And of course the American (male) writer Gay Talese, born in 1932. I don’t believe his Gay is short for anything.
OMG!
I can’t believe no one said this:
“West Side Story” - the movie
“I feel pretty,
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay”
And that Sam Cooke song is ironic, since he could have been talking about Greenwich Village…
“Let me tell you ‘bout a place
somewhere up New York way
where the people are so gay
twistin’ the night away”
Here’s a more recent one. The musical number Happy Working Song from the movie Enchanted contains the following stanza:
And you’ll trill a cheery tune in the tub
As we scrub a stubborn mildew stain
Lug a hairball from the shower drain
To the gay refrain
Of a happy working song
Exactly my point, note I said HER version. Diana still felt comfortable enough with the word to release the song. You will note back in the 70s even the Flintstones specials changed the word “gay” to “grand” for a few of the specials, before giving up and going back to the original lyrics.
In the 80s gay basically became synonymous with AIDS. Though usage of the word gay was sporadic at best in the 70s, it became very difficult to use in the age of AIDS.
Of course till gay today which has taken on a new meaning as Gay=Lame
BTW, my example from Enchanted is from the year 2007. I think it wins.
I’m have here my childhood copy of The Charlie Brown Dictionary (c.1973), which now resides on The Littlest Briston’s bookshelf.
It’s a simple thing, really – for most words, it’s just
“Word in question”
“Word used in a sentence”
“Alternate sentence giving contextual definition”
According to Schultz:
If he’s all titular and shit he ain’t gay. Just sayin’. Tits Rule!
nm someone got this one
I think you’re thinking about the movie Next Stop, Greenwich Village. Specifically, the scene in which the main characters’ mother (played by Shelley Winters!) accidentally crashes a party he’s holding in his GV apartment.
Mother (Winters): Who are you?
Black gay guy: I’m Leonard Bernstein.
Mother: YOU’RE jewish?
Black gay guy: No, darlin’, I’m gay!
Mother: Well, I don’t care how you feel, but you’re a real good dancer.
Movie was released in '76 (though it takes place in the early 50s.)
I happen to know a guy named “Gaylord.” He’s in mid 60s though, so he’d have been born in the late 40s/early 50s.