West Hollywood 1980

Most of West Hollywood 1980 is dead now.

I was just thinking that r1. 😔

Most gay men born between 1940 and 1960 are dead.

Don’t be so doom and gloom, there are plenty of men of this age on Datalounge. Did anyone go to these bars or shops? I want to hear stories!

Jeez, OP...so many thoughts...

1. The casual dehumanization of the manner in which the reporter talks about "the gays" or "gay men."

2. The horrible reporting itself...why not ask why gay men felt so unsafe in any other jurisdiction of Los Angeles?

3. The questions to that "long-time resident" straight woman and her answers. Are you sure you want to live amongst them? is what lies behind those questions.

4. The overwhelming sadness that came over me watching this. This was right before the pandemic struck. I dare say most of those men did not survive.

5. So anti-gay in its assumptions, attitudes, and reporting. Yes, we've come a long way since then. But scratch the surface of attitudes and assumptions today among straights about us and you'll find the same vein of thought, I fear.

I stayed at the Tropicana once and used to go to Duke's coffee shop which was a bit of NYC in W.Hollywood - I don't remember liking it so much but people seem to be nostalgic for it. The rooms at the Tropicana smelled like a sleazy porno palace on 42nd Street. Sticky brown carpets.

I think the reporter was surprised at how “normal” gays were. Almost so much that he didn’t want to believe it. I love how the men he interviewed weren’t wearing Halloween costumes, as is the custom today. Demonstrates that acceptance comes from just being your normal boring self, not from parading around scantily clad with blue hair.

Halloween costumes? Sharp observation. Gays are so beyond over the top these days.

R7, the men were all masculine too

summer 1980 was the very first time I went there so I can remember it exactly - but don't remember much - I loved Tower Records and the new fiorucci opened - that was a big deal back then, seems ridiculous now - maybe that style of place was so new and hip then. Soon the whole of the East Village took on that style.

Interesting, but very sad.

Tower Records is currently transforming into a Supreme, sending all of the eldergays in WeHo into a major tizzy.

What is a Supreme?

[quote] 2. The horrible reporting itself...why not ask why gay men felt so unsafe in any other jurisdiction of Los Angeles?

Yes, but the reporter also didn't avoid naming the police chiefs and the unease of gay men, either. I found that surprising. Because if a report like that ran on local news today, it would be fully devoted to "lifestyle" reporting without mention of local politics at all.

The gays were all white then, yes?

Looks like it, yes, R15.

OP What is a Supreme??

r15

R18, if AIDS hadn’t hit , LGB people would have gained mass acceptance 40 years ago . So tragic

Was the Tropicana the motel that had the cafe with the great Monte Cristo sandwiches?

[quote]Most gay men born between 1940 and 1960 are dead.

It's taking forever.

r19 Every decade has it's excuse. . . but there are benefits in a slow progression. It gave time to build up our resources and re-establish our networks. Even if we think of them as shit most of the time. When change comes to quickly, it draws out the craziness from all sides and we quickly become overwhelmed. And, every decade had some. It's not the belittle the devastating losses from the epidemic, many (then) present and future leaders, reaching numbers beyond many genocides but there were many other disruptive undercurrents both within and outside of the community. . . every decade, every era, every generation had its trials. It's wht we learn from history that carries us forward and hopefully enlightens us not to make the same mistakes twice.

I thought Datalounge is ny base?

Supreme = branding company / lifestyle brand. They slap their name on all manner of crap and the youngins eat it up.

I felt a tear slipping from eyes 🥲.. I miss those days. Such a shame that a lot of those men aren’t with us.. Probably better off anyway.

[quote]if AIDS hadn’t hit , LGB people would have gained mass acceptance 40 years ago . So tragic

I think a more interesting question is if AIDS had hit but condom usage was widespread, how would things have been different?

[quote]Such a shame that a lot of those men aren’t with us.. Probably better off anyway.

Why so negative, R25?

R5- For 1980 I thought the report was quite tolerant, more tolerant than the NYC tv stations were back then. They only had reports about HOMOSEXUALS if they were murdered or attacked.

I think the comments show the conditioning that has been forced on our community, making us think that we have to be in a perpetual state of mourning and oppression. No one has commented on the fashion, the guy working out, the shop, the pinball machine in the bar, etc. Do you think any of these gays are attractive? It’s all about dead people and all my friends that died. Note that you’d be around 70-80 if you knew any of these guys.

