[Imc-chicago] [Media Alert]Release: Amanda Bearse Becomes Gay Games Ambassador

[media at chicagogamesinc.org]

News Release - July 9, 2004
Contact:  Kevin Boyer, (773) 561-2704, kgboyer at ix.netcom.com 
<mailto:kgboyer at ix.netcom.com>
 
Actress Amanda Bearse Becomes
Gay Games® Ambassador
 
CHICAGO, IL - Longtime film and TV star and Director, Amanda Bearse, has 
become the most recent Gay Games Ambassador, joining other athletes, 
artists and celebrities who are lending their support to the movement.  
The 7th quadrennial Gay Games will be held in Chicago 15-22 July 2006.  
Online registration for Gay Games VII began 1 July 2006 at 
GayGamesChicago.org <http://www.gaygameschicago.org/>.
 
Bearse, known around the world for her role as neighbor Marcy Rhoades 
D'Arcy on the 10-year hit comedy series Married...With Children, was 
among the first Hollywood stars to come out of the closet. She held a 
press conference on National Coming Out Day in 1993--while 
Married...With Children was still on the air.
 
"I believe in the life-changing experience that the Gay Games movement 
has fostered for thousands of gays and lesbians around the world," 
Bearse said. "Gays and lesbians have created their own families, their 
own communities, across many boundaries, and the Gay Games movement is 
an institution that has long been a major force for change. "
 
Bearse, is a strong supporter of community causes, including the Human 
Rights Campaign, the Victory Fund, PAWS/LA and the Humane Association.  
In the past she served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Gay 
and Lesbian Community Service Center.
 
"We are delighted to have Ms. Bearse join our family of Gay Games 
Ambassadors," said Federation of Gay Games (FGG) co-president Kathleen 
Webster of Philadelphia. "When Amanda came out to the world in 1993, she 
risked her well-established career for the greater cause of civil 
rights. She helped set the stage for the coming out of other lesbian 
entertainers, such as Ellen DeGeneres in 1997."
 
"Our Ambassadors play an important role in educating the worldwide 
community about the importance of the Gay Games principles of 
participation, inclusion, and personal best, " said FGG co-president 
Roberto Mantaci of Paris. "Amanda Bearse was a pioneer for future gay 
and lesbian entertainers who know the courage it took for her to come 
out more than a decade ago."
 
Bearse' TV acting debut was on the daytime soap opera All My Children in 
1970. She starred in Married...With Children from 1987-1997 and also 
directed more than 30 episodes. The show still airs twice a day in 
syndication in the U.S. and in translation in countries around the 
world.  Since Married...With Children, she has directed, written and 
starred in film and TV roles.  One recent project was the award-winning 
Give or Take an Inch, a short film in which she plays a lesbian mom 
coping with her sister's coming out as transgender.
 
Bearse joins a list of Gay Games Ambassadors supporting the Gay Games 
movement in Chicago and beyond including baseball star Billy Bean, 
Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, photographer Tom Bianchi, 
actress Judith Light and former US Ambassador to Luxembourg James Hormel.

About The Gay Games
The Gay Games were conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, 
and were first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. 
Subsequent Gay Games were held in San Francisco (1986; 3,500 
participants), Vancouver (1990; 7,300 participants), New York (1994; 
12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998; 13,000 participants), and Sydney 
(2002; 11,000 participants).  Gay Games VII will include 30 sports 
ranging from softball to dancesport, swimming to tennis.  The opening 
ceremony is scheduled for 15 July at Soldier Field, home of the 
football's Chicago Bears, with closing ceremony on 22 July at Wrigley 
Field, home of baseball's Chicago Cubs. Athletes and artists can 
register for Gay Games VII at GayGamesChicago.org 
<http://www.gaygameschicago.org/>.
 
The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that 
perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding 
principles of inclusion, participation and personal best. For more 
information, visit GayGames.org <http://www.gaygames.org/>.
 
Chicago Games, Inc. is the host of Gay Games VII and is led by 
experienced civic leaders from Chicago's business, sports and non-profit 
sectors. For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay 
Games VII in Chicago, visit www.GayGamesChicago.org 
<http://www.gaygameschicago.org/>, e-mail info at GayGamesChicago.org 
<mailto:info at GayGamesChicago.org>, or phone (773) 561-2704. 
##

An image of Amanda Bearse is available for download at 
http://www.gaygameschicago.org/images/culture/2004-07-09/AmandaBearse.jpg
<http://www.gaygameschicago.org/images/culture/2004-07-09/AmandaBearse.jpg>
Gay Games® is a registered trademark of the Federation of Gay Games.
Chicago Games, Inc 5443 N. Broadway, Suite 101, Chicago, IL  60640
773.561.2704 - GayGamesChicago.org <mailto:GayGamesChicago.org>- 
info at GayGamesChicago.org <mailto:info at GayGamesChicago.org>

 

<mailto:info at GayGamesChicago.org>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-chicago/attachments/20040709/16b5abb0/attachment.htm