Randy Shilts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Randy Shilts
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Shilts in 1987
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| Born | August 8, 1951 Davenport, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | February 17, 1994 (aged 42) Guerneville, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
| Alma mater | University of Oregon |
| Period | 1975–1993 |
| Genre | History |
| Notable work | The Mayor of Castro Street And the Band Played On< Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military |
| Spouse | Barry Barbieri |
Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951 – February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. He studied journalism at the University of Oregon. Shilts then worked as a reporter for The Advocate and the San Francisco Chronicle. He also worked for television stations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the 1980s, he became known as the first openly gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. His books covered important topics. These included the life of activist Harvey Milk and the history of the AIDS epidemic. He also wrote about unfair treatment of gay and lesbian people in the military.
Shilts received many awards for his work. He was honored by the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He also received an award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association. Shilts was diagnosed with HIV in 1985. He died from an illness related to AIDS in 1994 when he was 42 years old.
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Randy Shilts's Early Life
Randy Shilts was born on August 8, 1951, in Davenport, Iowa. He grew up in Aurora, Illinois, with five brothers. His family was conservative and working-class.
He studied journalism at the University of Oregon. There, he worked on the student newspaper, the Oregon Daily Emerald. He was the managing editor. While in college, he publicly shared that he was gay. He even ran for a student office with the slogan "Come out for Shilts."
Randy Shilts was one of the first openly gay journalists. He wrote for a major U.S. newspaper. His articles often focused on issues important to gay and lesbian people. This included the fight for equal rights.
His Career in Journalism
Shilts finished college at the top of his class in 1975. But it was hard for him to find a full-time job because he was openly gay. He wrote for a gay news magazine called The Advocate. He left that job in 1978.
Later, he worked as a freelance journalist. In 1981, the San Francisco Chronicle hired him as a national correspondent. He became the first openly gay reporter to cover gay issues for a major American newspaper.
The AIDS illness became widely known that same year. Shilts soon focused on reporting about this new disease. He covered its medical, social, and political effects. In the early days of the AIDS crisis, he spoke out. He urged leaders to take the emerging illness seriously. In 1984, Shilts supported some public health measures. These were meant to help control the spread of the disease.
Randy Shilts's Important Books
Besides his many news articles, Shilts wrote three books. These books are very well-known.
The Mayor of Castro Street
His first book was The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. It is a biography of Harvey Milk. Milk was an openly gay politician in San Francisco. He was sadly killed by a political rival in 1978.
This book was groundbreaking. At the time, the idea of a political biography about a gay person was new. Shilts wanted to tell the story of the gay rights movement. He used Harvey Milk's life as a way to do this.
And the Band Played On
Shilts's second book was And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. It was published in 1987. This book won the Stonewall Book Award. It sold over 700,000 copies by 2004.
The book made Shilts a trusted expert on AIDS. He was even the main speaker at a big international AIDS conference in 1989. And the Band Played On is a very detailed account of the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the United States.
The book was translated into seven languages. It was also made into an HBO film in 1993. Many famous actors were in the movie. These included Matthew Modine, Richard Gere, Anjelica Huston, and Ian McKellen. The film won many awards, including an Emmy Award in 1994.
Conduct Unbecoming
His last book was Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. It came out in 1993. This book looked at how gay and lesbian people faced unfair treatment in the military.
Shilts and his helpers did more than a thousand interviews for this book. He even dictated the last chapter from his hospital bed.
Illness and Passing Away
Randy Shilts was diagnosed with HIV in 1985. He later said he waited to get his test results until he finished writing And the Band Played On. He worried knowing the results would affect his writing.
In 1992, Shilts became very ill with a lung infection. The next year, he was diagnosed with another serious illness. In an interview in 1993, Shilts said that dealing with HIV had made him stronger. He said it helped him see what was truly important in life.
Even though he was often homebound and needed oxygen, he attended the movie screening of And the Band Played On in August 1993.
Shilts passed away at age 42 on February 17, 1994. He was in San Francisco, California. His partner, Barry Barbieri, his mother, and his brothers survived him. He was buried in Guerneville.
Randy Shilts's Legacy
Shilts left many of his papers, notes, and research files to the San Francisco Public Library. These documents help people learn about history.
A fellow reporter said that Shilts "rewrote history." He saved an important part of history from being forgotten. Historian Garry Wills said And the Band Played On was as important for gay rights as other famous books were for feminism and environmentalism.
NAMES Project founder Cleve Jones called Shilts "a hero." He said Shilts's books were "without question the most important works of literature affecting gay people."
After he died, his friend Linda Alband explained why Shilts wrote. She said he wanted people to understand what it was like to be gay. He believed that if people knew, things could change.
In 1998, Shilts was honored at the University of Oregon School of Journalism. They recognized him for not letting society limit him. As an openly gay man, he created a new path in journalism. He changed how news media covered AIDS.
A reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle said that Shilts's only monument is his work. He is still seen as the most important writer about 20th-century American gay history.
In 2006, a short film called Reporter Zero was made about Shilts. It included interviews with his friends and colleagues.
A new biography about Shilts, The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts, was published in 2019.
In 2014, Shilts was honored on the Rainbow Honor Walk in San Francisco. This walk celebrates LGBTQ people who have made important contributions.
In 2019, Shilts was one of the first fifty "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" added to the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor. This is located at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
In 2024, it was announced that a new biography about Shilts's life would be written. The author said Shilts has a "substantial and complicated legacy" that is still important today.
