Artist & Entertainment Allies

Elizabeth Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011)

When the AIDS epidemic struck in the early 1980s, two-time Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor was the most prominent celebrity to step up for her gay friends, raising more than $270 million for AIDS-related causes in her life. She was a cofounder of the American Foundation for AIDS Research as well as the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. In 1992, she was awarded a special Academy Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for her efforts.

Political Allies

Art Agnos (September 1, 1938 – )

In 1976, Art Agnos was elected to the California State Assembly, defeating Harvey Milk in the primary. He introduced legislation that would have added sexual orientation to the state’s laws on employment and public accommodations discrimination, and introduced much of the state’s first legislation responding to the AIDS epidemic. In 1987, he was elected Mayor of San Francisco, but was defeated for re-election in 1991 by Frank Jordan.

Willie Brown (March 20, 1934 – )

In 1864, Willie Brown, an African American civil rights attorney, was elected to represent San Francisco in the California State Assembly, where he served until 1995, including serving as Speaker of the Assembly from 1980 until June of 1995. As a member of the Assembly, he introduced and pushed through the Consenting Adult Sex Bill that legalized homosexuality in California in 1975. He served as Mayor of San Francisco from 1996 through 2004, at which point he retired from public office, though he remains politically active.

Dianne Feinstein (June 22, 1933 – )

Dianne Feinstein served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1970 to 1978, including President of the Board in 1978, before serving as Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988, and then as U.S. Senator from California since 1992. She has an uneven relationship with the gay community. She was one of the first political candidates in San Francisco to actively court the gay vote, campaigning in gay bars. When Jo Daly had a commitment ceremony with her partner, Nancy Achilles, in 1977, Feinstein insisted that they hold it in Feinstein’s garden. But as Mayor, she vetoed domestic partnership legislation in 1982, and in 2004 was sharply critical of efforts to promote same-sex marriages in San Francisco. But she has voted for federal legislation to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination and introduced legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Ella Hill Hutch (c. 1924 – February 25, 1981)

Ella Hill Hutch was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 in the same district elections that elected Harvey Milk, the second African American ever elected to the Board, and the first African American woman. She was part of the liberal faction that also included Harvey Milk. She was re-elected in 1980 but passed away the following year.

Gordon Lau (August 22, 1941 – April 20, 1998)

Gordon Lau was the first Chinese-American elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the same district elections that elected Harvey Milk. He was a part of the liberal faction that also included Harvey Milk.

George Moscone (November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978)

George Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 to 1976, including serving as President of the Senate, where he helped push through Willie Brown’s Consenting Adult Sex Bill that legalized homosexuality in California. In 1975, he was elected Mayor of San Francisco, serving until he was assassinated on November 27, 1978 with Supervisor Harvey Milk by former Supervisor Dan White.

Carol Ruth Silver (1938 – )

Carol Ruth Silver was the first unmarried mother elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served as part of the liberal faction that included Harvey Milk.

Others

Joshua Norton (c. 1819 – January 8, 1880)

Though technically neither ally nor foe, Joshua Norton – the self-proclaimed Emperor Norton the First of the United States, Protector of Mexico – deserves special mention for serving as the inspiration for Jose Sarria when he declared himself to be the Widow Norton, First Empress of San Francisco, and founded the Imperial Court system, an international network of drag queen philanthropists.