Author Description

Gean Harwood's autobiography of his long life together with Bruhs Mero is a moving and, at times, frightening journey through the gay and lesbian scene of New York City from 1927 to the present. Covering Harwood's childhood, the couple's professional life in the arts, the fear and repression of the McCarthy era, and Gean and Bruhs's triumphant "coming out" in the eighties, The Oldest Gay Couple in America is an intimate look at the worlds of dance and theater and the strife and fierce joy of two lives intertwined. With style and wit, Harwood chronicles his encounters with titans of the Golden Age of Hollywood - Mae West, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, and other screen stars. He details his partner's training and performances in the blossoming Manhattan world of modern dance in the mid-twentieth century and profiles the innovators and enduring artists of this burgeoning art form. This is a classic tale of love and loyalty in a lifestyle frequently dismissed as focusing on physical rather than spiritual beauty. It is about two people who shared a lifetime commitment and who, despite turmoil and discrimination, weathered life's storms to emerge stronger and wiser. Before Bruhs was fully incapacitated by Alzheimer's disease, he and Gean became the toast of the New York gay scene. Harwood chronicles their late emergence as spokespersons for older gays and as role models for the young.