Somebody who knew him from his time there recognized him by a ring that he wore. "His body was identified anonymously after the fire, and nobody in the family was ever contacted and we never knew. On how Ferris' body wound up in an unmarked grave even though his body was identified anonymously I reached out to that filmmaker, and there was one that was filming still, so I just contacted everybody and told them who I was and there'd been a big mystery about Ferris' family, and they were all pretty surprised and kind of in a way excited to find out that we did exist and that we wanted to find him." There had been a documentary already done in like 2013 I think, so I reached out to that filmmaker, and there was one in process that was just about finished. "Well, on the internet search, I found out that there were a couple of books written about the fire. On how Bailey and his family began the search for Ferris' remains I said, 'We know now what's happened.' And we just broke down, and then I said, 'You know what we have to do, we have to find him and we have to bring him home.' That's what our goal is." I found it on the computer, and in tears, I went into the other room and told my mom. But by the same token, it was so horrible to be burned alive. Knowing what happened, it was good to know that we finally found out.
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"We'd always wondered what happened to him. "My mom came to stay with me around Christmas that night in 2015 to hang out for my birthday, and she had heard from one other brother that there was something on the internet about Ferris, so she asked me to look him up, and I did a Google search on his name, and my computer lit up with all of the horrible facts of the upstairs lounge fire and his death. On how Bailey and his family found out Ferris was one of the victims of the arson attack Ferris LeBlanc in the late 1960s. Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson talks with Skip Bailey, Ferris' nephew, about those efforts. Now, LeBlanc and her family are trying to bring Ferris' remains home. Thirty-two people died in the fire, but many families didn't come forward to claim the bodies of the dead and churches refused to hold funerals for some of the victims.įor 42 years, Marilyn LeBlanc didn't even know her brother Ferris had died in the fire - until a Google search showed his name on a list of victims. history was a 1973 arson attack at a New Orleans gay bar called the UpStairs Lounge. Until the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, the deadliest known attack at a gay club in U.S. (Jack Thornell/AP) This article is more than 3 years old.
#SPORTERS GAY BAR BOSTON WINDOWS#
Most of the victims were found near the windows in the background. For me, while it would be nice to have Fritz as an option for a place to go when I visit Boston, but if not… well, it was good while it lasted.A view inside the UpStairs Lounge following an arson on June 25, 1973.
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The internet as a social venue further effected the old bar scene.įace it folks, times have changed and WE have all changed. The necessity for “a place of our own” has greatly diminished as a result. Too bad for them.ĪIDS took a devastating toll on our community and the “bar-centric” lifestyle many of us enjoyed so much.
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Anyone who said any bar was always horrible or always great sounds like a very sad and boring individual. From Playland to The Other Side and the Napoleon to “the 12”, Chaps, Styx, Sporters and Buddy’s, and dozens of others opening and closing through the years, I thoroughly enjoyed them ALL, including Fritz. I lived in Boston from the early 70s til a few years ago… when there were gay bars a-plenty… a place for everybody and all their changing moods, tastes, and situations. I’m curious – how could people in a gay bar discriminate against you for being straight? Did you have that tatooed on your forehead? Did you make a point of making your orientation clear in such a way as it sent the message that you were afraid of being “mistaken” for being gay? I visited Fritz alone, with gay friends, and with straight friends.
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Stupid, childish, but true, and I came to know that I had no use for gay bars that functioned as exclusive “clubs” that only the “right” people could truly feel at home in. I, as a gay man, have been made to feel unwelcomed at certain gay bars too – because I was wearing a suit at one, and wasn’t wearing a suit at another! My clothes didn’t support the fantasie du jour. Others have a broader socializing aspect to them and are welcoming to all. Some are obsessed with the bar “theme”, whatever that is. Some seem to exist solely for the purpose of “sexual connection”.