An oasis for the city’s sizeable but, for the most part, strictly closeted gay male population, a lack of visibility was in many ways its most valuable commodity. I continued, however, to read through surviving copies of the Advocate, the largest gay newspaper in the 1970s, and pieced together the chronology of the massacre, trying to understand why it had been forgotten. On the one hand, the city’s long-standing social permissiveness and liberalism made it a haven in the conservative and traditional south. The fire remains the deadliest in New Orleans history. Inside the UpStairs Lounger after the club was set on fire in an act of arson that left 32 people dead on 24 June 1973. n the early 1970s, on the edge of the historic French Quarter and the bustling downtown business district, New Orleans’ UpStairs Lounge was a destination left intentionally obscure. Nancy defended her mom, saying, “I wouldn’t say she was open-minded and I’m sure my father definitely was not, but it’s not like I think they would disown [Larry] or anything like that [for being gay]. All rights reserved. He was the oldest of their five children, followed by Ruth, Donald, Mark, and Nancy. The graves for Larry N. Frost and the three other unclaimed victims are located somewhere in the inaccessible, unmarked pauper's cemetery in New Orleans East. According to Rev. In 2003, on the 30th anniversary of the fire, a memorial plaque was installed in the sidewalk outside the former entrance of the UpStairs Lounge. This proved no different on Sunday, June 24, 1973. He sent me a stuffed dinosaur from wherever he was living at the time. At the time, a residence occupied by two suspected gay men (or two “spinsters”) could be declared a house of ill-repute and seized with little to no due process. The likely perpetrator was a troubled and violent patron who had been ejected from the bar moments earlier. It seems odd that, in the wake of receiving such ominous news, Larry’s mom reacted so calmly, void of panic or an urgent desire to determine the truth behind this letter. Even though the movie was completed and released several years ago, I’m still passionate about that mission. Larry’s brother Donald Frost and a friend drove from Michigan to New Orleans in search of answers. When I committed to making the film, I did so with the mission to honor the victims and give them the respect and dignity they were denied over four decades ago. However, the mystery remains of whether or not the police department contacted his mother before she received the letter, and if it did, why she chose to remain silent and not take action. Legal documents show that Louisiana State Fire Marshal's investigators also interviewed Quinton, and once again, he identified Larry Frost as one of the people at the UpStairs Lounge at the time of the fire. Two years into Fieseler’s research for the book, the Pulse shooting inspired a brief public re-examination of the UpStairs inferno. I soon realized that the chilling mortality rates that the HIV/AIDS epidemic caused in the early 1980s overshadowed the UpStairs Lounge massacre. Mommy! During his visit, Donald learned that the unclaimed bodies had already been buried. A view inside the UpStairs Lounge following an arson on June 25, 1973. Larry grew up going to church just like we all did,” Nancy explained. She referred to him as her “fun brother.” His niece Lynette described Larry in a similar way: “Goofy ... playful. Join Slate Plus to continue reading, and you’ll get unlimited access to all our work—and support Slate’s independent journalism. William Larson, whose body was left protruding from the second-floor window after burning to death. Whether Larry’s mother first learned about his fate through Nancy’s returned letter or through a phone call, I wondered if his sexuality played a role in her apathetic reaction and if it influenced her decision about whether or not to claim her son’s body. Lynette distinctly remembers her family receiving a phone call at their Georgia home on a hot summer day. It was never that way, so there’s no sensational story on that side. It is time to officially acknowledge Larry Norman Frost as a victim of the UpStairs Lounge arson and list his name in the history books alongside the names of the other identified victims. Nancy said it never occurred to her that people outside the family would be interested in his death. Commemorating the 32 victims of the UpStairs Lounge Fire on the evening of Sunday, June 24, 1973 A memorial plaque was embedded in the sidewalk in front of the building on the 25th anniversary of the fire. One-third of the congregation and two clergy members were killed in the fire. 1.4K likes. Lindy "Rusty" Quinton's statement to New Orleans Police Dept. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, members of the gay community accused the Fire Department of not responding immediately and refusing to touch the bodies of many of the victims. In a dark twist of irony, hours before the arson attack, patrons at the UpStairs Lounge were celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising; but even in New Orleans, which served as a gay mecca for many LGBTQ people across the South, many still chose to be in the closet. Larson had led the gay congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church in prayer and song moments before the attack on the UpStairs Lounge, which also served as a church—another piece of history that had initially remained unreported. But even as we move forward, we must find the courage to tell our stories and to record our history. Let’s not turn our backs on Larry now. At some point during the investigation and before the official police report was filed, detectives were provided with his mother’s contact information, including her name, address, and phone number. He had been at the UpStairs at the time of the fire, sitting with MCC's Rev. Today, 45 years after the fire, no one has still been charged with the crime. He died by suicide the following year. ... Everybody deserves to be acknowledged that they lived and they died,” Lynette continued, adding, “I feel in my heart and soul that Larry Norman Frost died in that fire. The remaining three victims were generically referred to as “unknown white males.”. “I would like to see him be [officially] added to the list of the other victims. In 2013, I announced the production of UpStairs Inferno, the full-length documentary I made about the fire and its aftermath. Over the past few years, two books, two documentaries and even a musical came out about the fire… According to Patrick, many of the men could not initially be identified because they threw their wallets into the fire before they died in order to hide their identities. Patrick Schoen remembers the night of the UpStairs Lounge fire vividly. Larry had blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a slender build. It is likely that after they escaped, they never looked back, refused to tell their story, and were not officially counted among the survivors. To this day, Nancy cherishes a plush dinosaur toy he gave her when she was a child. I first came across details of it in 2006 when reading through brittle copies of 1970s newspapers at the William Way Community Center in Philadelphia, the only place that held gay sources in the city. I recently, however, uncovered new evidence about the fire that settles some long-standing debates. She took that to the grave,” Lynette sighed. While I am getting ahead of myself, this seemingly ordinary routine would unwittingly yield evidence implying a connection between Larry and the UpStairs Lounge fatalities. “The parallels start to fray at a certain point,” Fieseler said. We’ll get you some peace. Yet he missed his parents’ anniversary on June 28, and weeks passed without a belated acknowledgment. According to local laws, unclaimed bodies had to be buried as “indigents.” On July 31, 1973, those four were buried in unmarked graves at a New Orleans cemetery, identified in recent years as Resthaven Memorial Park. Even after years of not hearing from Larry, the family never added him to the national missing persons database. Unfortunately, detectives failed to document the source of this information or when it was provided. This June marks the 45th anniversary of the massacre, but many other questions remain about the men who threw their wallets into a fire that claimed their lives. Those are not the only stories to uncover. And they believed it was still dangerous to tell their story. Read more here. According to Fieseler, undercover police would regularly conduct sting operations to catch gay men soliciting for sex in public spaces, and if caught and arrested on a dreaded “crimes against nature” charge, the ramifications in the wider world were absolute. Donald asked if there was anything missing from the apartment that might indicate Larry had packed a bag and moved. Ruth Frost Moreland (C) with her daughters Loretta (L) and Lynette (R) Moreland in the pool at their Georgia home. The correct number is 32, not 29. Just hang on, buddy. While giving a lecture on the history of the fire, I showed a popular image of the rescue and realized that verification of the authorities’ indifference was staring me in the face. Were they intimidated or inspired when they walked into a gay bar? He worked at the UpStairs Lounge during the popular Sunday evening beer busts and knew the regulars quite well. Within his answer to detectives, Quinton stated, “Larry Frost, W/M, 32 yrs., employed at the Dauphine Orleans, he’s [the] bar manager.” The Dauphine Orleans was a hotel located only a few blocks away from the UpStairs Lounge. There have been rumors about possible culprits, but no one has been convicted. Peace is coming. I can’t recall any kind of turmoil in life,” Nancy countered as she thought back to that summer and whether she observed any signs of distress within the Frost household that may have resulted from a disturbing call from police. Donald was optimistic that Larry’s medical history might help. In a funeral home on the edge of the French Quarter, 12-year-old Patrick Schoen refused to accept his cousin’s dare to look inside the body bags that were lined up in the carriageway of the family business. The disgraceful reaction of the media and most New Orleanians galvanized the LGBT community as they mourned those lost to the deadliest fire in New Orleans history. Till now, this conclusion was largely drawn from a New Orleans Times-Picayune image of Rev. There is also slim evidence that validates the complaint that the authorities left many to die in the burning building. (Jack Thornell/AP) This article is more than 2 … I don’t know, maybe he’s not rested and needs to be put to rest.” That search led her to me and UpStairs Inferno, which brings the story full circle. Most of the victims were found near the windows in the background.