Jim Fouratt
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Jim Fouratt (born 23 June 1941) is a gay rights activist, actor, and former nightclub impresario. He is best known for his involvement with the
Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
and as co-founder of the
Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locat ...
.


Early life

Fouratt was raised in a working class Catholic home in
Riverside, Rhode Island Riverside is a neighborhood in the city of East Providence in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Despite not being an incorporated city, Riverside has its own zip code, 02915, and is an acceptable mailing address according to the United States Postal ...
. He attended the
La Salle Academy } La Salle Academy is an American private, Catholic all-boys' high school in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. The school is run by the Eastern North American District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. ...
in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
. After high school he was accepted into
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
but could not attend for financial reasons, instead he began studies at St. Peter's Seminary in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. In 1960, he was kicked out for homosexuality and moved to New York City.


Activism

Fouratt took up political activism more seriously in 1965, after being arrested in
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
at America's first
Anti-Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War (before) or anti-Vietnam War movement (present) began with demonstrations in 1965 against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War and grew into a broad social move ...
demonstration. In 1967 he was one of the organizers of the famous Central Park Be In. That same year he cofounded the
Yippies The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on De ...
, a youth-oriented countercultural movement, alongside
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
and Paul Krasner. Fouratt was at the first night of what he calls the Stonewall 'Rebellion', a term he prefers over "Stonewall Riots."
I happened to be coming home from my job at Columbia Records. I saw a sole police car outside of the
Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the s ...
. I was out in the
New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...
movement and the anti-war movement and there was an incredible amount of homophobia—in the old and new left. Like a good '60s radical, I went to see why that car was there. There might have been 20 people around—this was 10:30 at night.
On the third night of the rebellion, Fouratt co-founded the
Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...
, the first of many lesbian and gay liberation movements that sprouted across the country in the following months. Fouratt was a founding member of the Lesbian and Gay Community Service Center, the Gay Community Service Center, and Wipe Out AIDS (now known as H.E.A.L). He was active in
ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
, serving on the media committee with Michael Signorile and
Jay Blotcher Jay Blotcher (born 1960) is an American activist, journalist, and editor. He was active in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) in its early years, serving as chair of the media committee, and was a founding member of Queer Nation. Blotc ...
. In 2009, Fouratt took part in the Democratic primary against City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and firs ...
. He claims to have raised $20,000 in two weeks, but later withdrew. In 2016, Fouratt ran for State Assembly but lost to
Deborah Glick Deborah J. Glick (born December 24, 1950) is a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 66th Assembly District in Lower Manhattan, including the neighborhoods of Alphabet City, Greenwich Village, Noho, the East Village, Manhatta ...
. He is a member of the Village Independent Democrats club.


Other Work


Music and nightlife

In 1969 Fouratt worked as an assistant to
Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...
. In 1978, Fourrat became the manager for the club Hurrah where he brought in DJs to create the first "rock disco," with music videos playing as well as live music acts. He also worked at Pop Front, and
Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...
. In 1980, he opened the nightclub
Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locat ...
with Rudolf Pieper. In November 1980, Pieper and Fouratt had prepared to open the New
Peppermint Lounge The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many claim ...
night club, but were pushed out by Frank Roccio and Tom Goodkind. In June 1982, Pieper and Fouratt became embroiled in a legal battle, and Fouratt was pushed out. In the early 1990s, Fouratt served as director of national publicity at
Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
, and from 1995 to 1999, Fouratt was the vice president of A&R at Mercury Records. In the late 1990s, Fouratt attempted to launch the sub-imprint Beauty Records, but that project ended when PolyGram, Mercury's parent corporation, was bought by
Seagram's The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the la ...
, and Fouratt's acts were let go.


Journalism

Fouratt has been pop culture critic for ''Billboard'' and ''Rolling Stone'' and a contributing editor at ''Spin''. Additionally, he has written for ''The Village Voice'', ''The'' ''Advocate'', ''Bay Area Reporter'', and ''Gay City News''. He is currently an editor for ''Westview News''.


Acting

Fouratt studied for seven years with Lee Strasberg in the early ’60s. Fouratt was a member of the Open Theater, and performed at
Café Cino Joseph Cino (November 16, 1931 – April 2, 1967), was an Italian-American theatre producer. The Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement is generally credited to have begun at Cino's Caffe Cino in the West Village of Manhattan. Caffe Cino and off-of ...
and
La MaMa La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
. He joined
Actors Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in live theater, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage ...
and made his Broadway debut in ''
The Freaking Out of Stephanie Blake ''The Freaking Out of Stephanie Blake'' is a 1967 stage comedy which starred Jean Arthur and was produced by Cheryl Crawford. The play was written by Richard Chandler, who was Crawford's assistant.Zolotow, Sam. "Jean Arthur Due On Stage In Fall: A ...
''. He worked with the National Shakespeare Theatre in Cambridge.


Personal life

In 1969, Fouratt asked his lover
Peter Hujar Peter Hujar (October 11, 1934 – November 26, 1987) was an American photographer best known for his black and white portraits. He has been recognized posthumously as a major American photographer of the late-twentieth century. Yet Hujar's work r ...
to take a photograph for a Gay Liberation Front recruitment poster. The image is now one of the most iconic of the gay liberation movement.
Hujar’s boyfriend at the time, Jim Fouratt, arrived on the scene to organize for the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), the first political group to cite homosexuality in its name. Hujar agreed to make a photograph for a GLF poster. The poster, portraying a jubilant group of GLF members under the slogan COME OUT!!, appeared in late spring 1970 in advance of the gay liberation march that marked the first anniversary of Stonewall.
Fouratt has faced criticism for his comments on
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
identities and
transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...
ism, which he views as a method "to make gay men and lesbians straight." He believes that transgender identity reinforces
gender stereotypes A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...
and that trans discourse is marginalizing the experiences of gays and lesbians. However, in a 2015 Facebook post, he wrote "I support the right of each person to control their body. Period. Fighting the conscription of socially policed gender behavior is an essential fight." In 2009, when asked by
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
if there was a leader in the gay community on par with
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, Fouratt said "Well, I would like to think that I'm that leader." Fouratt previously lived with Carl Miller,
Allen Young Sir Allen William Young, (12 December 1827 – 20 November 1915) was an English master mariner and explorer, best remembered for his role in Arctic exploration including the search for Sir John Franklin. Early life Allen Young was born at Tw ...
, and Giles Kotcher in the Seventeenth Street commune.


See also

*
Timeline of LGBT history A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representin ...
*
List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people This is a confirmed referenced overview list of notable gay, lesbian or bisexual people, who have either been open about their sexuality or for which reliable sources exist. The number of notables in the list is likely to be several times highe ...
*
List of LGBT rights activists A list of notable LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Argentina * Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partner were the first lesb ...


References


External links


Jack Nichols article
* Jim Fouratt Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fouratt, Jim Living people Gay entertainers Gay Liberation Front members LGBT people from Rhode Island LGBT rights activists from the United States 1945 births Yippies