Ron Lanza-Queer Pioneer and Owner of Josie's Cabaret & Juice Joint Dies at 78

Sad to report the loss of Ron Lanza, one of the City's and the Castro's most vibrant, flying under the radar Queer pioneers in politics and art. Ron hailed from Brooklyn and made his home in SF in the early 70's. He wasted little time and jumped right into the burgeoning, post-Stomewall fray for LGBT liberation. After coming out while teaching in Walnut Creek-a truly courageous act that put your whole career at risk in those times-he became one of the leaders of Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL) in the 1970s, and, along with Assembly member Tom Ammiano and the late activists Hank Wilson and Howard Wallace, was instrumental in birthing the modern LGBT movement in San Francisco.

Ron's other passion was Queer performance and art in all it's varied forms. He owned two legendary spots known for their ground breaking work and outside the box thinking performers, Josie's Cabaret & Juice Joint (now Starbelly) and the Valencia Rose. His unyielding support for giving the stage to our communities creative forces helped birth the careers of hundreds including Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho and Marga Gomez. During a decade when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and political art in general-especially Queer themed work-was under constant and concerted attack he provided a home for Queer artists and art in SF laying a foundation for their success that we continue to reap the benefits from in the City to this very day. His generosity was boundless. Josie's was epicenter for many AIDS benefits during the height of the AIDS pandemic and he supported political groups ACT UP and Queer Nation helping them push a radical agenda to end the AIDS crisis. He and Hank Wilson formed the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center which helped the most vulnerable and often under informed citizens in the City about HIV/AIDS.

Tom Amminao described him to the SF Bay Guardian as, "a real San Francisco lefty. He only cared about money if he had to pay bills." When Ammiano took on the City's entrenched political machine and ran against Willie Brown in 1999 as a write-in candidate Josie's Cabaret & Juice Joint became the unofficial headquarters for the campaign with Ron quietly working behind the scenes leading the grassroots revolution. I spent a lot of time in Josie's in the 90's as  a performer, patron and supporter. Ron's infectious smile and fatherly advice and wise counsel to me and many, many others was always appreciated and sought after. He had a great laugh and a calm demeanor hid the fire that burned in his belly for all his many passions. Ron battled cancer in his 40's and in his later years it came back. He fought valiantly and endured several operations. In the end the vehicle failed, but, his spirit never did. The lions of the SF LGBT movement are passing and the shadows they've cast are long and deep. Ron's influence on politics, art, culture and community will continue to ripple through out the City and beyond. A memorial is pending.