R28- I first stumbled onto that video at least three years ago. I like that guy standing in the Blue Parrot with the horizontal stripes. None of the guys in that bar dressed like SCENE QUEENS everyone was low key. They looked uninitiated. They dressed like civilians- which I always liked.

R28, I am 62 and I could have known any of these guys. Also, my only other post was about Monte Cristo Sandwiches, not death

R28, in 1980 I was 17. I'm 59 now. Yes, you're right about the age range of the men in the video. I'd lower it to 65-80. As for the fashion, note the "uniform" of the era: plaid shirts and tight Levis. Note the hair too...longer and curlier than today's fads...a whole lot sexier too imho. As for the guys working out...well the guy doing bent over rows had poor form.

Other than that, I just wanted to say, your other comments are intensive at best, but really display your complete ignorance of a generation of gay men whose deadly illnesses and the activism those illnesses spurred made it a helluva lot easier for a gay man like you to live your life openly and with pride.

In the 60s, 70s and even well into the 80s and 90s, gay men and lesbians were talked about in lurid, bizarre terms at worst, and clinical terms or as a curiosity at best, in so many news stories. By comparison, this story actually isn't terrible.

For all the horrors of AIDS, the American press eventually learned how to report on gays and started to treat us as humans as time went on and they talked to more AIDS victims.

I hear straights with baby strollers are all the rage in W. Hollywood these days.

[quote][R28], in 1980 I was 17. I'm 59 now.

OMG - me too, 59 in a couple of weeks time, actually.

[quote] I hear straights with baby strollers are all the rage in W. Hollywood these days.

In Boystown Chicago too.

r33, and a lot of insufferable "influencers" clogging up my little part of Melrose.

Straights have always relied on the gays to reinvigorate downtrodden areas so they can move in later and take over. They're too fucking lazy to do the work themselves.

Do you think any of these gays are attractive?

The guy at 2:00, R28.

The mustache is bit too much, but I definitely would.

West Hollywoodskie 2022 is my kinda place.

R38- He's good looking and all but he seems a bit too bitchy and queeny for my taste.

Straight women LOVE this type of gay male- exquisite taste, effeminate, nasty

All men who can grow a good mustache should do so. A good mustache on an otherwise plain man can turn him into a beauty. A good mustache on a hot man makes him molten.

You don’t know all straight women. I’ve heard nothing but contemptible comments from many of them towards the bitch queen cunts

R41- LOL, Molten that's a good word

It reminds me of chocolate for some reason.

By the way I have a mustache. I've had one since the 1990's. I guess that makes me an oddball.

R42- That guy in the video with the mustache is just the type of bitchy queen Ina Garten loved to have on her show.

They don't seem bitchy to me and most of the gays in the video look pretty attractive.

[quote] That guy in the video with the mustache

They all have moustaches

R45- I'm referring to the bar owner being interviewed by the reporter at 2:00 minutes.

There used to be a homophobic joke about mustaches : why do gay men have mustaches? To hide the stretch marks

R47- I don't get the joke. It's from sucking cock?

Yes

The guy in the Blue Parrot playing pool- he's husky with a beard- he looks kind of like Alan Bates

Gay men born between 1940 and 1960 must still be alive, how else will you explain the virulent racism on DL?

[quote]how else will you explain the virulent racism on DL?

^ tuffgurl talk

I worked at The Broadway in the early 80's in Men's sportswear. Of the nine men I worked with in the Men's department first floor only three of us survived the 1980's. All of us went to WeHo often.

Haven't been to west hollywood or L.A. in 20 years, but I miss (knowing they are gone now) VIRGIN megastore, Tower Records on Sunset. Is that movie theater still there? Good thing "book soup" is still there, are both the circus book stores gone now as well?

"gay ghetto"? made me laugh...

[Quote] "gay ghetto"? made me laugh...

Why? We've always called gay sections of a city/town that?

[quote]but I miss (knowing they are gone now) VIRGIN megastore, Tower Records on Sunset.

I live in London now and London for some strange reason was the best city on earth for record stores - you'd think NYC or LA, but no. When I go into the centre of the city I miss the record stores so much. They were so big and fun just to visit.

R56... we have? it has been? I always attribute the use of the word "ghetto" as some poor run down crime ridden area...

