August 27

1873 – Arkansas lowers the penalty for sodomy from death to 5-21 years. This is the last death law for sodomy in the nation.

1873 – Maud Allan (d.1956) was a pianist-turned-actor, dancer and choreographer who is remembered for her "famously impressionistic mood settings"

She was born as Beulah Maude Durrant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sources give contradictory dates for her year of birth, ranging from 1873 through 1880. She spent her early years in San Francisco, California, moving to Germany in 1895 to study piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. She later changed her name, prompted in part by the scandal surrounding her brother Theodore Durrant, who was hanged in 1898 for the sensational murder of two women in San Francisco. Allan never recuperated from the trauma of this event which had an effect on her for the rest of her life. The execution was immediately followed by her abandonment of piano-playing and the development of a new means of self-expression in dance.

In 1900, in need of money, Allan is said to have illustrated an encyclopedia for women titled Illustriertes Konversations-Lexikon der Frau. Shortly thereafter, she began dancing professionally. Although athletic, and having great imagination, she had little formal dance training. She was once compared to professional dancer and legend Isadora Duncan, which greatly enraged her, as she disliked Duncan.

She designed and often sewed her own costumes, which were creative. In 1906 her production "Vision of Salomé" debuted in Vienna. Based loosely on Oscar Wilde's play, Salomé, her version of the Dance of the Seven Veils became famous (and to some notorious) and she was billed as "The Salomé Dancer". Her book My Life and Dancing was published in 1908 and that year she took England by storm in a tour in which she did 250 performances in less than one year.

In 1910, she left Europe to travel. Over the next five years she visited the United States, Australia, Africa, and Asia. In 1915 she starred as "Demetra" in the silent film, The Rug Maker's Daughter.

In 1918 the British MP Noel Pemberton Billing, in his own journal, Vigilante, published an article, "The Cult of the Clitoris" which implied that Allan, then appearing in her Vision of Salome, was a lesbian associate of German wartime conspirators.

Allan sued Billing for criminal libel, based on the following counts:

• The act of publishing a defamatory article about Maud Allan and J. T. Grein, her impresario.
• The act, a separate offense, of including obscenities within the article.

This led to a sensational court case, at which Billing represented himself. Lord Alfred Douglas also testified in Billing's favour. Allan lost the case. The trial became entangled in obscenity charges brought forth by the state against the performance given by Allan in her dance. She was accused of practising many of the sexually charged acts depicted (or implied) in Wilde's writings herself, including necrophilia.

At this time, the Lord Chamberlain's ban on public performances of Wilde's play was still in place in England, and thus the Salomé dance was at risk. Her brother's crimes were also dredged up to suggest there was a background of sexual insanity in her family.

1943 – Luis Caballero Holguin, born in Bogota on this date (d.1995) was a painter, watercolorist, pastellist and lithographer. Caballero is known for depicting masculine fugures, and his works often include both erotic and violent imagery.

Caballero was raised in a conservative Catholic household. He studied at the Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia) in 1961-62, where he met and was influenced by etcher artist Juan Antonio Roda and art critic Marta Traba. He continued his academic studies in Paris at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, graduating in 1964. It is during this time that he discovered Willem Dekooning and Francis Bacon. Back in Colombia, in 1968, he won First Prize at the First Ibero-American Biennal of Medellin.

Caballero returned to Paris where he found more freedom in 1969 and lived there until 1995, when he returned to Bogota for a special exhibition of his work at the Luis Angel Arango Library.

His figurative works are usually large scale mixed media oil, ink, watercolor washes on either canvas or paper, sometimes incorporating fabrics or rope in a limited range of muted sepia colors, often representing male nude figures, in a contemporary style marked by classic training.

His work was briefly censored by those who considered it “obscene, pornographic and immoral”, even though Caballero himself said: “Maybe the creative impulse is the same as the erotic impulse,” and: “I paint the bodies I would like to possess.” 

He died in June of 1995 at the age of fifty two.

