Interview with Michael Dafoe
oral history, relationships, bars
In this oral history interview Michael Dafoe, 53 years old, describes his life as gay teacher and historian in Toronto. The interview begins with Michael discussing his background. He mentions he was born in Winnipeg to an upper middle-class family, he describes his relationship with parents and friends, his teenage years in the 1940s, his education, his growing up pretending to be straight, and his moving to Toronto in the 1960s. The interview covers Michael’s coming out experience, his entry into the Toronto gay scene, friendships, bars, parties, and meeting places. He also comments on male prostitution in the city, his relationships with hustlers, his inability to make long-term emotional connections, his disagreement with gay liberationist stances, and the need to create a group for gay old men in Toronto.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1984-03-10
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Interview with John Nixon
oral history, imprisonment, intergenerational relationships
John Nixon, 52 years old at the time of this oral history interview, discusses his facing charges for having sex with young guys, the trial process, and his imprisonment in the Saint John mental hospital in New Brunswick. He also discusses coping with and overcoming depression, the attack or support of people around him while facing charges, his life in prison, ties with people at Saint John, and his avoiding of sexual relations while in jail. John also narrates his early life in New Brunswick, relationship with family, moving to Toronto, work as a parts-man in a service station, sexual life after jail, involvement in the Toronto gay scene and in intergenerational relationships. The interview ends with John explaining why he is critical of radical gay liberationists and of the gay newspaper The Body Politic. He argues that police department’s attitude had changed in recent years, resulting in a decrease in police harassment.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1982-11-07
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
New Brunswick, 1940s, 1950s; Toronto 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Interview with Del Newbigging
oral history, relationships, psychiatry
In this oral history interview, Del Newbigging, 50 years old, discusses his experience with psychiatric therapy, marriage counselling, and sex therapy, as well as his constant thought of committing suicide before coming to terms with his sexuality and breaking up his marriage. He recounts how seeing doctors and therapists was instrumental in accepting his homosexuality and in his coming out. The interview covers Del’s growing up gay in an oppressive Southern Ontario small town, his early homosexual experiences, his thirteen-years-long marriage, his job as an art high school teacher, his then five-year-long relationship, his lack of interest in the gay bar culture, and his good relationship with his son and daughter. Del also narrates his life as a gay father and his participation in associations such as Gay Fathers Organization and in the “gay society.” He claims to cherish the friendliness, openness, and warmth of the gay community.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1984-11-11
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Interview with Bob Grimson
oral history, gay men, parties
Oral history interview with a gay man, Bob, completed as part of the Foolscap project.
Bob discusses growing up Jewish and gay in Toronto from pre-World War II onwards. He begins the interview by recounting his entrance into the Toronto gay scene after the war, describing this scene as mostly WASP and class-classified. He talks about the private parties held by members of this society and his frequent feeling as an outsider, being Jewish and poor. Bob also explains the meaning of a “gay identity,” which he relates to a cultured homosexual man and not only to a sexual practice. The interview covers Bob’s days in the Air Force, his gay experiences with other men in service while abroad, and the gay scene in Naples. Other topics include being gay at work, Bob’s moving to California in the 1950s, his coming back to Toronto in the 60s, and his brief experience as the owner of “The Quest”: the first gay-owned gay-operated bar. He also informs about cruising practices in streets, parks, bars, theatres and steam-baths.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1983-03-18
John Grube
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s; Naples (during WW II), California 1950s.
Interview with David Allandyle
oral history, relationships, bars
Oral history interview with a gay man, David, completed as part of the Foolscap project.
David, a 60 year old gay man at the time of the interview, discusses his long-term relationships and friendships in Toronto after World War II. He came out in the 1940s after being in service, while he studied Political Science and Economics at the University of Toronto. The interview covers David’s early life, family and friendships, being gay at work, the gay bar culture in Toronto, cruising in streets and parks in the city, occasional sexual encounters, police surveillance, his stance on psychiatric therapy, and his participation on demonstrations marching up Yonge street after the bath-house raids. David also discusses politics, defining himself as a conservative, his work experience in branch stores and in the field of interior design, as well as his rejection of the current gay culture.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1983-11-21
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s