Heroes for Our Time

In their current issue celebrating their 40th anniversary, The Advocate has revealed their list of the "40 Greatest Gay Heroes", compiled from readers' votes from a nomination list of 100 prominent GLBT people from the past 40 years.

As I previously reported, there were several individuals with ties to the entertainment world, and the final tally includes twelve gay men and women (pictured above) who have made their mark on film, including the number one spot and four more in the top ten:

• #1: Ellen DeGeneres - Click here for her Out in Film profile.
• #5: Melissa Etheridge - The Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter won the Oscar last year for An Inconvenient Truth.
• #7: Harvey Fierstein - Tony Award-winning actor/playwright; star of Torch Song Trilogy on both stage and screen; originated the role of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray on Broadway.
• #8: Elton John - Won Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe for The Lion King, also starred as the Pinball Wizard in Tommy and won the Tony for Aida.
• #10: Rosie O'Donnell - Now known primarily as an outspoken talk show host, she co-starred in such films as A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle and The Flintstones.
• #13: Greg Louganis - The Olympic Gold Medal-winner has done some acting as well, including the film It's My Party.
• #16: Ian McKellen - Click here for his Out in Film profile.
• #18: Larry Kramer - Controversial activist, author and playwright (The Normal Heart), he was nominated for an Oscar for his Women in Love screenplay.
• #19: k.d. lang - The Grammy-winning singer occasionally acts, such as in Salmonberries and the recent The Black Dahlia.
• #22: Armistead Maupin - Best-selling author, he adapted his popular Tales of the City for television and The Night Listener for film. He also contributed to the movie version of The Celluloid Closet.
• #25: Tony Kushner - The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright of the Angels in America saga also won an Emmy for his TV adaptation. Also Oscar nominated for his Munich screenplay.
• #29: John Waters - Iconoclast cult queer filmmaker, creator of Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Serial Mom and the original Hairspray.

Congratulations to all! The Advocate has not yet posted the full list online, but you can see it over at Homorific (and in the comments section below); and be sure to vote in the Advocate "Gay Heroes"-themed MD Poll, located under my profile in the sidebar at right.

UPDATE: The poll is now closed, click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.