1947 – The Washington Post editorializes in favor of an expanded sodomy law for the District of Columbia, complaining that the city had become 'more or less a haven for sexual perverts and degenerates.'

1951 – California Supreme Court ruled that the mere congregation of homosexuals at the Black Cat Bar was not sufficient grounds for suspending the bar’s liquor license. The Black Cat Bar or Black Cat Café was a bar in San Francisco, California. It originally opened in 1906 and closed in 1921. The Black Cat re-opened in 1933 and operated for another 30 years. During its second run of operation, it was a hangout for Beats and bohemians but over time began attracting more and more of a gay clientele. The Black Cat closed down for good in February 1964.  The site is now the location of Bocadillos, a tapas-style restaurant. On December 15, 2007, a plaque commemorating the Black Cat and its place in San Francisco history was placed at the site.

1952 – Today's the birthday of Paul Reubens, (d.2023), best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, he starred in the television series Pee-wee's Playhouse from 1986 until 1990. He also starred in an HBO special called The Pee-wee Herman Show, the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure and the 1988 movie Big Top Pee-wee.

In July 1991, after deciding to take a few years' sabbatical from Pee-wee, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee. The arrest postponed Reubens's engagement in big projects until 1999, when he appeared in the big-budget Mystery Men and Blow and started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee. He has since gone on to take roles in darker themed movies like Blow.

Reubens appeared as the Pee-wee Herman character for the first time since 1992 at Spike TV's 2007 Guys Choice Awards in June 2007.

1961 – Tom Ford is an American fashion designer. He is well known within the fashion industry for his legendary turnaround of Gucci, one of the most influential fashion houses in the world.

Ford was born in Austin, Texas. After graduating from the Parsons School of Design in 1986, initially having studied architecture, he took design jobs with Cathy Hardwick and Perry Ellis. In 1990, he was recruited by Gucci to design women's ready-to-wear, and Ford later moved on to become the chief director for Gucci. Ford called french editor Carine Roitfeld and photgrapher Mario Testino and asked them to help him revamp the old fashioned house. His own film star looks probably helped re-invest Gucci with its lost glamour. By 1999, Ford had helped propel Gucci into a fashion powerhouse. When Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent, Ford was named the creative director of that label as well.

Tom Ford is openly gay, and he and his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together since 1986. Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. Buckley was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 and after his recovery the two moved from New York to Italy.

In 2004, Ford stepped down or was asked to step down from both of his positions, amid rumours he wished to direct films. Following his departure from Gucci (and YSL), Ford opened the fashion house, Tom Ford. Ford began with accessories; his line of eyewear was the first to become successful. The Tom Ford line now covers menswear, beauty, eyewear, and both men and women's accessories. In 2006, he also established a fragrance line called Tom Ford Beauty.

He gained a lot of publicity when in 2007 he stripped down for a new boxing-themed photo shoot in the November issue of Out magazine and jumped in the shower with two burly boy models. (The above is a "before" shot.) Ford said he made sure to compliment his fellow models' natural endowments in the shower but assured the mag that it didn't make the pair uncomfortable. "They sense from me that I'm not going to give one of them a blow job," he said. "I just don't do that."

In March 2005, Ford announced the opening of his film production company, FADE TO BLACK. In 2009, Ford made his film directorial debut with A Single Man, which was based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode. The screenplay was adapted by Ford and David Scearce. Ford also produced the film, which premiered on September 11, 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Lion. Colin Firth, who plays the protagonist George, was awarded the Volpi Cup as Best Actor for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actor's Guild award. He won the BAFTA for Best-Actor in a Leading role. Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting actress at the Globes. Tom Ford was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2009 including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

1964 – Stephan Elliott is an Australian film director and screenwriter.

Elliott began his career as an assistant director working in the boom of the Australian film industry of the 1980s.

His feature films, Frauds, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Welcome to Woop Woop were all officially selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, with "Priscilla" winning the Prix du public as well as an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, among numerous other accolades.