[Quote] .. we have?

Yes, WE have.

Have you heard the word "clone" in relation to gays, R58, or is that new to you too?

r58, do you know gay history?

[quote][R58], do you know gay history?

Obviously not, he doesn't know anything.

[Quote] I always attribute the use of the word "ghetto" as some poor run down crime ridden area...

How do you think gay sections of a city happen/created?

I'm the same age as R28 and R34 and was a freshman at UCLA when this was filmed. The Blue Parrot was the first gay bar I ever entered. Back then we also had The Pink Elephant in Santa Monica, Studio One, Flipper's, and The Apache in the Valley. These were all gay mainstream with a mix of "clones" wearing flannels and Levis, and disco types (more so at Flipper's) wearing tank tops and silk shorts or French jeans. Back then we almost never got carded. Punk was also a factor--buzz cuts and tight leather pants and a lot of black. My friends and I would go punk to the Whiskey or Club Lingerie on Sunset when we wanted to get a little wild, or to various holes in the wall downtown. I lived near Venice Beach and used to get my hair cut by a girl who looked and sounded exactly like Debbie Harry. She put a blue streak in my hair that summer.

I think many of you missed my point, it’s not that I’m not acknowledging the struggles of previous generations, and what they did for gay rights and AIDS victims. What I’m noticing is that everyone seems to ignore anything good before or during the AIDS crisis. Or, that some things seemed way more fun than what we have now. When I’m in West Hollywood, I rarely see anyone that doesn’t have lip injections or a beard that has been trimmed to look like a Lego figure. By the way, the guy doing rows seems to have a neutral spine and is keeping his shoulders square so looks ok to me.

r65/OP, were you 21 or older back then?

I lived in West Hollywood in the 1970s. Had a lot of fun and I'm still alive.

Wasn’t there a bar called Numbers in WeHo around this time?

[Quote] Wasn’t there a bar called Numbers in WeHo around this time?

Yes. All the tricks loved going there from the trade. Delish!

I loved Duke's Tropicana for breakfast. Good memories.

R70- I LOVED Tropicana ORANGE JUICE for breakfast.

R65, okay, I understand. Here are the good things I remember from c. 1980 (again I was seventeen and closeted, so I may not be the best judge of West Hollywood) and in the decade later:

A. The tight jeans on guys.

B. Getting to know some guy by talking to him. There were no cell phones or social media.

C. The music from disco to soul to rock to New Wave. It made me feel alive.

D. No Grindr or like hook up APP...the thrill of the chase (it still makes my cock twitch when I started cruising a decade later).

E. The sense of community you found in a gay bar or a gay neighborhood...knowing I was not alone and knowing there was safety in numbers.

How's that for starters?

Love that list!

All of these late 70s early 80s UCLA types and nobody has mentioned the Odyssey? One major gripe with the article. It most certainly was a Gay club. The Odyssey was the first time I encountered rules that were specifically intended to keep women out: no hair ornaments, only certain types of purses, restrictions on shoes.

The Odyssey is where we went if we couldn't get in anywhere else, R74. It didn't have the edge of the other places, or at least it didn't whenever we ended up there as a last resort.

R74- Watching that video - Young scene queens in training. They look bitchy too- most of them.

The Santa Monica Blvd. clothing stores were fantastic.

R64, the Odyssey definitely didn't have an edge, but it may have put you on edge. The music tended towards disco I Love Lucy, Star Wars cantina, 5th of Beethoven, Disco Duck, You're Moving Out Today, Cherchez La Femme/C'est si bon, etc.

R78- Who cares about EDGE- ALL music by 1980 was CRAP anyway.

R79, I wager that every song I listed was pre-1980.

OP only wants delusion. Happy things because he didn't actually go through the AIDS epidemic at its height.

[quote] What I’m noticing is that everyone seems to ignore anything good before or during the AIDS crisis. Or, that some things seemed way more fun than what we have now. When I’m in West Hollywood, I rarely see anyone that doesn’t have lip injections or a beard that has been trimmed to look like a Lego figure.

Kind of like how people ignore what's good now, R65, and make sweeping generalisations.

The guy I'm referring to at the Blue Parrot with the horizontal strips is standing not sitting and has some keys dangling from his pants.

