Craig Chester (born November 8, 1965)

Craig Chester (born November 8, 1965 in West Covina, California) is an American actor, writer, essayist and screenwriter.

Craig Chester was born in West Covina, California, the son of Cecil, lead singer in the rock band “Whiskey” and Linda, a homemaker. He moved with his family to Carrollton, Texas at the age of twelve when his father accepted a corporate job with Nestlé. At age fifteen, Chester was diagnosed with the congenital facial deformity Long Face Syndrome. At eighteen, Chester had multiple operations to rebuild his face. Shortly thereafter, he moved to New York City in 1985, to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Following graduation, he performed in various stage productions in New York, including a play written by Joanne Woodward who, upon noticing his naturalistic acting style, encouraged Chester to pursue a career in film.

Chester’s acting debut was in the feature film Swoon (1992) a contemporary re-telling of the infamous Leopold & Loeb murder of Bobby Franks which earned Chester an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as “dazzling”. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described Swoon as “a great film...haunting and visionary”. Chester went on to act in a string of critically acclaimed independent films. He was openly gay from the inception of his career, rare at the time.

As a result, St. Martin’s Press approached Chester to write about his life and experiences. His memoir Why the Long Face?: the Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor was published in 2003 which told the story of his unlikely trajectory from born-again teen with long face syndrome, to his facial reconstruction and career in Hollywood. In 2009, Showtime optioned the book with Chester set to adapt it into a television pilot with Don Roos, Dan Bucatinsky and Lisa Kudrow as producers.

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Further Readings:

Adam & Steve: A Novel by Craig Chester
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Alyson Books; First Edition edition (June 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1555839126
ISBN-13: 978-1555839123
Amazon: Adam & Steve: A Novel

Adam and Steve met in the 1980s, a time of big hair and bad drugs. Their initial encounter didn't go well, so it's just as well they don't remember. But now they meet again, both a little older although not much smarter-and with a lot more baggage. Adam and Steve follows the trajectory of a relationship that started like a joke and just kept getting funnier. With the help of their friends, formerly obese stand-up comic Rhonda and straight-guy ladies man Michael, Adam and Steve struggle to make love work in the face of almost overwhelming obstacles, including a dog with an eating disorder, accident-prone parents, roving homophobes and the nagging feeling they've met before. Actor Craig Chester has adapted his own screenplay for the film of the same name.

More Spotlights at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels

Chris Connor & Lori Muscarelle

Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer.

She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school. Mabel Loutsenhizer died in 1940 and young Mary moved in with her older sister, who took over the responsibility of raising her. She first sang publicly in 1945, at the Jefferson City Junior College's graduation.

She performed the song "Amor" and it was well received. After the positive response she received from the audience, she decided to pursue a singing career full-time. Initially, she stayed within the parameters of the Kansas City area, working during the day as a stenographer and singing on weekends. Her first professional job was with the University of Missouri college band playing various functions in the Columbia area. She moved between local bands from 1946–47; and, in 1948, she moved to New York City with the intention of having a glamorous career. Unable to find a singing job, she became an office stenographer. She spent the next seven weeks trying to secure any kind singing job. She met a man acquainted with orchestra leader Claude Thornhill's road manager, Joe Green. Thornhill was seeking a new singer to round out his vocal group, the Snowflakes. She successfully auditioned and joined Thornhill's group, touring around the United States and recording harmonies in the studio. Of her time spent with the Snowflakes, there is only evidence of her vocal contribution on two recorded songs: "There's a Small Hotel" and "I Don't Know Why", both performed in 1949. She continued to tour with the Thornhill band sporadically until March 1952, when she joined Jerry Wald's big band and recorded five songs: "You're the Cream in My Coffee", "Cherokee", "Pennies from Heaven", "Raisins and Almonds", and "Terremoto". She also reunited with Claude Thornhill in October 1952 for a radio broadcast from the Statler Hotel in New York City. She sang four songs: "Wish You Were Here", Come Rain or Come Shine", "Sorta Kinda", and "Who Are We to Say".


Chris Connor (1927 - 2009) was an American jazz singer. She was with her companion Lori Muscarelle for 47 years until her death. Jazz historian Marc Myers wrote, 'You never got the feeling with Chris that she was a helpless female, but you never got the feeling she was bossy either. And, as a result, almost everyone who heard her fell in love with her.' Connor made her final recordings in the early 2000s, with two albums for HighNote Records. Everything I Love in 2003 is her final album.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Connor

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

Rainbow Awards pre-party and 8th anniversary (Day 8)

November 2014 marks the 8th anniversary since I opened my first journal on LJ, and the 6th anniversary of the Rainbow Awards and we will have again a 1 month long big bash party. 119 authors, all of them in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, have donated an ebook and I will use them for a Treasure Hunt. Every day, for all November, I will post 4 excerpts (a random page of the book). No reference to title, or author, or publisher. You have to match it with the book ;-) comment on the blog (do not leave anonymous comments, if you post as anonymous, leave a contact email (comments are screened)), you can comment 1 time for more matchings (you can even try for all 4 books if you like, so 4 chances to win every day). Until the end I will not say which matching is right, so you will have ALL month to try. No limit on how many books you can win, the more you try the better chance you have to win. End of November, among the right matchings, I will draw the winners. So now? let the game start!

If at the end of the treasure hunt there will be still unmatched excerpts the giveaway will go to the one who matched more books.

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