Timmons (Stuart) papers, circa 1912-2017

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Summary

Title:
Stuart Timmons papers
Dates:
circa 1912-2017
Creators:
Timmons, Stuart, 1957-2017
Abstract:
Manuscripts, research files, correspondence, ephemera, photographs, audiovisual recordings, realia and other material, circa 1912-2017, from author, historian and activist, Stuart Timmons. Timmons is best known as the author of The Trouble with Harry Hay (1990) and co-author with Lillian Faderman of Gay LA: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians (2006). The collection includes extensive research files for Timmons' published and unpublished writings, including an unpublished biography of Rudi Gernreich and numerous articles for Los Angeles-based and national magazines. The collection also documents Timmons' personal life, as well as his community activism and journalist investigations around topics such as AIDS/HIV, police relations, and environmental issues at public schools.
Extent:
23.3 Linear Feet 20 boxes, 1 map-case drawer.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Stuart Timmons Papers, Coll2016-001, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Stuart Timmons collection comprises manuscripts, research files, correspondence, ephemera, photographs, audiovisual recordings, realia and other material, circa 1912-2017, from author, historian and activist, Stuart Timmons. Timmons is best known as the author of The Trouble with Harry Hay (1990) and co-author with Lilian Faderman of Gay LA: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians (2006). The collection is organized into seven series:

The Writings Series includes extensive research files for Timmons' published and unpublished writings, including Gay LA, which traces the history of gay and lesbian communities in Los Angeles; a biography of Mattachine Society founder Harry Hay, The Trouble with Harry Hay; an unpublished biography of Rudi Gernreich; a book on gay and lesbian history as told through the Advocate, for which Timmons was assistant editor; numerous articles for Los Angeles-based and national magazines; and fictional works.

The Activism Series compiles materials related to Timmons' advocacy work with the Coalition for Police Accountability; investigations into environmental issues at Jefferson Middle School in the Los Angeles Unifed School District; and research around California Proposition 186 (1994), a ballot initiative related to the establishment of a single-payer health care program in California.

The Subject File Series includes materials on a variety of topics, including but not limited to AIDS/HIV, fashion, punk music, gay literature, gay and lesbian people in Hollywood, gay and lesbian history, Radical Faeries, and other topics.

The Personal Papers Series includes correspondence files; biographical documents such as resumes and clippings; materials documenting genealogy and family relationships; and friendships.

The Photographs Series includes photographs, negatives, slides and contact sheets documenting Timmons' personal and professional life. Photographs include images used in Timmons' publications, images used for research on gay and lesbian history, images of Timmons' extended family, and images of works from gay and lesbian artists and creators.

The collection also includes computer files, audiovisual recordings, drawings and realia.

Biographical / historical:

Stuart Craig Timmons was born on January 14, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to father Samuel Timmons and mother Joyce Byrd Timmons. By the 1960s, the Timmons family moved to California when Stuart was still a toddler. Stuart had two sisters, Gay and Emily.

By 1977, Stuart moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he studied journalism in the School of Film and Television. It was there where he became the editor of 10 Percent, UCLA's gay and lesbian student newspaper. He was also a student organizer and became active with the gay liberation movement. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from UCLA in 1981.

His activism would lead him to get involved with the Radical Faeries in 1980, where he met Mattachine Society founder Harry Hay. He would also go on to be an active member of ACT UP Los Angeles in the 1980s-1990s. His community involvement and friendship with Harry Hay fueled his interests in LGBTQ history, particularly in Los Angeles. As a historian, Timmons would go on to publish two books on LGBTQ history: a biography of Harry Hay, The Trouble with Harry Hay, as well as Gay LA: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians, co-authored with Lillian Faderman, which chronicled the history of LGBTQ communities in Los Angeles.

As a free-lance journalist, Timmons also wrote dozens of articles on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, culture and entertainment, book and theater reviews, AIDS/HIV issues, LGBTQ history, progressive and social justice movements, as well as investigative reports related to political, healthcare, and environmental issues. His articles have been published in periodicals such as Advocate, Frontiers, LA Weekly, LA Village View, Vibe, and SPIN.

In 2008, Timmons suffered a stroke which resulted in severe cognitive and physical impairment. After years of recovery, Stuart reengaged with the West Hollywood and Silver Lake communities and continued speaking on the LGBTQ movement and leading history tours in Los Angeles.

Timmons died on January 28, 2017 in Hollywood, at the age of 60.

Sources: Ocamb, Karen. "Gay author, historian Stuart Timmons dead at 60," The Pride: the Los Angeles LGBT Newspaper (January 28, 2017). Last accessed May 31, 2024. https://thepridela.com/2017/01/gay-author-historian-stuart-timmons-dead-60/.

Box 11, Folder 13, Stuart Timmons Papers, Coll2016-001, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Stuart Timmons, November 12, 2011. Additional memorial items were donated by Gay Timmons and added to the collection following Stuart's death in 2017.
Processing information:

Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the California State Library. Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, 2024.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into seven series:

Series 1: Writings

Series 2: Activism

Series 3: Subject files

Series 4: Personal papers and correspondence

Series 5: Photographs

Series 6: Computer files, sound recordings and video recordings

Series 7: Drawings and realia

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Loni Shibuyama
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-02-10 15:55:52 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Stuart Timmons Papers, Coll2016-001, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
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