By Michael Kearns

Leisure suits, pet rocks, disco balls. Sonny and Cher and the Son of Sam. Kent State. Nixon in China. Patty Hearst, Mark Spitz, Jim Jones. The Godfather, Fear of Flying, The Female Eunuch. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Stairway to Heaven.” The death of Elvis and the Beatles' break-up. People magazine and HBO.

If you're conjuring the ‘70s, you're on track. But how well do you know the Gay ‘70s? Test your '70s Informed Queer Rating to see if you qualify as a Gay History Boy.

1. What diva sang a disco version of “(The Sun Will Come Out) Tomorrow?”
a) Ethel Merman
b) Sylvester
c) Grace Jones
d) Maria Callas

2. What was the real name of a former schoolteacher whose nom de porn was “Casey Donovan?”
a) Calvin Klein
b) John Calvin Culver
c) Al Parker
d) Parker Stevenson

3. Who was the Mayor of Castro Street?
a) Charles Pierce
b) Harvey Fierstein
c) Harvey Milk
d) Nancy Pelosi

4. What play was Sal Mineo rehearsing when he was stabbed to death in the parking structure of his West Hollywood apartment?
a) Cats
b) The Boys In The Band
c) Tea and Sympathy
d) P.S. Your Cat Is Dead

5. Who was Liza Minnelli not married to in the '70s?
a) Peter Allen
b) Mark Gero
c) Bruce Vilanch
d) Jack Haley

6. What filmmaking team created a trilogy of gay male porn flicks?
a) Mitchell Brothers
b) Gage Brothers
c) The Osmonds
d) Marx Brothers

7. What defense did Dan White, the killer of the Mayor of San Francisco, use?
a) The popper defense
b) The brownie defense
c) The insanity defense
d) The twinkie defense

8. Who attempted to kill President Ford?
a) Betty Ford
b) Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme
c) Lana Turner
d) Lenny and Squiggy

9. What former beauty queen campaigned in Florida against gay rights?
a) Anita O'Day
b) Anna Nicole Smith
c) Ted Haggard
d) Anita Bryant

10. The TV miniseries Roots tackled what subject?
a) Gardening
b) Black history
c) The Jacksons
d) Suzanne Somers' hair

11. What character was not portrayed by the Village People?
a) An Indian
b) A cowboy
c) A leatherman
d) A Roman Catholic priest

12. Bette Midler and Barry Manilow performed at what New York landmark?
a) The Anvil
b) Carnegie Hall
c) Continental Baths
d) Stonewall Inn

13. Of the following, what did not define the gay male clone of the '70s?
a) A moustache
b) A plaid shirt
c) A cock ring
d) A feather boa

14. What was used to communicate specific sexual tastes?
a) Tattoos
b) T-shirts
c) Sign language
d) Colored handkerchiefs

15. What film confirmed John Travolta's superstar status?
a) Cruising
b) Little Miss Sunshine
c) Grease
d) Crisco

16. What '70s television show did not feature a closeted gay actor?
a) McMillan & Wife
b) The Brady Bunch
c) Hollywood Squares
d) Sesame Street

17. What actor became a gay icon, largely because of a famous film shower scene?
a) Janet Leigh
b) Gene Kelly
c) Brad Davis
d) Shelley Winters

18. What was the pseudonym used by The Happy Hustler?
a) Jan Michael Vincent
b) Tracey Grant Ullman
c) Grant Tracy Saxon
d) Traci Lords

19. What gay writer created a series of books that initially appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle?
a) Truman Capote
b) Gertrude Stein
c) Armistead Maupin
d) Jacqueline Susann

20. The nickname “Deep Throat” came out of what ‘70s scandal?
a) The Vatican's refusal to allow female priests
b) George Carlin's “seven dirty words”
c) Jonestown
d) Watergate

21. What Broadway show illuminated the life of a powerful First Lady?
a) Annie
b) Evita
c) Torch Song Trilogy
d) Gypsy

22. Who streaked the Academy Awards in 1974?
a) Robert Mapplethorpe
b) Robert Opel
c) Linda Lovelace
d) Burt Reynolds

23. Name the Dance Fever host who sued Merv Griffin for sexual harassment.
a) Martha Graham
b) Matthew Bourne
c) Deney Terrio
d) Bob Fosse

24. What sports figure came out in the '70s and wrote a book about it?
a) Billie Jean King
b) Martina Navratilova
c) Dinah Shore
d) Dave Kopay

25. What movie attempted to capitalize on the gay ‘70s?
a) Psycho
b) Can't Stop The Music
c) Sybil
d) Stage Door

ANSWERS

1.: c
2.: b
3.: c
4.: d
5.: c
6: b
7.: d
8.: b
9.: d
10.: b
11.: d
12.: c
13.: d
14.: d
15.: c
16.: d
17.: c
18.: c
19.: c
20.: d
21.: b
22.: b
23.: c
24.: d
25.: b

If you answered between 20-25 questions correctly, you are probably ready to go out on a date with Danny Bonaduce. If you got 15 to 20 right, you likely still have a few 33 rpm record albums in storage. If you only managed to nail 10-15, don't attempt a lengthy conversation with anyone over 40. If you got less than 10 right, you probably aren't reading this.

Michael Kearns can be reached at www.michaelkearns.net.