At a time when few admitted to being gay, she and her character came out — “Yep, I’m gay!” Those three iconic words were the headline of the April 14, 1997, Time magazine cover. It was the first time comedian, and then-sitcom star Ellen DeGeneres openly admitted to being a lesbian to the public. Those who knew Ellen personally were in on the secret. She was…

Wealthy people gave him money to plan trips but was he who he said he was? — William Simon Baekland watched as fellow travelers talked about the voyage they were on. In March 2015, more than 60 people were on a cruise ship heading to Bouvet Island, arguably the most remote landmass in the world. It is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Excitement among those…

He was the toast of the town until his secret was exposed — The Importance Of Being Earnest by famed playwright Oscar Wilde opened in February 1894 to great fanfare. People lined up around the block to get a seat to see the first performance of the play. It was another notch on the playwright’s belt, another rung he climbed on the social…

When her brother disappeared, a woman went to a medium — The night Andre Daigle went missing in 1987. He met a friend, Nick Shelley, at Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurant. The guys had a few drinks and dinner before heading to Mitchell’s Lounge. At the bar, they shot some pool, drank some more, and flirted with some of the women. One, in…

Their show was a hit but tensions backstage caused issues — With the success of The Golden Girls on NBC, CBS executives wanted to cash in on the mature women format. They tasked Linda Bloodworth-Thomason with creating a show that could help their sagging ratings in 1985. She brought them the concept of Designing Women. Linda already had ideas for casting…

Her name has faded into history but her voice is as relevant today as it was in 1969 — New York City was not always a safe haven for queer people. In the early to mid-20th century, the laws were strict, and being anything other than straight was illegal. Dressing as a gender other than the one assigned at birth would lead to an arrest or worse. Dancing with…

Carole Baskin’s husband is presumed dead but what happened to him? — Carole Baskin is known as the cat lady. Her advocacy work for big cats had already earned her a following within the animal rights community. Those who knew her had opinions formed about who she was and the lengths she would go to achieve her goals. When she began feuding…

Surviving abuse isn’t easy but it can be done — Back in April 2005, I met someone who would change my life. It wasn’t kismet or even a meet-cute. Instead, Livejournal played an integral role in our connection. It brought us together in an unusual way, at least for me. Wayne* was a student at a Detroit college and had…

She wrote an essay about killing her husband, then she did — The tragic love story of Nancy Crampton and Daniel Brophy begins in the early 1990s. He was teaching culinary skills at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland, and she was one of his new students. While not love at first sight, the pair certainly were beguiled with one another. After…