Dan Savage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Savage
Savage at Inforum, 2013
Born	Daniel Keenan Savage (1964-10-07) October 7, 1964 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other names	Keenan Hollahan
Education	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BFA)
Occupation	Author, journalist, newspaper editor, activist
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Terry Miller ​ (m. 2005)​
Children	1

Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, journalist, and activist for LGBTQ+ rights. He writes Savage Love, a popular advice column that is shared in many places. In 2010, Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, started the It Gets Better Project. This project helps young LGBTQ+ people who might be struggling. He has also worked as a theater director, sometimes using the name Keenan Hollahan.

Dan Savage was born in Chicago to Catholic parents. He went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and earned a degree in acting. After living in West Berlin for a few years, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin. There, he met Tim Keck, who co-founded The Onion. When Keck moved to Seattle, Washington, Savage followed. He became an advice columnist for The Stranger, a newspaper Keck started. Savage has since become a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. He shares his views through his column, Savage Love, and its podcast version, the Savage Lovecast.

Beyond his writing and podcasts, Savage supports ideas that aim to improve society and works to advance the rights of young LGBTQ+ people. He founded the It Gets Better Project with his husband, Terry Miller, whom he married in 2005. Savage has appeared on many TV shows and news programs, including Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Anderson Cooper 360.

Early Life and Education

Dan Savage was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Judith "Judy" (née Schneider), worked at Loyola University Chicago. He has German and Irish family roots. He is the third of four children, with two brothers and one sister. Savage was raised as a Roman Catholic. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, which was a Catholic high school for boys thinking of becoming priests. Savage has said he doesn't follow a specific religion anymore, but he still feels connected to Catholic culture.

Savage went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting. He lived in West Berlin from late 1988 to 1990.

Career Highlights

Writing the Savage Love Column

In 1991, Savage lived in Madison, Wisconsin. He worked as a night manager at a video store. He became friends with Tim Keck, who co-founded The Onion. Keck announced he was moving to Seattle to start a local newspaper called The Stranger. Savage jokingly suggested, "Make sure your paper has an advice column—everyone claims to hate them, but everyone seems to read them." Savage wrote a sample column, and Keck surprisingly offered him the job.

In an interview, Savage shared that he started the column to give advice to all kinds of people. He noticed that many advice columnists didn't know how to respond to letters from gay people.

He has also written about health topics in his columns, such as the HPV vaccine.

Directing Theater Shows

As a theater director, Savage used the name Keenan Hollohan. He was a founder of Seattle's Greek Active Theater. This group often created new and different interpretations of classic plays. For example, they performed a version of Macbeth where both the main character and Lady Macbeth were played by actors of the opposite gender. In March 2001, he directed his own play called Egguus. This play was a funny version of the 1973 play Equus, but instead of horses, it focused on chickens.

Letters from the Earth (2003) was Savage's most recent play. It was a shorter version of Mark Twain's The Diary of Adam and Eve. Some critics, including The Stranger, didn't like the show.

Appearing in Media

Speaking at Illinois Wesleyan University, 2007

Besides writing his weekly column and books, Savage has been part of many other projects.

From 1994 to 1997, he had a weekly three-hour call-in show called Savage Love Live on Seattle's KCMU radio station. From 1998 to 2000, he wrote an advice column called Dear Dan for the news website abcnews.com.

He is now the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper The Stranger. Before this, he was the editor-in-chief. Savage also stars in Savage U on MTV. He often contributes to This American Life and Out magazine. He also acts as a "Real Time Real Reporter" on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. He has appeared many times on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. On these shows, he discusses LGBTQ+ political issues, like same-sex marriage and the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

In 2016, he was the first guest on Twice Removed, a podcast about family history. In that episode, Savage's family tree was explored.

The Savage Lovecast Podcast

The Savage Lovecast is a weekly audio podcast. It is based on the Savage Love column. You can find it on iTunes and the Stranger's website for free. In the podcast, Savage answers anonymous questions left by callers. He often calls people back if they leave their phone numbers, and these calls are part of the show. He also talks to doctors and other experts for answers to questions he calls "above my pay grade." There are often guest co-hosts on the show. It is usually one of the most popular podcasts in the iTunes "Health" category. It is also often in the top 20 of all podcasts. The A.V. Club listed the show as one of "The best podcasts of 2010" and later as one of "The best podcasts of 2013". The Atlantic also listed it as one of "The 50 Best Podcasts of 2016".

Personal Life

Dan Savage and Terry Miller's wedding at Seattle City Hall with Mayor Mike McGinn on December 9, 2012. This was the first day of same-sex marriage in Washington.

Savage married Terry Miller in Vancouver in 2005. In 2012, same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state. Savage and Miller were among the first couples to get marriage licenses there. They were married on December 9, 2012, at Seattle City Hall. The city hall opened on a Sunday just for the first same-sex weddings in Washington state. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and others attended. The couple has a son, whom they adopted as a baby around 1998. Savage wrote about adopting their son in his 1999 book The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant.

Important Causes

The It Gets Better Project

Savage speaking at Google about the It Gets Better Project

On September 21, 2010, Savage started the It Gets Better Project. This project encourages adults, both LGBTQ+ and allies, to share videos. These videos tell gay teenagers that life can get better after facing bullying or tough times. By November 2013, the project had over 50,000 videos made by users. These videos had been watched more than 50 million times.

Local Community Issues

Savage's role as editor of The Stranger has made him an important voice in Seattle politics. He has spoken out against rules that limit all-ages events, like the Teen Dance Ordinance.

Savage believes that closing down supervised dance venues for all ages can lead teens to boredom and risky activities. He said that places like Ground Zero and the Kirkland Teen Center are very helpful. They keep kids from hanging out in places like parking lots or friends' homes when parents are away.

His Views

Savage at the 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards, 2006

Savage generally holds liberal political views. He also has some independent and libertarian ideas. He often talks about political issues in his column. He encourages readers to get involved and share their opinions about politicians or public officials.

Dan Savage with his brother, Bill Savage, a Senior Lecturer in English at Northwestern University (2010)

Savage initially supported the Iraq War. He even suggested military action against other Middle Eastern countries. However, one week before the war started, Savage spoke against it. He felt that President George W. Bush could not make a strong enough case for the war. By 2005, he felt the situation was "hopeless" and supported bringing troops home right away.

His Published Works

Besides his advice column, Savage has written four books. He has also edited one book and written many opinion pieces for The New York Times.

Selected Awards

See also

In Spanish: Dan Savage para niños