Attorney Bruce Nickerson was a legal lion who spent decades winning cases for gay men throughout California who had been discriminated against and falsely arrested by law enforcement in gay-sex sting operations. One of his victories was a historic ruling 2016 in Long Beach, when a superior court judge threw out a lewd conduct arrest by the police. Photo: Q Voice News
Goodbye 2022, and hello 2023.
Q Voice News takes a look back to remember those we lost in 2022.
Even though these important people are gone, they and their legacies will not be forgotten.
- Bruce Nickerson
Bruce Nickerson was a legal lion who spent decades winning cases for gay men throughout California who had been discriminated against and falsely arrested by law enforcement in gay-sex sting operations. One of his victories was a historic ruling 2016 in Long Beach, when a superior court judge threw out a lewd conduct arrest by the police. READ MORE
- Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson, who was popular with LGBTQ audiences, earned three Emmy nominations including a 2016 win for his performance opposite Galifianakis in “Baskets.”
Anderson played Christine Baskets, the mother of twin sons played by Galifianakis, and based the character on his mother, Ora Zella Anderson. READ MORE
- Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu, a leader of the nonviolent anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and a vocal LGBTQ+ rights supporter, died Sunday in Cape Town. He was 90.
Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work against anti-Black apartheid laws that segregated South Africa based on race and maintained a decades-long system of oppression against Black South Africans. The Anglican reverend compared anti-LGBTQ+ laws and persecution to the apartheid laws he worked to dismantle in his home country. READ MORE
- Urvashi Vaid
Longtime activist Urvashi Vaid, a leader of many LGBTQ+ and other social justice organizations, has died at age 63.
She spent 10 years at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in various positions. In 1990, as its executive director, she made a statement at President George H.W. Bush’s speech on AIDS with a sign: “Talk Is Cheap, AIDS Funding Is Not.” Her critique made waves, disrupting the press conference and shedding light on the failures of the Bush administration. READ MORE
- Judi Doyle
Judi Doyle was one of the three founders of Long Beach Pride. She realized that nothing quite says Gay Pride like wearing a bulletproof vest while marching in the Long Beach Pride Parade.
In 1985, Doyle, who was president of Long Beach Pride, received a threatening voice message. A few weeks before the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, Doyle listened to a message on the answering machine at the Long Beach Pride office. The caller told Doyle she would be shot if she walked the parade route along Ocean Boulevard. READ MORE
- Leslie Jordan
Leslie Jordan won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006 for his role as Beverley Leslie in “Will & Grace.”
The Tennessee native and 4-foot 11-inch actor also is remembered for playing Phil on the Mayim Bialik sitcom “Call Me Kat” and outrageous actor Ashley Gilbert on “American Horror Story: Roanoke.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan became a social media sensation with his hilarious Instagram videos. Jordan began many of his videos by saying, “Hello, my fellow hunker downers.” READ MORE
- Patrick Haggerty
Patrick Haggerty faced a moment of truth.
In the early 1970s, while preparing to record his first country music album, Haggerty had to make a choice: Would he be an industry-friendly country singer and remain in the closet, or would he use music to make a statement about being a gay man living in a discriminatory world.
Haggerty chose the latter.
His first album, 1973’s “Lavender Country,” which also is the name of his band, is regarded as the first country album recorded by an out gay musician. READ MORE
- Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy was perhaps the most fan-beloved voice of Batman in the animated history of the character.
Starting in the early 1990s, Conroy, who identified as gay, appeared in more than 400 TV episodes as the voice of the Dark Knight.
Conroy often played opposite Mark Hamill, who regularly voiced the Joker in animated projects, including “Batman: The Killing Joke.” READ MORE
