Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-09-06
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Legendary Chicago businessman, activist Chuck Renslow dies
by Tracy Baim, Windy City Times
2017-06-29

This article shared 7361 times since Thu Jun 29, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Chuck Renslow, 87, a longtime pillar of the LGBTQ community in Chicago and around the world, has died after multiple long-term health issues.

Renslow reigned over a seven-decade empire, starting more than two dozen businesses—bars, discos, photo studios, health clubs, bathhouses, gay magazines and newspapers, hotels, restaurants and bookstores. He fostered organizations and dealt with Mafia and police payoffs, the Chicago Machine, anti-gay government policies, and controversy within the gay community.

Because of his businesses, he also knew celebrities from Marlene Dietrich to Rudolf Nureyev, from Divine to Sally Rand. He even helped with the Kinsey Institute's sex research.

The founder of International Mr. Leather, owner of Man's Country and the Gold Coast bar, publisher of the GayLife newspaper in the '80s, political activist, and much more was an out business owner since the '50s. He was a critical contributor to a wide range of political, social, business, health and other causes.

In the early '50s, Renslow founded Kris Studios, one of the earliest and most durable of the physique photography houses. He was an accomplished photographer, including of the ballet. His dance photography is in the Newberry Library dance collection in the Chuck Renslow Dance Photographs collection.

He was the publisher of Triumph, Mars and Rawhide Male magazines, publications mailed and shared across the country as the earliest ways gay men found each other. In 1965, he was a founder of Second City Motorcycle Club, the first such club not on the West Coast.

He opened Gold Coast, believed to be the first leather bar in the U.S., in Chicago in 1958. It closed in 1987, when it was known internationally as the oldest leather establishment in the world.

He was the founder of many bars and sex clubs since the '60s including Man's Country, which is still open in Andersonville. In the '70s, the bathhouse attracted top names on the "K-Y circuit."

For decades, he and his Renslow "family" ran Chicago's famous White Party, coinciding with his August birthday. He was reportedly the first to have a float in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade (a flatbed, a gazebo, and three drag queens).

Renslow had many partners over the years, among them Dom 'Etienne' Orejudos, who he was with more than 40 years and, and helped encourage Dom's work as the artist Etienne. He was also involved with Cliff Raven, Chuck Arnett, Sam 'Phil Andros' Steward, David Grooms and Ron Ehemann and encouraged them in their famous work too.

In 1979, he founded International Mr. Leather, which grew out of his Mr. Gold Coast contest and the experience he had managing A.A.U. physique competitions. When Dom 'Etienne' died, Renslow combined his collection of Eteinne's art with his own archives from his business and his life; Renslow and Tony DeBlase co-founded the Leather Archives & Museum in 1991. Renslow served as president for many years.

Renslow was inducted into the the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1991 and received dozens of awards from the gay and leather communities. He received The Leather Journal's lifetime achievement award and a Centurion Award as Leatherman of the Century.

He served on the board of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and was a U.S. representative to what was known then as the International Lesbian and Gay Association.

Renslow also was involved in newspapers, purchasing GayLife newspaper from its founder, Grant Ford, and publishing it for several years, until it folded in 1986.

Renslow was especially active in politics in the '70s and '80s, as the gay community gained clout. He was the founder of Prairie State Democratic Club in 1980, and they hosted events with top politicians from Chicago and Cook County, and even presidential candidates coming through the area. He pushed for the gay and lesbian civil-rights ordinance when it was first introduced in the City Council in the early '70s, and the initial executive order banning discrimination in Chicago city government, as issued by Mayor Jane Byrne.

Organizations he was involved in included Strike Against AIDS, Human Rights Campaign Fund, Metropolitan Business Association, Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Organization for Women, American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP, Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, Uptown Chamber of Commerce, 46th Ward Advisory Council and the 48th Ward Democratic Party Advisory Board.

He served as a Democratic Party 43rd Ward precinct captain for eight years, as a candidate for delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention (for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy), and within the 46th and 48th Ward Democratic Organizations.

His other bars and businesses have included the Chicago Eagle, Triumph Health Studios, Sparrows Lounge, Bistro Too, Zolar, The Club Baths, Center Stage and Pyramid.

In 1958, he was brought to a local court for the distribution and possession of material with "excessive genital delineation." Unlike some gays, Renslow did not passively wait for a conviction. He and his attorneys fought back, including as evidence nude statues in Chicago. In 1964 the Post Office Department also brought Kris Studios up on charges of pornography. The studios did not use the more common strategy of saying the materials were art; they just denied they were pornography, and the judge agreed that the human body itself, in posing straps, was not porn.

Renslow was born in 1929, raised in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, and graduated from Lane Technical High School.

Preserving history

The Leather Archives & Museum staff and board issued this statement, in part:

"As LA&M's co-founder, Chuck gave deeply and worked with great passion for over 26 years to save the names and faces of Leather, kink, BDSM and fetish people, communities, and history, and he fought to ensure that Leatherfolk were the ones who would 'tell' their own stories so that they might better understand and bring enhanced visibility to 'Leather history.' As co-founder, longtime President and, most recently, Chairman of the Board, Chuck has left his mark throughout our institution and touched each of us very deeply. He will be missed.

"During this time of grieving and celebrating of Chuck's life and contributions, LA&M will continue to hold its open museum hours. Beginning Saturday, July 1 we will establish a temporary display of rare and remarkable items from Chuck's private collection for visitors to view In the Etienne Auditorium.

"For the next month, we will also have a letter-writing station available during museum hours where folks can write letters to Chuck that we will then bundle and give to the Renslow Family. Those who cannot visit LA&M are welcome to write a letter or send a postcard to Chuck and mail it to us via the postal service at 6418 N. Greenview Ave., Chicago, IL 60626 USA. Letters via post only, please."

