Bruce Beaudette is one of those people you don’t forget, even if you only met him once—although it's unlikely you’ll meet him just once, as he seems to pop up at every street fair, community meeting and city celebration in the Castro/Haight neighborhoods.
Beaudette is, in many respects, the quintessential San Franciscan: an eccentric and open-minded gay man with a social and political conscience. (Beaudette prefaced our interview with the news of The Lexington Club's closure, saying, “Think of me as a person who finds that kind of thing important.”)
Beaudette is recognized around the neighborhood as 'the guy with the wacky outfits'. At least five passers-by recognized Beaudette as we chatted on the stoop of his apartment in the heart of Cole Valley. And understandably so: Beaudette’s ensemble was difficult to ignore. He wore a 1970s-style button-down shirt, pinstriped capri pants and aviator glasses—all the same shade of piggy pink.
Beaudette’s dog, a chirpy female chihuahua named Yoko O-Yes, is perhaps as essential to recognizing Beaudette as his quirky get-ups are. They’ve been attached at the hip since Beaudette adopted her two years ago, and he makes matching adaptations of all his outfits for Yoko.
Beaudette has been in Cole Valley for 18 years—his longest residence since he moved to San Francisco. He migrated here from the Midwest in 1978 and, with the exception of short stints in LA and Hawaii, has lived here ever since. “In LA everyone is, for the most part, confined to their own neighborhoods,” Beaudette said. “I like San Francisco because it's small enough that everyone—young, old, rich, poor—is sort of forced to deal with each other.”
At 55, Beaudette has the energy of someone in their 20s, and he's worn some creative, thought-provoking and absurd garb over the last few years.
Here are some highlights from Beaudette's costume closet, just in time for Halloween:
Beaudette at this year’s Folsom Street Fair.
Beaudette at this year’s Gay Pride Parade.
Beaudette at Harvey Milk’s birthday celebration thrown by the Harvey Milk Democratic Club at Beaux.
Beaudette at a private even behind Trax bar on Haight Street.
Beaudette at an event protesting anti-nudist legislation at Jane Warner Plaza in 2012.
Beaudette at the BYOQ (Bring Your Own Queer) event in 2011 in the Bandshell at Golden Gate Park.
Beaudette at the 2012 Gay Pride Parade.
Dressed up for "no reason" in particular.
Beaudette at Gay Pride 2011. "First time I used that plastic ring thing that sits on my shoulder. I was thinking "wind chime," he told us. "Those tubes have been packed with Easter eggs and plastic chains have also hung from those eye hooks."
Keep an eye out for Beaudette while you're out and about for Halloween tonight. He’ll be the guy dressed in pink with tubes, lights and photos of puppies attached to wire net around his head (a costume he calls “Puppy-Ween”). No Yoko tonight, though. “A 7-pounder with a 190lb dad? Are you crazy?” he joked. “I want her to be here in the morning.”
Hooray for responsible dog fathers and creative costumes, all year round.