In 2004, Elliott was involved in a skiing accident which saw him hospitalised for several months. He credits the accident with rediscovering his sense of humour. This may go part way to explaining why, in 2007 Elliott worked with Fred Nassiri to create one of the most expensive music videos of all time. Shot in over 15 countries, with seven directors the song "Love Sees No Colour" aspires to spread a message of peace and love.

His latest film Easy Virtue, was written with co-writer Sheridan Jobbins, and is based on the Noël Coward play of the same name. He is currently in the post-production stage of his next film, A Few Best Men starring Xavier Samuel and Olivia Newton-John.

Other writing credits include 'the book' (i.e.: the script) for the stage play of 'Priscilla' which premiered in 2007 at Sydney's Lyric Theatre in Star City to excellent reviews.

Elliott came out as gay during his presentation at the inaugural AACTA Awards in Sydney on 31 January 2012.

"I've been offshore for many, many years for another reason," he said. "Basically it was because I was scared of who I was. I basically was scared that I was gay. Even after Priscilla I stayed offshore basically because I was frightened of my family. And tonight I'm coming out."

1965 – David Scott Dibble is an activist, Minnesota politician, and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 61, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

Dibble first became involved in politics in the mid-1980s working on issues concerning the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) communities including advocacy for those with HIV/AIDS. Dibble was an activist and organizer for It's Time, Minnesota, a statewide LGBT rights organization that helped pass the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act. His involvement led to organizing on issues of social and economic justice—especially in the areas of neighborhood livability, transportation, housing, energy and the environment.

He later worked as an aide to Minneapolis City Council Member Doré Mead for about 6 years. In 2000, Dibble ran for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, becoming the third openly gay legislator to serve in the Minnesota Legislature.

Following his leadership in the campaign against the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota, he alongside House Representative Karen Clark and several other colleagues in the legislature, proposed an amendment during the 2013 legislative session in the state of Minnesota to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed and same-sex marriage took effect on August 1, 2013.

Dibble is openly gay. His husband is Richard Leyva. They married in California before the passage of Proposition 8. He is one of three gay members of the Minnesota Legislature, along with Representatives Karen Clark and Susan Allen, also DFL members from Minneapolis.

He is a runner and has completed several marathons.

1973 – In New York City the local 6th police precinct defeated the New York Matts in a softball game. Matts was short for Mattachines, a gay organization. It attracted approximately 1,000 spectators and raised $1,000 for mentally disabled children. Geraldo Rivera was the first base umpire.

1987 – An Ohio appellate court upholds the public indecency conviction of two men for sex in a closed stall of a public restroom solely because they had not locked the door.

1994 – Jendrik Sigwart is a German Musical singer and actor, who appeared on Eurovision Song Quest.

Jendrik was born in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. He grew up in Hamburg-Volksdorf, Hamburg, Germany and is the second eldest of four siblings. As a teenager Jendrik learned to play piano and violin. He also plays the ukelele. Later he studied Musical singing and acting for four years at the Institute for Music at the University of Applied Sciences of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany.

While he was a University Student he discovered his own homosexuality.

Jendrik Sigwart appeared in various musicals, including German productions of My Fair Lady, Hairspray and Peter Pan.

Since September 25 2016 he ihas been publishing his own Music on YouTube, where he was found by German Eurovision Song Contest Representatives of NDR, Hamburg. In February 2021 NDR announced that Jendrik Sigwart will be the Singer for Germany on the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands.

As of May 2021 Jendrik Sigwart has been in a stable relationship with his Boyfriend Jan Rogler for more than 4 years.

1998 – At the 16th Annual Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Symposium in Chicago, attorney Aaron Greenberg argues that if the gay gene is isolated, parents should have the right to abort a gay fetus or have its genetic makeup altered.

2009 – On this date, Gay Rights pioneer Del Martin died. (b.1921) The founder of the 1950s activist organization The Daughters of Bilitis is survived by her companion of almost 60 years Phyllis Lyon. The two were married on June 16, 2008 in the first same-sex wedding to take place in San Francisco after the California Supreme Court's decision in In re Marriage Cases legalized same-sex marriage in California.