![1969_Continental_Pool_Area](https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/10/1969_Continental_Pool_Area.jpg)
![midler](https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/10/midler.jpg)
NEXT: All good things…
NEXT: All good things…
But New York nightlife is fickle and the Continental was in some ways a victim of its own success: The gay clientele began to resent the straight “tourists” who were crowding the venue to see a show (and maybe enjoy a little titillation).
By 1974, attendance was so low, Ostrow discontinued the lounge acts and in 1975 closed the Continental altogether. It was resurrected in 1977 as the co-ed Plato’s Retreat, which was eventually shuttered by the city in the early 1980s with the onset of the AIDS epidemic.
Though the influx of straight people led to the club’s decline, it was a unique opportunity for different strands of sexually liberated New Yorkers to come together. As filmmaker Malcolm Ingram says, “the Continental ultimately became one of the most important metropolitan keystones for a sexual revolution, fostering an environment of tolerance and indirectly contributing to a level of mainstream gay acceptance the likes of which has never been seen again.”
Ingram—who’s garnered acclaim and awards for his previous docs, Small Town Gay Bar and Bear Nation—is currently working on a film about the Continental Baths. “The Continental existed in a very unique period, post Stonewall, pre-AIDS. That little window when gay ruled the zeitgeist and Continental was the clubhouse,” he explains on the film’s KickStarter page. “[The film] is a story of sex, celebrity, politics and most importantly…it is part of our history. Documenting our history while the key players are still around isn’t only an opportunity—it is a duty.”
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Michael in Toronto
Bette does Joni — terrific!
Spike
It must be difficult/frustrating for Bette to watch Lady Gaga take the flag of gay liberation and carry it on in the direction of gay rights, esp when she holds such memories and remarkably this film exists.
WillBFair
This is a far cry from Delores DeLago. But it’s precious.
Thanks you guys, so much, for digging this up. The shows were just a smidge before my time, and I’ve always wanted a taste.
By featuring these kinds of clips, you’re really doing your part for gay history month. Smooches.
Aunt Sharon
@Spike: The Divine Miss M pretty much gave up that flag when she signed on to become the Queen of Disney Studios. Now that that ride’s over, she gets nostalgic for her roots. If we’re still loyal, it’s because of her huge talent, not her advocacy.
phallus
She whipped out her ta tas at a concert at Pineknob. Priceless. Loved her Sofie jokes….. She is a great actor IMO
londonbridge
Loved this clip and love Bette.
Chuck
Stonewall, then the Boys in the Band, then Lance Loud on An American Family. 1969-1971. The ’70s were pretty amazing. Too bad the ’80s brought AIDS and Reagan.
Cam
@Spike: said..
“It must be difficult/frustrating for Bette to watch Lady Gaga take the flag of gay liberation and carry it on in the direction of gay rights, esp when she holds such memories and remarkably this film exists.”
___________________-
Bette made some unflattering remarks about gays later. Sure, she was a performer who got paid to perform there, but GaGa uses opportunities to talk to the president about gay rights, whereas when Bette is asked about it she hardly sounds pro-gay.
Here is Margaret Cho’s response to Midlers comments on thinking gay marriage wouldn’t work.
http://prince.org/msg/8/75223?pr
Rob
Cam-I also remember when Bette said how same gender marriage wouldn’t work because bisexual and gay men are all promiscuous and somehow can’t be monogamous. *facepalm*