American historian and activist Vito Russo was BOTD in 1946. Born in New York City, he showed an early interest in cinema, developing a childhood crush (understandably) on Rock Hudson. He studied at Fairleigh Dickinson University and New York University, and worked in the film department of the Museum of Modern Art. He joined the Gay Activists Alliance, developing a slide-show lecture on the history of homosexuality on film that he toured throughout the country. His research formed the basis of his 1981 book The Celluloid Closet, a critical history of homosexuality in film, exploring Hollywood stereotypes of sissies, villains, psychopaths and victims. The book’s popularity led to a second revised edition, published in 1987. Following the death of his long-term partner Jeffrey Sevcik from an AIDS-related illness, Russo became involved in ACT-UP. In 1985, he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media watchdog organisation to monitor homophobia and promote inclusion of LGBTQ people in the media. He appeared in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman‘s 1989 documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, chronicling Sevcik’s death and the quilt Russo made in his memory. Russo died in 1990 from an AIDS-related illness, aged 44. Interest in his life and work was revived following Epstein and Friedman’s 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet, based on Russo’s book and dedicated to his memory. His life was also chronicled in the 2012 documentary Vito. Amid many posthumous tributes, GLAAD established the Vito Russo Award in his honour, presented annually to an openly queer media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBTQ community. In 2019, he was inducted into the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall National Monument in New York.