Photographer, Bookseller, Naturalist

Toronto Gay Pride Week 1973 Movie https://youtube/3GZ7UeLBsBc and https://youtube/02MPM0SQYC4

Introduction for Toronto Gay Pride Week 1973

In November, 2015 I ‘discovered’ a 13 minute long movie I had shot with a Super 8mm camera during the Gay Pride Parade & Demonstration back in 1973!  It is now uploaded onto You Tube in two parts (the maximum allowed for free upload is 10 minutes).  These old films were first digitalized and placed on a hard drive where I attempted to improve the film by using the tools available in iMovie.  If there is someone out there with professional skills who feels they could improve the actual images, feel free to contact me. This film is a priceless bit of Canadian gay history and hopefully will be seen by many of the individuals who took part in what was both a public parade and demonstration for our civil rights. Among the many male faces I can identify are:  George Hislop, Tom Warner, Ed Jackson, Gerald Hannon, Gary Kinsman, Herb Spiers, Michael Lynch, David Newcome, Ken Popert, James Stewart, John Scythes, Peter Zorzi, Charlie Dobie, Robert Trow, Trevor Monford-Smith, James Steakley, Charlie Hill, Bert Verstraete, Ross Higgins, John Lemaire, Brian Waite, Walter Klinger, George Crews, John Wilson and John Mackay.  Unfortunately I can only recall the first names of the women who took part.  I would ask any viewers who recognize people whose names I have not included to forward them to me and I will edit the list accordingly.

These still photos are especially interesting because of all the outstanding people included in some of the shots. Until I scanned these old negatives to digitize them, they had never seen the light of day. All appear to have somewhat deteriorated like so many colour negatives. That, of course, is depressing, but they still have great historical value. Seeing the faces of so many people I worked with in the 1970s brought back long forgotten memories. I expect other images will be added to this gallery later.