Born in 1951 Alanson Russell ‘Lance’ Loud was an American magazine columnist and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in An American Family, a pioneer reality television series that featured his coming out, leading to his status as an icon in the gay community. However, Lance Loud was so much more than a gay icon, as witnessed here. Enlisting moving essays by each of his family members, along with Lance’s friends and colleagues - such as Bobby Mayhem, David Keeps, Rufus Wainwright, and Cherry Vanilla, among others - Pat Loud has constructed, through a partnership with visual artist Makos, a moving portrait of a joyous and beloved individual. Lance Loud came to represent the gay community, and in addition, embodied the creative spirit and genius of outsider status that became the 1980s and fuelled so much of what has evolved today in our culture in terms of art, music and literature. In 2003, PBS broadcast the program, Lance Loud: A Death in an American Family, which was filmed in 2001 while visiting the family again, at the invitation of Lance before his death at age 50. As seen here, short as Lance’s life was, it was a monumental one that continues to resonate to the present day. Contents: Sorry, Wrong Number - Christopher Makos; The Master of Mischief - Pat Loud; Overture; About Lance - Kristian Hoffman; A Loving Friend Margy Rochlin; It’s a Beautiful Day - Ellis Amburn; Fame; That’s How You Do it - Lisa Jane Persky; Breaking the Ice - David Keeps; Curious and Terrific - Andy Warhol; The Time of Our Lives - Cherry Vanilla; Sweaty Celestial Body - Delilah Loud; Dreams of Glamour - Rufus Wainwright; All Lance; Lance on Deadline - Bobby Mayhem; Wrap Your Flapper Around That! - Rob Sheiffele; Desirable Freedoms - Christian Capobianco; Family; Dearest Lance, Love, Dad - Bill Loud; Walking At Night - Grant Loud; Exacting Pure Justice - Kevin Loud; History; Looking After Lance - Michele Loud; Come to the Edge, He Said - Debbie Trent; Eulogy, My Huckleberry Friend - Victoria Galves. AUTHOR: Pat Loud is the well-known and beloved mother of Lance Loud, who, through her collection of his papers, artworks, and memorabilia, was able to compile and construct this important document of one life that represents an era of American popular culture. She currently lives in Los Angeles. Editor Christopher Makos is an internationally recognised photographer and visual artist, whose work has been widely exhibited and who conceptualised this visual biography of his friend, Lance Loud. He is the author of more than fifteen books. He lives and works in New York City. ILLUSTRATIONS: 150 colour photographs