Pop Culture Cantina
Presents
A Patty Ball Production
THE FILE ON STORMY FOSTER
A Cartoon Movie Serial in Twelve Chapters
Concept by HAMPTON JACOBS and PATTY BALL
Art by STUFFED ANIMAL
Costumes by HENRIETTA la del BARRIO
Project Assistance by RODERICK MACK and DAVE PEARSON
Text by HAMPTON JACOBS
You are about to read the story of America's first militant Gay activist. His name was Stormy Foster. If you're a person of a certain age, you may think you know him already but you don't. He was inspired by a character of the same name that dates back to the year 1941. However, that earlier Stormy wasn't the only inspiration. The other was Stormé DeLarvarie, a butch Lesbian entertainer who sparked the historic 1969 rebellion at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. Aside from the name, there is no connection to the superhero feature that appeared in Quality Comics during World War II; and aside from some notable cameo appearances, every character that appears in this story was created by Pop Culture Cantina staff.
“The File On Stormy Foster” re-imagines Stonewall and the first Annual Reminder picket, events taken from the history of Gay Liberation in the United States. Other factual sources include the books ANCIENT HAWAII by Herb Kawainui Kane (published 1997) and FORBIDDEN CITY USA: CHINATOWN NIGHTCLUBS, 1936-1970 by Arthur Dong (published 2015). Fictional sources for this story include the 1927 German silent film “Metropolis” directed by Fritz Lang; the 1936 movie serial "Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island" directed by Ray Taylor and Mack Wright; the 1939 movie serial “Zorro’s Fighting Legion” directed by William Witney and John English; the 1941 origin story of Wonder Woman by Charles Moulton and HG Peter; the 1950 Mexican film noir “Aventurera” directed by Alberto Gout; and the 1966 Gay novel SONG OF THE LOON by Richard Amory.
PROLOGUE:
THE QUEEN OF CLUBS
Aloha! My name is Irene Bang. They used to call me The Queen of Clubs because of all the successful nightclubs and discothèques I ran. I’m an entrepreneur, art curator, feminist and Lesbian Rights activist. I’m flattered to be sometimes called an Asian-American community leader and role model. Some say I’m a pretty good Disco deejay, too!
But over the next few days, speaking into this audio recorder, I hope to add another title to my résumé: Historian. I’ve got some very important LesBiGay history to share with you. You can trust me to get the facts right, because I was there!
Even though I identify as Lesbian, I’ve been married for the last four decades, and quite happily, to a husband. His name is Basil Singapore, and he’s a proud Gay man. He’s part of this history, too, and you’ll hear from him a little bit later.
Both of us have an intimate connection and fond memories of the man who’s the centerpiece of the story we’re going to tell you. His name was Stormy Foster. He was Basil’s lover as well as my fiancé, and the father of my first child. He was a recording artist and a great entertainer. Stormy was also a military hero, a casualty of World War II. But to the Hawaiian Islands’ LesBiGay community during the early 1940s, he was much more than that!
PRECIOUS MEMORIES OF STORMY FOSTER
If all this sounds complicated, it is. Life was very complicated for us in the decades before the Stonewall Rebellion! And it gets more so: This story involves my late brother, Hawaii State Senator Alfred Bang.
Alfred, or Freddy as I called him, is hardly remembered as a champion of Lesbian and Gay Rights. Quite the contrary, I know: His loud and frequent denunciations of sex and gender diversity placed him squarely on the side of our oppressors. Once we were very close, but he and I became estranged in the latter part of his life.
Yet Freddy was a Gay male, from childhood until the day he died! Years ago, he claimed to have "overcome" same-sex attraction, but on his deathbed he confessed to me what I already knew. He would not have wanted the truth of his sexuality shared, but I need to share it. I don’t want intolerance to be Freddy’s only legacy.
Also, I must share his truth in order to fully tell the story of an incredible Gay activist: A masked hero whose true identity was in question until now, and who boasted abilities that were nothing less than astounding. Basil and I were honored to help him fight homophobia in its most deadly form; and before Right Wing ideology confused him, Freddy felt the same way.
As time passed, my memory of those long-ago events dimmed and I was afraid certain details were lost forever. I’d misplaced a scrapbook and a box full of items pertaining to Stormy’s life; they were lost for many years. As it turned out, Freddy had them; I found the box and scrapbook among his effects after he died.
He also had in his possession a declassified government file dating back nearly half a century. Stormy Foster was the subject of this file. It revealed that he was under FBI surveillance during the last years of his life. I have no idea how or when Freddy obtained this file but it's proven to be a godsend. With all these items in hand, it’s now possible for me to give a very detailed account of his early Gay activism in Hawaii.
RHUMBA CHILDREN PRESS KIT
I’m donating my keepsakes to the Hawaiian Gay Archive. They include publicity photos, personal snapshots, newspaper clippings, recordings, and even remnants of the costume Stormy wore. I designed that costume, by the way, and I’ll tell you about that.
But my most important donation is that FBI file. The dates, the times, and the interactions it documents are invaluable. It almost makes me laugh: Who knew that a homophobic closet case like J. Edgar Hoover would contribute to what may be the most amazing Gay Rights chronicle ever?
These items, as well as the verbal testimony Basil and I are providing, will prove that Stormy Foster was a founder of the modern Gay Rights movement. As I said before, we were there: Me, my husband and my brother.
The four of us pioneered activism that would be taken up decades later by others, but we didn’t see ourselves as activists. That term wasn’t even used in the ‘40s. We were just doing what needed to be done at the time. Lesbians and Gay men in Hawaii were facing a serious threat that had to be beaten back; many lives were at risk of loss or ruin, including our own.
We certainly did know that Stormy Foster was a remarkable figure and of historic significance, not only for Hawaii but the entire world. Basil and I waited for the right time to share his incredible story, but I wasn’t sure it would come. Freddy had played a big part in it all, but he didn’t want his involvement revealed. What’s more, while anti-Gay feeling diminished on the mainland, it remained strong in the islands: The Stonewall riots and their aftermath barely resonated here.
Also, given the racial bias that unfortunately permeates a lot of Gay writing, I wasn’t confident that a man of South Asian heritage would be given his due by White historians. Contemporary accounts of Stormy’s advocacy do exist; I’m donating some of them to the archive. Yet I’ve never seen them quoted in any Gay history book!
But it’s now the year 1990. Before we know it, the 20th century will be over! Freddy has been laid to rest, and Hawaii is finally holding its first Gay Pride celebration. Basil and I aren’t getting any younger, and time is running out for us to tell what we know.
We hope the residents of Hawaii are ready to learn who Stormy really was. We hope they are capable of seeing his activities in a positive and progressive light. Whatever they may think, it’s high time for us to correct the historical record. It was incomplete . . . until now.
Click below to read
First chapter in the Stormy Foster saga