Gay Morning America

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Gay Morning America was a weekly volunteer-run variety show that aired on Manhattan public-access cable for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. For the first two seasons, the show ran for one hour on Friday mornings from 7:30-8:30 am EST, and was reduced to a 1/2 hour time slot on Saturday mornings from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm EST in the third and final season. The show also featured commercials for Greenwich Village gay establishments, as well as endorsements by the hosts which helped support the show. [1] It originally aired on channel 59, W59AT. The program's archives are held in the collection of The LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

Contents

History

Gay Morning America was founded by George Sardi, Johnny Pool, and Lynn Lavner, all of whom either co-owned or frequently performed at the piano bar Waverly Waverly. [2] The bar, situated at the corner of Waverly Place and Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, in Manhattan, New York, hosted regular cabaret-style performances. Though the clientele was largely gay, it was not exclusively so. [3] The show was recorded live at Metro-Access Inc. at 110 E. 23rd Street in Manhattan, New York. Many of the episodes were not recorded, or have since been lost. Those that remain were donated by George Sardi to The Center in Greenwich Village.

Staff

George Sardi; producer, host

Johnny Savoy; producer, host

Lynn Lavner; performer

Johnny Pool; performer

Jerry Fitzpatrick; performer

Lord Byron Falk; performer

Leslie Irons; performer

Jimmy Mellow, director

Segments

Most shows began with opening credits and the show's theme song, which was written by Lynn Lavner, [4] followed by a community news segment. Recurring segments included recipes with Johnny Pool, exercises with Lord Byron, theater reviews with Leslie Irons, "girl talk" with Lynn Lavner, and sports with Jerry Fitzpatrick. There were also often musical performances by Lavner and Jerry Scott, who regularly performed at Waverly Waverly, as well as interviews with special guests, who were usually local LGBT celebrities.

A large portion of the run-time of most episodes was devoted to commercials for local gay-owned business. These commercials were typically a screen showing the business's name, address, and phone number, while one of the hosts read ad copy. The most frequently featured establishments were bars which hosted live performances, like Waverly Waverly, Limelight, The Monster, The Follies, Peeches Three, and Copacabana Bar, though other gay-owned businesses were also featured, including The Village Apothecary, a pharmacy which specialized in HIV/ AIDS treatments. [5] There were also often plugs for other gay resources, such as hotlines and publications like Gay Yellow Pages and Connection.

During the third and final season, every fourth show was a "phone-in" episode, during which viewers could call in and talk with the hosts and special guests. Usually, these discussions followed major events within the gay community. [6]

Episodes

SeasonEpisode NumberOriginal Air DateSpecial Guests [7]
21Oct. 19, 1984Sgt. Charles Cochrane, president of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), and adult film actor Jack Wrangler
22Oct. 26, 1984Leslie Randolph, co-captain of Ramblers Soccer Team,

musical performance by Jerry Scott

23Nov. 2, 1984Robin Tyler and Jack Coplin
24Nov. 9 1984Joni Rapp, Johnny De Maio, and Gordon Malone
25Nov. 16, 1984Maria Manville
26Nov. 23, 1984Gutter George, president of the Village Bowling League

musical performance by Harriet Leider and Jerry Scott

27Nov. 30, 1984Comedic performance by ventriloquist Eddy Olsen and his puppet, "Harley"
28Dec. 7, 1984
29Dec. 14, 1984
210Dec. 21, 1984Casey Wayne and Frankie Lee Winter
211Dec. 28, 1984Frank Massey
212Jan. 4, 1985J. T. Denver
213Jan. 11, 1985Steve Garben and John Burke
214Jan. 18, 1985Fasinatin Gershwin, Lorenzo de Palma, and John Knight
215Jan. 26, 1985Tamar Hosansky and Lance Bradley
216Feb. 1, 1985Songs in Blume (A tribute to Bobby Blume) and members of the Safety and Fitness Exchange
217Feb. 8, 1985Rene Warren
218Feb. 15, 19856Aaron Gage, Gary Dee, and Gordon Malone
219Feb. 22, 1985Clips from the Miss Fire Island Competition
220Mar. 8, 1985Claire Christopher, softball pitcher and founder of the Women's Organization of League Sports (WOLS)

musical performance by Sandy Doane and Jerry Scott

221Mar. 15, 1985Jackie Small, Jerry Scott, Candida Scott Piel,

Michael Jackson, and Mark Goldstein

31Oct. 26, 1985Ray Lavner*
32Nov. 2, 1985Charles Bush
33Nov. 9, 1985Dalaria and Strobel
34Nov. 16, 1985David Rothenberg*
35Nov. 23, 1985Geoff Edholm, actor

musical performance by Jerry Scott

* Denotes a "phone-in" show

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References

  1. "Gay Morning America · Gay Center Audio/Video Archive". gaycenter.prattsi.org. Retrieved 2019-10-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Culture Night to be a GALA affair". dailybruin.com. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  3. "Pooled Resources: The Legacy of Waverly Waverly and Oh Johnny". The Andrew Martin Report. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  4. A Funny Time To Be Gay. New York: Simon and Schuster. 2011. pp. 89–96.
  5. Andreea (2018-02-03). "The Village Apothecary, a Treasured Neighborhood Institution -" . Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  6. Gay Morning America [New York, New York], Manhattan Public Access, 26 Oct. 1985.
  7. "Gay Morning America". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2019-09-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)