THE
DIANA FOUNDATION
The
Diana Foundation began on March 25, 1954, when a dozen gay friends met
for a cocktail party in an apartment at 3416 Louisiana Street. There
would be cocktails, appetizers, party chatter, and the television broadcast
of the Academy Awards.
Houston Florist David Moncrief hosted the party, along with his roommate
Curtis Wright. Before the broadcast, the host presented a local "award"
to one of the lesbians present, for her "outstanding performance"
within the last year, which was actually a bad performance -- either
a failing of human character or an incident of questionable taste.
A large
plaster statue of the goddess Diana was in the living room that night
- thanks to Curtis who dressed windows for Sakowitz Department Store.
She would later become the namesake for what developed into an annual
pre-Oscar roast amongst gay friends that continued the next year and
has never skipped a beat right up to the current day.
Each
year the party grew larger, moving from private homes to an adult movie
theater to the Sheraton Hotel to the Tower Theater and finally the Wortham
and other locations.
By the 1980s, the Diana Awards were a gigantic production at the Tower
Theater, with 1100 sold out seats, guests arriving in limousines, and
a cast of upwards to 150. It is estimated that the Dianas have contributed
more than $2 million to the community over the past 60 years, and helped
seed many of the important community organizations during their infancy.
In 1995,
the last lavish production was presented. Responding to the times, the
Diana Foundation downsized their annual event, replacing the production
numbers with a sit-down dinner and a select number of awards. On March
2, 2013, the Diana Foundation celebrated their 60th anniversary at the
Royal Sonesta Hotel. The group is the oldest, continually active gay
organization in America.
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