Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr. (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002) was a prominent American gay rights activist, labor advocate, and Native American civil rights campaigner. He was a founder of the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights group in the United States, as well as the Radical Faeries, a loosely-affiliated gay spiritual movement.Born to a wealthy middle-class family in England, Hay was raised in Chile and California. From an early age he acknowledged his same-sex sexual attraction, and came under the influence of Marxism. Briefly studying at Stanford University, he subsequently became a professional actor in Los Angeles, where he joined the Communist Party USA, becoming a committed activist in left-wing labor and anti-racist campaigns. As a result of societal pressure, he attempted to become heterosexual by marrying a female Party activist in 1938, with whom he adopted two children. Recognising that he remained homosexual, his marriage ended and in 1950 he founded the Mattachine Society. Although involved in campaigns for gay rights, he resigned from the Society in 1953.Hay's developing belief in the cultural minority status of homosexuals led him to take a stand against the assimilationism advocated by the majority of gay rights campaigners. He subsequently became a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the Gay Liberation Front in 1969, although in 1970 moved to New Mexico with his longtime partner John Burnside. Hay's ongoing interest in Native American spirituality led the couple to co-found the Radical Faeries in 1979 with Don Kilhefner and Mitchell L. Walker. Returning to Los Angeles, Hay remained involved in an array of activist causes throughout his life, and became a well-known, albeit controversial, elder statesman within the country's gay community.Hay has been described as "the father of gay liberation", and has been the subject of a biography and documentary film.
In 1955, Hay was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and although he was not charged with any crime, he dropped out of the limelight after that.
2
In 1963, at age 51, he met John Burnside, the inventor of the teleidoscope, a variation on the kaleidoscope, who became his life partner. They moved to New Mexico in 1970 and managed a trading post on a Pueblo Indian reservation north of Santa Fe.
3
Married fellow Communist Anita Platky, and adopted two daughters, both of whom survived him.
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Even: As You and I
1937
Short
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Even: As You and I
1937
Short
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Paternal Instinct
2004
Documentary grateful acknowledgment
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Hope Along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay
2002
Video documentary
Himself
Somatography
2000
Documentary
Himself
After Stonewall
1999
Documentary
Himself
Gay Sex Before Zippers
1995
Documentary
Himself
Before Stonewall
1984
Documentary
Himself - political activist
Our Time
1983
TV Series
Himself
Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen
1979
Documentary
Himself
Word Is Out
1977
Documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Fellow Travelers
2008
Documentary short
Himself
Known for movies
Gay Sex Before Zippers (1995) as Himself
Word Is Out (1977) as Himself
Before Stonewall (1984) as Himself - political activist
$1.4 Million
