'Next Stop,' Streaming?

I finally got to see Paul Mazursky’s hard-to-find “Next Stop, Greenwich Village” (1976), a film I first learned about decades ago from a poster hanging in my quasi-local pub (Julius’), where scenes from it were filmed. 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Shelley Winters is sublime as the overprotective mother who’s absolutely beside herself because her adult son is moving a whopping 12 miles(!) away from home and might have had sex(!); Antonio Fargas, whom I grew up watching as Huggy Bear on my brother Bill’s beloved “Starsky & Hutch,” is notable for playing a 1950s gay black man; and the depiction of abortion at the time is revelatory. (Also fun to see mid-70s NYC dressed up as the mid-50s!)

Lenny Baker is sympathetic as our aspiring-actor protagonist -- although I could have done without the domestic violence scene that seemed to depict the victim as almost feeling as though she deserved it. (It’s loosely based on Mazursky’s life, so I fear to think how accurate that part was.)

Was also taken aback to read afterward that Baker died in 1982 at just 37, which as a gay man who was alive at that time immediately got my mind racing. Come to find out I am not the first, with Wikipedia including this tidbit about his demise:

Decades after Baker's death, commentator David Ehrenstein incorrectly speculated in LA Weekly that Baker had suffered from AIDS, then known as "gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID), for approximately two years before his death.

There is no reliable source to confirm that his illness was HIV-related, and HIV is not mentioned anywhere in Baker's death certificate. He died on April 12, 1982, at the Community Hospital of South Broward in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Hmm. The entry doth protest too much, methinks. Pretty sure the human immunodeficiency virus wasn’t isolated  until the following year, so don’t think it could have been mentioned. (Don’t let anyone tell you shame doesn’t still exist around this disease.)

A big thank-you to the person who uploaded the film to YouTube four months ago. The music is occasionally muted to avoid copyright removal, but it’s still decent otherwise. Look for it before it gets taken down. (It’s not streaming anywhere -- I was more than happy to pay.) 

 (UPDATE: A friend found another upload with the music intact HERE.)

Julius's remembers one of its own

And last but not least, condolences to the friends, family and colleagues of sweet Julius’ bartender Adan Garcia, whose untimely death led me to the film on this rainy afternoon. May he rest in peace. 🙏

On Jan. 19, 2017, we toasted President Barack Obama for all he had done for LGBT Americans.

Read the 2003 L.A. Weekly article HERE.

Julius', New York City's Oldest Gay Bar, Starts GoFundMe

No sooner did the famed Stonewall Inn receive a $250,000 donation to keep from shutting comes word that Julius' -- home of the famed 1966 "Sip-In" that established the right of homosexuals to be served in licensed premises in New York -- is also in dire financial straits.

Owner Helen Buford writes:

I’m reaching out to you because we need your help in saving our beloved Julius' Bar for posterity and to ensure that history stays alive.

Today indoor dining was postponed in NYC. The bills are piling up, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. and there is no set date for indoor dining.

This historic bar means so much to so many people because of its rich history. On April 21, 2016, Julius' Bar was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and for the historical significance of LGBT Greenwich Village. Fifty four years ago a person could be refused service in a bar simply for being gay, and his or her mere presence there could result in the bar’s closure by the State Liquor Authority. On April 21, 1966, Dick Leitsch and other members of the Mattachine Society, an early LGBT rights organization, staged the now famous Sip-In at Julius’ bar in the Village to challenge this “legal” discrimination. After they announced to the bartender that they were homosexuals and wished to be served, they were refused service. The event generated publicity and was one of the earliest pre-Stonewall public actions for LGBT rights. Scholars of LGBT history consider the Sip-In at Julius’ a key event leading to the growth of legitimate LGBT bars and the development of the bar as the central social space for urban LGBT New Yorkers.

Today Julius' welcomes all people to share in the history and to preserve it's legacy. The staff and I are eager to serve you safely once again but we need your help. Any amount you can donate will help with the operating expenses. If you can't donate please share this page. 

Thank you for your love and support,

Visit the bar's GoFundMe HERE.

On Jan. 19, 2017, we toasted President Barack Obama for all he had done for LGBT Americans.

On a personal note, Julius' has been my local pub for a number of years. I celebrated when New York state legalized gay marriage in 2011 and was there again the night the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. It's also where my fiance and I spent many of our early dates, tucked away in the back making out. Scenes from "The Boys in the Band" and "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" were also filmed there. Would be a shame to see it erased from NYC history.

With my friend Chad and blogger Andy Towle in 2014

With my friend Frank in 2011

Can I Ever Forgive Julius?

Only in New York do you go to your favorite dive bar only to find out you can't have a drink because Melissa McCarthy is filming a movie inside. 

Would you believe McCarthy replaced Julianne Moore? And Jane Curtin is in the cast! (If "Allie Lowell" was in there and they didn't let me in there will be hell to pay!)

A Toast to Julius'

Damian and I wound up at Julius' with our friends Chad and Tim yesterday afternoon, raising a glass to our favorite bar's recent designation as "historically significant"!

Julius', NYC's Oldest Gay Bar, Added to National Register of Historic Places

Thrilled to report that the National Park Service (NPS) has just added the West Village gay bar Julius’ to the National Register of Historic Places! This comes just weeks after NPS designated Bayard Rustin’s Manhattan residence to the Register -- and couldn't be bestowed on a more fitting destination, which happens to be my favorite watering hole in the world. 

The Washington Blade writes:

The National Park Service on Wednesday officially added the Greenwich Village gay bar Julius’ to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of the bar’s “association with an important early event in the modern gay rights movement.” 

The action came one day before the 50th anniversary of a 1966 sip-in that gay activists staged at Julius’ to challenge the then-interpretation of a state liquor regulation used to prohibit bars from serving alcoholic beverages to homosexuals. 

“On April 21, 1966, three members of the Mattachine Society, an early and influential gay rights organization, organized what became known as a ‘sip-in,’” a statement released this week by the National Park Service says. “Their intent was to challenge New York State Liquor Authority regulations that were promulgated so that bars could not serve drinks to known or suspected gay men or lesbians, since their presence was considered de facto disorderly,” the statement says. 

The Mattachine Society members carried out the sip-in by sitting at the bar at Julius’ and ordering drinks. According to news reports of the action, the men declared they were homosexuals just as the bartender put one of their drinks on the bar, prompting the bartender to place his hand over the drink and telling the men he could not serve them.

The successful court challenge to this refusal of service helped establish the right of homosexuals to be served in licensed premises in New York and paved the way for the opening of many new gay premises with state liquor licenses. I'm truly thrilled!

Governor Cuomo Sets Up Julius' for National Historic Recognition

As the de facto deputy mayor of the city's best gay bar, this news certainly makes me smile. You've come a long way since campaigning for your daddy on the "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo" platform, Mr. Governor. Read HERE.

Read HERE.

(Not that Ed Koch wasn't a closeted prick who enabled the AIDS epidemic to spiral out of control.)

I'll Toast to That

Mark C.O’Flaherty explains why Julius’ isn’t just the best gay bar in New York, but might well be the best bar in the world. (He's right!) Read HERE.