Dick Leitsch

Dick Leitsch
Dick Leitsch with Alan Cumming
Born	Richard Valentine Leitsch (1935-05-11) May 11, 1935 (age 82) Louisville, Kentucky
Residence	New York City
Occupation	Activist

Richard "Dick" Valentine Leitsch (born May 11, 1935, in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American LGBT rights activist. He was president of the Mattachine Society, a gay rights group, in the 1960s. He conceptualized and lead the "Sip-In" at Julius' Bar, which was one of the earliest acts of gay civil disobedience in the United States in which LGBT activists attempted to legally gain the right to drink in bars in New York. He is also known for being the first gay reporter to publish an account of the Stonewall Riots and the first person to ever interview Bette Midler in print media.

Leitsch was born on May 11, 1935, in Louisville, Kentucky. Leitsch's desire from childhood, to live in New York City, was influenced by movies and live radio broadcasts based in New York. Leitsch, later on in his late teens, discovered more about his sexual identity, despite living in a Catholic setting with his family. Unlike other parents during that time, his parents accepted him as an openly gay man.

Leitsch made his way to New York City in early 1959.

While cruising down Greenwich Avenue, Leitsch encountered an attractive man named Craig Rodwell who invited Leitsch back to his apartment. The two eventually began a love affair. Leitsch would call Rodwell and ask him if he wanted to go to the movies only to be told by Craig that he was going to the Mattachine meetings. Initially, Leitsch laughed at Rodwell. Leitsch had been to a Mattachine meeting in 1962 where he heard Albert Ellis give a lecture on homosexuality as an illness. Leitsch felt revolted when Ellis received a standing ovation and had no further interest in an organization which he viewed as out of step with the times. Eventually though, in an effort to spend more time with Rodwell, Leitsch agreed to attend Mattachine meetings with him. Eventually Leitsch became an active member of Mattachine, putting in many hours of volunteering.

Inspired by a fiery and eloquent speech given by Frank Kameny advocating for the gay rights movement to model themselves after the highly successful Civil Rights Movement, Julian Hodges organized a group to run for election. Hodges would run for President, Leitsch as President-Elect. Initially reluctant, Leitsch eventually agreed to run on the ticket. In his statement of intent, Leitsch promised to work on ending police entrapment of gay men and various forms of discrimination. The progressive platform proved right for the times and the group swept the May elections.