In a 2012 speech to the crowd gathered from around the world at International Mr. Leather, Renslow, ever the political activist, stated, in part:

"I am really proud of the Leather Archives & Museum. The Leather Archives serves as a repository for our history ... a place where future generations will be able to know what has come before. It is never too early to save history. … Write your history as it was and as you lived it. Don't rewrite history as others have done. ...

"If you're here from one of our 50 United States there is something else you can do this year. You can help someone and in doing so, help yourselves. A few weeks ago, during an election year when it could hurt him the most, President Obama became the first sitting President to champion gay marriage. As you can imagine, the right-wing conservatives have been energized and the only way to off set them is to become energized ourselves. More than any other time in your lives you need to become active and involved in the campaign for President of the United States. We need to re-elect President Obama. This year the choice is between a history making man who stands up for the gay community and tells the world that we must have civil rights. Or … if he is defeated, we'll live under Mitt Romney, a self-avowed Mormon conservative who believes that marriage is strictly for one man and one woman."

Renslow is survived by many friends and family. More details, and memorial info, will be posted as information becomes available.

Renslow's life is chronicled in Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow, by Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen, available in B&W and full color editions.

See Tracy Baim's 2007 interview from 2007 here:

chicagogayhistory.org/biography.html .


This article shared 7361 times since Thu Jun 29, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

'She was here...and she is here': Street to be renamed after Elise Malary 2023-11-30
By Alec Karam - The memory of the late activist Elise Malary will soon become a permanent part of Andersonville's Catalpa Avenue. The renamed "Elise Malary Way" will encompass the Catalpa Plaza area, a planned pedestrian plaza between Ashland Avenue ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Todd Vitale 2023-11-28
- Todd Louis Vitale, 60, a professional vocalist and Realtor who lived in Chicago's Sheridan Park neighborhood, passed away peacefully Nov. 15, after a long battle with ALS-Lou Gehrig's disease. Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, Todd ...


Gay News

Chicagoans gather to mark the 2023 Trans Day of Remembrance 2023-11-20
- Brave Space Alliance, Chicago Therapy Collective and Life is Work joined forces to celebrate Trans Day of Remembrance under the banner New Era Together Nov. 19 at Venue West, 221 N. Paulina St., on the West ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Mexico's first out nonbinary magistrate Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo 2023-11-19
- On Nov. 13, Mexico's first out nonbinary magistrate and LGBTQ+ activist Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo was found dead in their state of Aguascalientes home alongside their partner Dorian Herrera. They were 38. According to state prosecutor ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Ashley Marie McClure-Wolfson 2023-11-17
- Ashley Marie McClure-Wolfson, "Ash," pharmacist, BCACP, AAHIVP, passed away suddenly Nov. 11. She was 35 and a resident of the Andersonville neighborhood. Born in Burnsville, Minnesota, Ashley graduated from Burnsville High School and completed a six-year ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Best-selling author, labor lawyer, feminist, LGBTQ ally Linda Hirshman 2023-11-17
- Best-selling author, renowned pro-union labor lawyer, Brandeis University professor, feminist and LGBTQ ally Linda Hirshman died Oct. 31 in Burlington, Vermont of cancer. She was 79. Hirshman was born April 26, 1944, in Cleveland where she ...


Gay News

PASSAGES James Taylor Bannen 2023-11-17
- James Taylor Bannen, 61, of Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, passed away Nov. 11 after an unexpected cardiac event. James was born in Rockford and grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, the son of Howard James Bannen, ...


Gay News

Equality Illinois mourns the death of Magistrate Dr. Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo 2023-11-16
--From a press release - Statement by Mony Ruiz-Velasco, Deputy Director at Equality Illinois, the state's civil rights organization for LGBTQ+ people, regarding the death of Dr Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo: "I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Local bowling legend, Wordle enthusiast Mary Ann Graziano 2023-11-10
- Mary Ann Graziano was a fervent Wordle player, avid bowler and an ace golfer. But above all else, she was a friend to many. The Palatine native died Oct. 9 at the age of 82, after a long illness that left ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Chicagoan Lisa Love 2023-11-07
- Chicagoan Lisa Love was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 17. She was 35, and at the time was the 33rd transgender, nonbinary or gender non-conforming American to be killed in 2023, ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Activist, former Organized Chaos Chicago president Kathy Guzman 2023-11-07
- Community activist, former Organized Chaos Chicago (OCC) president and founding member and now-retired queer women-focused L Stop website editor-at-large and writer Kathy Guzman died October 26 of heart complications. She ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Avid ceramicist Don Heggemann remembered for 'dedicated,' lively presence 2023-11-03
- Ceramics instructor Dubhe CarreƱo first met Don Heggemann when he took her Saturday general ceramics class at Northeastern Illinois University in 2010. He took every one of her classes after that. Heggemann eventually joined the staff ...


Gay News

Boisterous activist/business owner Marge Summit remembered 2023-10-17
- A group of Chicago-area friends gathered Oct. 15 at the Baton Show Lounge to celebrate the extraordinary life of LGBTQ+ activist and community organizer and former bar owner Marge Summit. Summit, the former owner of the ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Lighting specialist, Chicago Gay Men's Chorus alum Xavier Yager 2023-10-09
- Lighting specialist, former Proctor and Gamble pharmaceutical sales representative and Chicago Gay Men's Chorus alum Xavier Yager died Oct. 1 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in his home due to heart failure. He was 66. Yager was ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Peter Vamvakas 2023-10-06
- Peter Vamvakas of Forest Park—a loving partner, son, brother, uncle, and friend—died Aug. 23. due to complications from an accident while vacationing in Key West, Florida. He was 60. He was born in Chicago on April ...


 


Copyright © 2023 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.