Al_Shapiro

Al Shapiro

Al Shapiro

American cartoonist (1932–1987)

Not to be confused with Allen Shapiro, American media executive.

Allen J. Shapiro[1] (February 7, 1932—May 30, 1987),[2] better known as Al Shapiro and by his pen name A. Jay, was a gay Jewish American[3] artist active from the 1960s through 1980s.[4][5] He is credited with the creation of the first-ever gay comic strip, The Adventures of Harry Chess: The Man from A.U.N.T.I.E.[5]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Shapiro is well-known for his erotic art, not only in Harry Chess, but also for Drummer magazine, the Caldron (a sex club in San Francisco), the Leatherneck (gay bar), and numerous gay bathhouses[5][2] (some of which he often visited).[1]

Shapiro was Drummer's founding art editor.[5] Jack Fritscher, Drummer's former editor-in-chief, described Shapiro as "the best of my pals and friends" and "one of the Original Drummer Daddies."[1]

Shapiro died from AIDS-related complications in 1987.[1]

Biography

Shapiro was born and raised in upstate New York.[6][1] He competed as a wrestler in high school, during which time he described becoming "totally fixated on men with big pecs and fine nipples," which became lasting inspirations for his art.[1] After graduating, he served in the U.S. Army, stationed in South Korea following the end of the Korean war.[1]

Shapiro moved to Manhattan in the 1960s, where he attended the Pratt Institute[7] in hopes of becoming a theatrical set designer for Broadway theatre.[1] He later pivoted to illustrating children's books.[1]

Shapiro created Harry Chess in response to a 1964 ad in the New York Times by Clark Polak seeking "a cartoonist for a new gay and sophisticated magazine" called Drum.[7][1] After Drum was discontinued, Shapiro continued producing Harry Chess comics for Queen's Quarterly (QQ), another gay magazine.[1][5][8] Shapiro designed the character Harry Chess as his alter ego (he once said "I am Harry and Harry is me and we are all together").[1] His style was influenced by Stan Lee and James Bond.[1]

Shapiro met his partner Dick Kriegmont through Kriegmont's personal ad in The Advocate.[1] In 1974,[2] Shapiro moved to San Francisco to live with Kriegmont, where they frequented Pacific Heights and the South of Market neighborhoods.[1] Their relationship lasted eleven years, through the end of Shapiro's life; Shapiro died at home on May 30, 1987 with Kriegmont by his side.[1]

In 1977, Drummer co-founder John Embry hired Shapiro and Fritscher to be the magazine's art director and editor-in-chief and tasked them with moving the publication from Los Angeles to San Francisco.[2] They both departed the magazine in late 1979.[2]

In 1978, A. Jay and Dom Orejudos produced a joint gallery show at Fey-Way Studios.[2] The two artists and Tom of Finland were all close friends.[1]

In his 2006 autobiography, Fritscher wrote:[2]

"If there is a gay Mount Rushmore of four great pioneer pop artists, the faces would be Chuck Arnett, Etienne, A. Jay, and Tom of Finland."

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Fritscher, Jack (2000-04-06). "Drummer Interview: Al Shaprio, A.Jay, & Harry Chess". Jack Fritscher. Feature interview/article obituary written June 20, 1987, and published in Drummer 107, August 1987. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  2. [2]
    Fritscher, Jack (2006). Gay San Francisco - Eyewitness Drummer : a Memoir of the Sex, Art, Salon, Pop Culture War, and Gay History of Drummer Magazine, the Titanic 1970s to 1999. Vol. 1. Palm Drive Pub. ISBN 9781890834388.
  3. [3]
    Morgan, Kyle (2010). "Finding aid of the Twice Blessed Collection, circa 1966-2000". Online Archive of California. Coll2010-003. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  4. [4]
    Stewart, Jim (2014-07-22). "BARchive: Perils of Pecs O'Toole". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  5. [5]
    "A. Jay Papers". Online Archive of California. Collection number GLC 117. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  6. [6]
    Gunn, Drewey Wayne (2016-02-04). Gay American Novels, 1870-1970: A Reader's Guide. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2522-5.
  7. [7]
    Murphy, Michael J. "The Lives and Times of Harry Chess". The Gay & Lesbian Review. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. [8]
    "QQ magazine". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
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