t typical of Philly, it’s just possible the wedding took place in NYC or elsewhere on the east coast and the film was developed in north Philly

by Anonymousreply 44August 22, 2019 5:08 PM

Wow r44, you know the interior of every home that existed in Philly in 1957? Extraordinary!

by Anonymousreply 45August 22, 2019 5:15 PM

I don't know shit, but more design-oriented queens I know here claim the structure of this interior isn't very common in philly, and that could be. The covered up pipe in the corner feels more NYC to me. still, it is all conjecture.

by Anonymousreply 46August 22, 2019 6:50 PM

Hopefully there were multiple people taking photos and that the ones left on Philly were taken by a guest. It’d be a shame if the couple had no photos from their big day.

I’m not so sure that I understand the obsession with tracking down this couple. Gays and lesbians around the world have been having Commitment/Marriage ceremonies for hundreds of years. This isn’t unique at all. Maybe it’s the photos themselves that make this ceremony important?

I say, let these people enjoy their privacy and anonymity.

by Anonymousreply 47August 22, 2019 7:21 PM

r47 people love a mystery. I would love to know the identities of all the men in those photos and what their lives were like. I doubt any of them are still alive, but there must be a few nieces/nephews out there.

by Anonymousreply 48August 22, 2019 7:24 PM

"So a woman masturbated to them all these years. and then came up with that excuse. Same difference"

Yeah, women can't stop compulsively masturbating to wedding photos! *rolls eyes*

by Anonymousreply 49August 22, 2019 7:24 PM

I had photos in the early 1980s that were not developed. I just took the negatives to another place. They were just photos of a Ptown beach with beach-dressed guys splashing around.

by Anonymousreply 50August 22, 2019 8:11 PM

Taking film to be developed seems so ancient now. Remember when 1-hour photo processing came out, it was HUGE!

Now everyone has a million selfies on their phones. I miss the old days.

by Anonymousreply 51August 22, 2019 8:14 PM

it is a huge change

by Anonymousreply 52August 22, 2019 8:29 PM

In the early 80s, I crushed hard on this guy, Calvin, a polo player and Ag major. My college had a newspaper where people would pay for cutesie personal ads. They were innocent enough. I’d rate them G, maybe PG. so, I went down there and wanted to submit an ad to Calvin, and they wouldn’t let me! The text and signatory were gender neutral because I didn’t want him harassed at his dorm.

I went back the next semester, and addressed it to “Cal”, and it passed the censors and got published. I submitted a few over time, then forgot about it.

I eventually decided to wonder around his dorm with a six pack and “bumped” into him. That started a nice romance and I forgot about the ads for a long while. Later, I submitted another ad and we had a date that night. It was the night John Lennon died. I saw on the silent TV that they were showing Beatles videos and didn’t immediately know why. Anyway, he seemed distracted, and I asked why. He told me about the ads and they were bothering him, so I fessed-up. I still remember what he said “That is something you’d do”, and he laughed.

He was a country mouse, and I’m a city mouse, so the relationship ended when school did. He died in 1987 at age 30.

I posted because I was reminded of the censorship. It really wasn’t that long ago.

by Anonymousreply 53August 22, 2019 8:42 PM

What did your ad say? Why did they bother Calvin?

by Anonymousreply 54August 22, 2019 9:19 PM

R54, I don’t remember what the ad said, but it was innocent enough and did not identify myself as a male. I don’t know why the ad bothered Cal. He said that he asked around and didn’t think he could figure out who it was that sent it.

It was like this:

“Cal from Grange Hall, I saw you at the bookstore and hope you got a good deal on your used textbook.”

Something like that.

by Anonymousreply 55August 22, 2019 10:03 PM

It's unfortunate OP's link is to myjoyonline.com which is a Ghanaian news site. Ghana is a virulently hateful homophobic nation that criminalizes same sex relations. This gay marriage story was posted under the "Odd" news section and meant to be a mockery of gay men despite the linked site's (BBC) sensitive portrayal. A link directly to the BBC article and bypassing myjoyonline.com would have been a better way to share this interesting story.

by Anonymousreply 56August 22, 2019 10:35 PM

It’s in the philly new, ill link from that

by Anonymousreply 57August 22, 2019 11:29 PM

At your service

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by Anonymousreply 58August 22, 2019 11:29 PM

It could make for na interesting film.

by Anonymousreply 59August 23, 2019 4:15 AM

It would, a sort of Philadelphian plus tales of the city

by Anonymousreply 60August 23, 2019 1:32 PM

Probably SFU by now but hope they had a long, happy life.

by Anonymousreply 61August 23, 2019 1:45 PM

sfu? Why?

by Anonymousreply 62August 23, 2019 1:48 PM

SFU = Six Feet Under = dead because they would be in their late 80s otherwise

by Anonymousreply 63August 23, 2019 1:52 PM

they are fun

by Anonymousreply 64August 23, 2019 1:57 PM

It would be great if they were still alive and were reunited with their photos

by Anonymousreply 65August 23, 2019 2:01 PM

But...but..but they are not trans women of color!

by Anonymousreply 66August 23, 2019 2:07 PM

They are fine and send their love.

by Anonymousreply 67August 23, 2019 2:22 PM

Do they live in Paoli?

by Anonymousreply 68August 23, 2019 3:56 PM

I hate this sentimentalising over unknown people; it’s just as stupid as Disney giving human emotions to animals.

