Watch New York in the 50s

When the documentary New York in the 50s was released in 2000, Dan Wakefield and I attended some fun and engaging screenings of the film in New York City and Indianapolis, plus film festivals in Italy, Denver, and Santa Barbara where it played to sold-out theaters. The one festival that rejected the film was Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, where Dan and I were both from. Dan never forgave them and was even more outraged at the Heartland Festival when they rejected my next film Something to Cheer About.

In one of Dan’s last emails to me he wrote:

Maybe this is not the time to say this but I failed to say it before and I want it on the record. Having lived in Indiana the last 10 years, I know what you have come from and come out of and carried on. I admire and respect your work—-your documentary of New York in the 50s was the finest tribute my book received. Your telling your own story (Autobiography of an Orgasm), and getting other women to tell their private stories was another outstanding achievement (Autobiographies of Our Orgasms, Vol 1-3). I was proud to be able to introduce you at your talk about it in Indianapolis.

Forgive me if the above seems beside the point. I just have wanted to say it for a long time. I wanted to say I know who you are, I know the kind of person you are, never have conveyed my complete respect and love. I send them to you now.

In the documentary New York in the Fifties, Dan passed onto me, what James Baldwin passed on to him:

“At the end of your life, you want a shelf of books, baby, a shelf of books.”

Thank you Dan for leaving us with a shelf of books and the inspiration to build our own.

I will miss you, my friend.

For my paid Substack subscribers, I’m offering the documentary, New York in the 50s, as a bonus to thank you for supporting my writing. Wish I could send you popcorn too. Enjoy the film.