Photo © Upper Meadow Films
Eldon Murray
Eldon Murray
For many, especially younger LGBTQs, Pride Month is that annual exercise of rainbow enhanced expression of identity and celebration of our community’s presence. Most have an inkling of why it happens in June, namely the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969. It was on that day when yet another act of police harassment of patrons in a New York City gay bar finally incited an uprising. It would also raise an army of activists across the country to fight for LGBTQ civil rights.
Among those taking up the banner in the fight against gay oppression was Milwaukee’s Eldon Murray. In November 2024, award winning videographer Don Ollman released The Golden Boy … A History of Eldon Murray Recited by John Trehardt, a 45-minute feature film on the life of Cream City’s leading pioneer of gay rights. Insightful and engaging, it is a must-see work (especially for those with little knowledge of the past) that explains the nature of Pride and those who fought in its name.
Asked why he had produced the film, Ollman explained, “I never met Eldon Murray, but I was friends with Carl Bogner (director of the Milwaukee LGBTQ Film/Video Festival). Bogner didn’t know if there had already been a documentary done and he hooked with me up with John Terhardt, Murray’s long-time friend and companion who had also donated Murray’s collection of photos and documents to the UWM-LGBTQ Archive. I jumped right into it. The first time I met John I took out the camera and started shooting. When we went through Eldon’s files at the archive it was John discovering Eldon’s history again.”
Exceptional Life
The pair went to the archive several times and wound up filming there. “The fomenting process takes time. Living an amount of time with a person like John, the film creates itself. When I met him, I thought he knew a lot about Eldon. I followed John and his life and memories. It’s voyeuristic, living the life of the people you’re watching. It’s a human story. Eldon lived an exceptional life. Eventually, John became sick himself. Had I not filmed him, I would never had learned about all of this.”
The Golden Boy offers insight into that “exceptional life.” Terhardt had given Murray’s material to UWM, but was too busy with his own life to have gone through it. Seeing the material for the first time, his reactions are candid and provide the narrative. Sharing those photos, scrapbooks, newspaper articles and Murray’s own writings and poetry, Trehardt tells us the story of his friend’s life as a child, a Korean War combat veteran (including a boys-will-be-boys anecdote of Murray firing a bazooka near an enemy soldier as he tried to take a “number two”) and an activist. As a co-founder of the Gay People’s Union, BestD Clinic, SAGE, Murray was responsible for firsts in LGBTQ political history, making an impact felt across the country.
Beyond the biographical account of a life of service to the cause of LGBTQ rights, Ollman’s film conjures Murray’s personal and emotional presence through Terhardt’s intimate narration. It is as much a documentary about a gay activist and his times as it is about a deep and loving friendship negotiating those times. There is a segment of Terhardt visiting Murray’s cemetery plot with a tombstone that includes two additional names, Terhardt’s and another good friend’s. It seems Murray did not want a marker, but Terhardt had one installed, noting with a bit of humor that Murray was gone and wouldn’t know about it anyway. There are also numerous accounts told by Terhardt of the pure and simple humanity they shared.
Ollman’s hopes his film will resonant with viewers. “It should be inspirational to most people. The universe gives you the perspective,” he mused, adding, “John and Eldon were really good friends. John always doing things for other people, supporting other people and he did so for Eldon. The way he speaks about Eldon, their relationship just worked. They took care of each other. It was pure love, it was magic. It was great. “
The film is available for online viewing at umpfilms.com