They might not have ‘wed’ at this gathering at all; they may have ended their ‘relationship’ in the following year; they may be knife murderers or have turned into heterosexuals.

by Anonymousreply 69August 23, 2019 11:46 PM

[quote]It's unfortunate OP's link is to myjoyonline.com which is a Ghanaian news site.

Uh, OP's link is to msn.com

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by Anonymousreply 70August 24, 2019 12:24 AM

I so hate the term "LGBTQ community" especially when used totally anachronistically on something from 60 years ago.

by Anonymousreply 71August 24, 2019 12:58 AM

All I can think of is how they felt when they went to pick their photos up and were told that they couldn't have them. It must have been a real mixture of anger, pride, defiance, fear, the knowledge they couldn't do much to fight back.

by Anonymousreply 72August 24, 2019 1:01 AM

R71 I thoroughly agree with you because it's so utterly anachronistic when talking about 1957.

I also hate it because slimy politicians use it and 'Rainbow Culture' nowadays because they're too scared to allude to the reality of sodomy and fellatio.

by Anonymousreply 73August 24, 2019 1:02 AM

That also irritates me. I really hate it when a group of gay men or lesbians are referred to as "LGBTQ." No, they're just gay men or lesbians, idiots!

by Anonymousreply 74August 24, 2019 1:03 AM

R72 I also think the word 'pride' and the concept of 'pride' was anachronistic for 1957.

by Anonymousreply 75August 24, 2019 1:07 AM

R75, the word "pride" actually existed and had a meaning before Gay Pride marches started in the 1970s. I meant "pride" as in these men were obviously happy and confident enough with their sexuality to have a wedding and take the photos to be developed. They were more likely to feel pride when society knocked down over their sexuality, not shame. And I don't mean pride as in being proud to be gay, but proud as an individual in the face of adversity.

by Anonymousreply 76August 24, 2019 1:12 AM

Bunch of sour old cunts on this thread now

by Anonymousreply 77August 24, 2019 2:15 PM

R44, there is no indication that it is even an apartment or home. I didn't see a kitchen, bedroom, molding, artwork, plants. It looks like a generic office.

by Anonymousreply 78August 24, 2019 11:09 PM

R77 One can either be sour or be indigestibly sugary.

by Anonymousreply 79August 24, 2019 11:55 PM

R78, no, the building interior is clearly visible.

by Anonymousreply 80August 25, 2019 1:40 AM

Casting suggestions for the movie?

by Anonymousreply 81August 25, 2019 2:27 AM

oldies but goodies

by Anonymousreply 82August 25, 2019 5:43 PM

I am surprised I got 8 W&W, so far, for R53, and nobody called me a stalker, yet! Maybe people are being nice because Cal died so young? He was a handsome lad, too. There’s an epilogue, though it’s not all that interesting.

Cal lived in upstate New York in cow country, on a farm. I actually completely innocently ran into him on 4th of July, in Ptown, the year the Statue of Liberty refurbishment was completed, in 1986. Then I ran into him at UCONN, the only time I visited there in the first 30 years after graduation. It was “The Little E”, apparently an Agriculture fair. Honestly, I was surprised he was still alive, both times. He was the sweetest man.

by Anonymousreply 83August 26, 2019 2:34 PM

people live and die

by Anonymousreply 84August 26, 2019 2:36 PM

[quote]He died in 1987 at age 30.

I guess he was a 24-year-old college student. It’s the only way the math adds up, since John Lennon was killed in December 1980. And that’s assuming you were Seniors then, who graduated in 1981.

by Anonymousreply 85August 26, 2019 3:34 PM

^ Wouldn't it make him 23, not 24? Not impossible for a "super senior"

by Anonymousreply 86August 26, 2019 4:11 PM

Really cute twink in the center. Major cookie sniffer alert 2nd from the left. I love these guys. I hope they all had happiness in their lives despite the difficulty.

by Anonymousreply 87August 26, 2019 4:19 PM

[quote]Wouldn't it make him 23, not 24? Not impossible for a "super senior"

It’s a 50/50 chance. If he died before June 1987, then he graduated a 24-year-old.

by Anonymousreply 88August 26, 2019 5:09 PM

Here’s my late friend Cal. He was indeed 23 when Lennon died. He was at least 24 when he graduated. I think it was in Spring of 1981, not later, but I really don’t remember right now. The moostach was the style at the time.

I was also 23 when I graduated, incidentally, if that matters.

I mention that he’s deceased in case Muriel doesn’t like photos of living people for some reason.

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by Anonymousreply 89August 26, 2019 5:38 PM

Cal was very handsome.

by Anonymousreply 90August 26, 2019 5:39 PM

Ah, youth!

by Anonymousreply 91August 26, 2019 5:40 PM

Did Cal die of the AIDS?

by Anonymousreply 92August 26, 2019 7:32 PM

I believe so, R92.

by Anonymousreply 93August 26, 2019 7:36 PM

I've seen them

by Anonymousreply 94August 27, 2019 4:55 AM
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