Stage and screen actor John Kerr ('Tea and Sympathy,' 'South Pacific') dies at 81

Variety reports that actor John Kerr, who starred in Tea and Sympathy, one of the first major Hollywood films to deal with homosexuality, died Feb.  2 at age 81.

Kerr won a 1954 Tony for starring on Broadway in Robert Anderson's play, Tea and Sympathy, which became a film two years later co-starring Deborah Kerr (no relation).

In the play and film, Kerr's character is called "Sister Boy" because he is more "sensitive" than the other guys at school. Deborah Kerr plays the headmaster's wife, who has an affair with the teenager.

"Years from now when you talk about this - and you will - be kind," her character tells him.

In 1958, John Kerr starred opposite Mitzi Gaynor and Rosanno Brazzi in the film version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific. As. Lt. Joe Cable, Kerr sang (dubbed) Younger Than Springtime and Carefully Taught.

When his acting career wound down, Kerr went to law school and became an attorney.

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10 Grammy-nominated musicians join Freedom to Marry campaign supporting same-sex couples

Freedom to Marry has launched a campaign, 10 Grammy-nominated musicians raise their voices in support of same-sex couples.

The musicians: fun., Kelly Clarkson, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Michael Bublé, Carly Rae Jepsen and Pink.

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Miami Gay Professionals Book Club meets Feb. 24 at Books & Books Coral Gables

From CoralGaybles.com:

Gallery | Aqua honors Cristina Saralegui, NAACP's Adora Obi Nweze, Tim Nardi and Charles Million

More photos here

Talk host Cristina Saralegui, NAACP Florida President Adora Obi Nweze and partners Tim Nardi and Charles Million were honored Thursday night at the Aqua Foundation for Women's Aqua Ally Awards.

“It’s vital that we appreciate and show our appreciation to those who make our community a better place to live and help the movement move forward,” said Robin Schwartz, executive director of Aqua Foundation for Women, which gives scholarships to young women and grants to local lesbian-oriented organizations.

Aqua Foundation dates back to 1999, when a group of South Florida lesbians began fundraising for women’s health issues with an event called Sweet Charity. The next year, Sweet Charity morphed into Aqua Girl, a weekend fundraising event now held annually in May. Through the years, Aqua Foundation has raised more than $400,000 for local grants and scholarships to young women.

Click here for more photos from the Aqua Ally Awards, held at the Bacardi headquarters in Coral Gables. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Polish transgender lawmaker loses shot at top post

BY VANESSA GERA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

WARSAW, Poland -- The before and after photos of Anna Grodzka show how much she - and her country - have transformed.

As a man, she once wore a thick beard. Now, Poland's first transgender lawmaker favors big dangly earrings, her hair in a bob.

Grodzka attracted huge attention when she was elected in 2011, and earned even more recently when she became a candidate to be a deputy speaker for her leftwing party.

She lost that chance on Friday when lawmakers voted overwhelming to keep the incumbent in the job. Even so, the 58-year-old has already had a huge impact on the political scene, becoming perhaps the most prominent symbol of liberal change in a country that has traditionally been deeply conservative and overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

"Certain taboos are being dismantled," said Jacek Kucharczyk, a political analyst and the president of the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw.

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