Happy Birthday, Judy

It's Judy Garland's birthday, and friends of Dorothy all over the world will be celebrating ... but is her hold as the ultimate gay icon fading?

Ask a gay man (especially a younger gay man) who the biggest gay icon is, and you'll invariably get lots of Cher, Madonna, Barbra, and Bette, but less and less frequently will you hear "Judy" (you may actually hear her daughter Liza Minelli more).

Her credentials as a gay icon are unassailable. She starred in The Wizard of Oz (and volumes of books have been written about its gay icon status), her father was gay, a couple of her husbands were gay ... and then there was her talent. When she sang, she projected vulnerability and loneliness, combined with an inner strength that spoke to gay men like no one ever had (or has since). Her tumultuous private life (filled with the highs and lows of drug addiction and SRO performances) had more drama than any Hollywood tearjearker, and there's the amazing coincidence of her funeral, which was held in Manhattan on June 27, 1969, literally hours before the Stonewall Rebellion.

So why is there a certain hesitation, even sometimes embarrassment, when it comes to Judy? On his feelings toward Judy, filmmaker John Waters once said:

"I mean, I do love her, but if a reporter were coming to my home, I wouldn't have Judy Garland playing. They'd think maybe upstairs I had a room devoted to her. A gay man loving Judy could almost be like a black person watching a minstrel show."

Those are harsh words, but they probably speak for a lot of gay men who would rather not dwell on the past. What do you think about Judy's legacy?