R29

[quote]Haven't been to west hollywood or L.A. in 20 years, but I miss (knowing they are gone now) VIRGIN megastore, Tower Records on Sunset. Is that movie theater still there? Good thing "book soup" is still there, are both the circus book stores gone now as well?

Tower Records and Virign Megastore have both been gone for 15+ years.

Circus of Books closed its Silverlake location in 2016. It's now a cannabis shop.

Circus of Books closed it's WeHo location in 2019. It's now a sex toys and sexual fetish shop, similar to Treasure Chest.

The Sunset 5 movie theater in that 8000 Sunset complex is now an AMC.

Book Soup is still there on Sunset Blvd., but A Different Light closed in 2008 and Bodhi Tree closed in 2011.

Also gone is the French Market, closed in 2015. The property is being redeveloped but the French Market building will be preserved. New owners promise to have a diner type restaurant there when the construction is finished.

Also gone is the 24 Hour Fitness, formerly the Sports Connection, in Boystown. It closed in late 2021 and will be replaced by a ultra-upscale gym called John Reed Fitness.

Also gone are Gold Coast bar and Rage bar in WeHo, although new owners are opening similar bars in the same locations.

Also sadly gone is Oil Can Harrys in Studio City. Its now a jazz club.

[quote]What is a Supreme?

Shame on you, R24. Begone from this site.

[quote]Also gone is the French Market, closed in 2015. The property is being redeveloped but the French Market building will be preserved. New owners promise to have a diner type restaurant there when the construction is finished.

But it won't have that tacky New Orleans white wrought iron decor. I remember how crowded patio dining was and the lines that formed early on the weekend. And many a solo breakfast at the counter. Some of the wait staff had been there for decades.

OP, the VW Bus/Van that is filmed on SM Blvd., may be the same one that belonged to a former dear friend of mine, who I will call Mr. Y.

He was a neighbor for two decades and the kindest soul ever.

I want to tell his story one day, and his is a story worth writing. He lived with his best friend and boyfriend on the same street I lived on for most of my adult life. His boyfriend was also an amazing man. I am not sure if he is still living.

I was in NYC when this clip was filmed, and wouldn’t become familiar with WeHo until several years later.

I don’t like that it was referred to as a gay ghetto. Am I too young? Because I don’t recall WeHo ever being a ghetto.

R84... wow, thank you so much for the information.. I wonder/wondered If i went to l.a. specifically santa monica blvd, sunset and hollywood blvd if things would be so so different from 20 years ago....

[Quote] Also gone are Gold Coast bar and Rage bar in WeHo, although new owners are opening similar bars in the same locations. Also sadly gone is Oil Can Harrys in Studio City. Its now a jazz club.

Poor Old Coast.

Disco Saturday nights at the Can were EVERYTHING !!!!!!!!!!

OP What is a Supreme??

excuse me?!

he ones still alive are the uglies who no one wanted to fuck

It's sad, Santa Monica Blvd. in Weho is now overwhelmed with homeless. It's depressing.

[quote]the Whiskey or Club Lingerie on Sunset

I have a distinct memory of Richard Blade and his accent promoting Club Lingerie on KROQ.

R68 and R69, I can only remember Numbers as being a lesbian bar.

Granted this wasn’t the 80s, but it was mid-90s I think.

What was the restaurant in the 90's that moved from SaMo BL to Sunset (or vice versa) where younger guys lingered around waiting for an older gentleman to invite them in to accompany them for dinner? It was on the second floor of one or both locations.

(I lived in WeHo for seven years in the 90's.)

R95 You're thinking of Numbers. Moved from Sunset near Greenblatts Deli to Boystown, above the Normandie Room lesbian bar.

Do you think any of those guys are still alive? It would be interesting to hear from the ones still around.

R18 Honestly, I disagree. I feel Aids humanized gay men to (most) straight people, made people recognize they were people too with a certain sexual drive that at that point in time put them in danger but they had no choice to follow. What before Aids was a group of sexual "misfits" suddenly became a vulnerable group needing help that the government ignored out of bigotry.

At the very least I feel it made the conservative religious bigots more homophobic but it also made the more liberal, secular, tolerant people more open to them. Not that I would in any way imply anything good came out of the Aids plague, I just feel it affected people differently than most think.

I mean gays became much more accepted in the 90's for a reason. If what you say was true, then that would NOT have happened.