Mr. CMC Carnival - San Francisco Gay Leather Event (Predecessor to Folsom Fair) - Titleholders - 1971-1987

Jack Fritscher has written so many great records of gay culture, and one of the things he has documented is the CMC Carnival event (see his writing on the topic here)
I hadn't seen a list of all the titleholders for "Mr. CMC" so I looked into the Bay Area Reporter archives and constructed the following list. Many of these men were local bartenders who were very well liked in the community, and there are also some guys from Los Angeles

Regarding dates, it seems that CMC Carnival was held in mid-November, so the winner of the Mr. CMC contest would win the title in November of a particular year and then hold the title through the next year until the next November. I'm listing the date according to the year in which the event occured, though the actual period of title-holding mostly stretched through the following year. (So maybe the titleholding date should be 1 year later? I'm not sure. BAR writers don't seem to be consistent in saying whether the titleholder was considered to be Mr CMC of the year in which he won or the year in which most of his titleholding period fell)

  • 1971 -- Ken Tabb (psuedonym?) (bartender at Polynesian Mary's and The Bodyshop and the Alley Cat, Trolley and The Frolic Room (sponsored by Cell Block - a leather shop at Boot Camp bar))

  • 1972 -- Norman Hughes (of Pendulum bar) (articles includes images, and also 1st runner up who was Doug Mallory of Febe's bar and Doug McDonald of Boot Camp; (photo pg.11) (maybe 4/11/51 to 8/3/86 if it is the same guy in AIDS Memorial Quilt (who also lived in SF))

  • 1973 -- Ken Leetzow; Bartender and very well known and well-liked guy around SF who was mentioned often in BAR (25 Jan 1945 - 5:30PM 25 March 1988)

  • 1974 -- Bill "Quantas" Coates (very popular bartender at "Ramrod") (5 Sept 1943 - 11 Dec 1986)

  • 1975 -- Brian ?? (not sure of the identity here, need to research further) (first runner up was the very well-known leatherman and porn star Val Martin)

  • 1976 -- Chuck Quinlan (from Los Angeles and sponsored by Stud bar in LA)(he was a model who appears in this issue of Honcho)

  • 1977 -- Tim O'Brien (who appeared in a porn film called Twelve at Noon)

  • 1978 -- Jim Duncan (sports columnist, photographer; founder of Gay Athletic Club)

  • 1979 -- David Lindsey (Bartender at Arena (all BAR mentions) (his boyfriend = Bill Bonney (24 Dec 1941 to 17 June 1985) who was bartender at Giraffe, Arena, Balcony))((all BAR Mentions for Bill)

  • 1980 -- John Hyer (he was a very well-known local chef and bartender in SF and Russian River) (all BAR Mentions) (23 July 1947 to 8 Aug 1988)

  • 1981 -- Roger Morton ( (worked at The Stables))

  • 1982 -- Chris Winkel who was also 1st runner up for IML (all BAR mentions as Chris Winkel and further mentions as Christian Winkel) (appears to still be living in Northern California) ; 1st Runner Up = Ron (Arena bar,) 2nd Runner Up was Jim Gilman of The Caldron

  • 1983 -- Michael Merriott; bartender at Arena Bar, who was very well known in the community and did lots of AIDS fundraising (also Mr. South of Market and first runner up for IML 1984) - he passed away in 1985 - photo , quilt panel (all BAR mentions) (14 Nov 1949 to 5 Oct 1985)

  • 1984 -- David Stoll (well known bartender at PS Restaurant and Casa De Cristal during the height of Polk Street and then on to Arena bar and Eagle bars in SOMA) (Nov 1984 - Jan 2004) (NUMEROUS Bay Area Reporter mentions)

  • 1985 -- Ernie Viola (very popular Eagle bartender and community figure) (all BAR mentions (many)) (20 Dec 1944 to 10 June 1990)((1st runner up was Richard Ruggiero of Powerhouse)(1949 to 13 June 1988), 2nd Runner up was John DiMeo; Pete Pettine (25 Feb 1950 to 21 May 1991) also participated and he became Mr. SF Eagle and Mr. Northern California Drummer 1987 and also did lots of AIDS fundraising, including performing as Elvis in Mark Abramson and Jim Cvtaniech's "Men Behind Bars")

  • 1986 -- Duke Armstrong( (local community and political leader) (all BAR mentions) (14 Sept 1949 to 12 Dec 1988)

  • 1987 -- James Buhler (who also won Leather Daddy's Boy title and was involved in many community events) (all BAR mentions here (many)) (happily still living)

    • Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Fire Island Fever (1979)

    Image
    This awesome Hand In Hand Films movie has great footage of Fire Island Pines in 1979. This is the IMDB listing . It was filmed at 417 Ocean Walk ( which has since lost its pool , maybe in a hurricane?). Looks like the neighboring house, what would have been 415 or 416 Ocean Walk, has disappeared . It also has great interior and exterior shots of The Monster in Cherry Grove . In the opening Christmas Party scene, the pianist is Johnny Savoy, who was part owner of the cabaret clubs "Waverly Waverly" and "Oh Johnny ". George Sardi is one of the party hosts and sings/speaks an incredibly campy song in a sequin jacket. Garry Hunt, who plays the character Jack is really charming and funny in his performance and does an excellent voiceover. I also like the actor Larry Paige , who is also in the movie Dune Buddies. When Will Seagars appears as a poster come-alive, they use the song "Love Attack" , by Ferrara, as the theme song. The film is currently poste...
    Read more

    Making Love - 1982

    Image
    This isn't really Gay Oral History, but it's somewhat tangentially related to gay history, or just a funny little fact. "Making Love" (1982) isn't a great movie, but it served a purpose in it's time towards gay visibility and educating straight people about the experiences of gay men in marriages. In the final scene, Michael Ontkean, the gay husband, and his ex wife, Rachel Jackson, part after she show's him the life she now has with her new husband and child, showing that everything's turned out ok, despite their divorce, and giving a happy ending to the film. The scene takes place in the front yard of her large, suburban home, showing that she is comfortable and content. I noticed that the house that's used for the scene is one that I'd coincidentally seen recently for sale on Zillow, in the Hollywood Hills (although in the film, you get no sense that the Hollywood Hills, with spectactular views, is all around them. The house is loca...
    Read more

    Michael Fesco Interview on Flamingo and The Saint

    Image
    life in the different "societies" of gay Manhattan pre-Stonewall (the east side and the west side and the village etc) when Stonewall happened, hearing about it and running over to see the scene the etiquette of gay life pre-Stonewall as "very sophisticated" with manners, having to know people, no club scene (formal clothes, dressing for dinner parties, a closed world), "it was such a society", you had to make your way in the gay world the opening up of gay life post-Stonewall with clubs and big bars and a much larger (and less formal) social world clubs staying open late, clubs where you take your shirt off and feel safe and free the creation of the Ice Palace at Cherry Grove on Fire Island removal of laws preventing men from dancing with each other around 1970 (previously grounds for arrest) and end to the ubiquity of police harrasment of gay bars/cubs the relaxation of formality in the gay world and Michael Fesco wearing "dungarees" ...
    Read more