Tony DeBlase (also known as Fledermaus, Editor Emeritus of
Drummer Magazine and numerous gay BDSM books) will probably
be best remembered for his creation of the Leather Flag which
he presented at The International Mister Leather Contest in
1989. Tony was vice president of the board of the Leather
Archives and Museum in Chicago, and was the recipient of numerous
awards in the Leather community
The flag Tony created has alternating black and blue stripes
with a center stripe of white, and a red heart on the upper
left corner. Tony did not assign meaning to the different
shapes and colors of the flag, but rather wanted each of us
to interpret these as we wished.
From: "Joseph W. Bean" jwbean@ix.netcom.com
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2000 7:50 PM
Subject: [LeatherHistory] Re: Tony DeBlase
The following is my best effort to produce an obituary for
Tony. If you are publishing it, you may add and subtract,
amplify and alter as you like. If you wish to forward it to
others, feel free to do so. For many of you, however, it is
just information which I hope is welcome. (Note: This is not
my personal memorial for Tony, just an official obit.)
Tony DeBlase, one of the great innovators and leaders of
the leather community and creator of the Leather Pride Flag,
died peacefully in Portland, Oregon, on July 21, 2000, after
an extended illness, largely involving liver failure. He is
survived by his lover of more than 24 years, Dr. Andrew Charles
in Portland, as well as his mother, Ida, and two sisters,
Stephanie DeBlase and Mary DeBlase Hurst, all of South Bend,
Indiana. DeBlase, born April 3, 1942, was just 58 at the time
of his death.
Dr. DeBlase-a mammalogist, specializing in the biology of
bats-was engaged in museum administration and development
for much of his professional life. His career in museums included
at least ten years at Chicago's Field Museum and substantial
work in the development of the Connor Prairie Museum in Indiana
before he became involved in the founding and development
of The Leather Archives & Museum, where he served as Vice
President of the Board of Directors from 1992 until 2000.
A renowned gourmet cook, DeBlase was active in various cooking
and dining organizations, and felt it was a great honor in
1999 to be permitted to cook for the International Association
of Culinary Professionals at his home in Oregon.
Also known as Fledermaus-a name he usually reserved for fictions
about leather and SM-and as Richard W. Krousher (you work
out the nickname), author of Physical Interrogation Techniques,
Tony DeBlase was one of the most active lecturers, demonstrators,
instructors and one might even say philosophers of leathersex
in the latter third of the 20th Century. His accomplishments
as a leather leader are legendary.
An early member of Chicago Hellfire Club, DeBlase attended
all but one of the club's infamous Infernos, a record only
matched by one founding member. What's more, DeBlase was a
major factor in the development of Inferno and in exporting
the lessons learned and formulas tested there to other, less
experienced SM clubs. He was the founder of the Contest and
Demonstration Schedule at Inferno which, since its inception
more than 20 years ago, has become an important factor in
the success of the event.
In 1982, as Fledermaus, DeBlase produced a collection of
stories, published by Larry Townsend as The Fledermaus Anthology,
many of which have become imitated classics of the genre.
As the founding publisher of DungeonMaster magazine-49 issues
from 1979 to 1994-DeBlase practically invented the field of
SM technique publishing, preceded only by Larry Townsend's
Leatherman's Handbook. Many of the articles from those DungeonMaster
magazines, a major portion of them written by DeBlase himself,
remain the best, most extensive or even the only published
sources of the information they explain so carefully.
It was in 1986 that Tony DeBlase and his partner Dr. Charles
moved from Chicago to San Francisco and purchased the Drummer
family of magazines from Alternate Publishing. The previously
ailing titles, Drummer included, thrived under DeBlase's passionate
direction, reaching their peak in power and influence by the
time they were sold in 1992. And, in 1988, as publisher of
Drummer and owner of the Mr. Drummer contest, DeBlase moved
the contest from Gay Pride in June to late September to coincide
with the Folsom Street Fair, creating "San Francisco
Leather Pride Weekend," a six day calendar of leather
and SM events, many of which depended on DeBlase for their
success in some way.
As a project of the Leather Archives & Museum, DeBlase
created the Leather History Time Line. Four editions of the
time line have been published so far, the first in 1993 and
the most recent in 1999.
Among the many honors and awards given to DeBlase in recognition
of his achievements were NLA's Man of the Year award in 1987,
Pantheon of Leather's Business Person of the Year Award in
1990, its Lifetime Achievement award in 1994 and the Forebear
Award in 1997. Among the honors bestowed on him by the leather
community, the one DeBlase said he treasured most was the
coveted Caligula Award from Chicago Hellfire Club for service
to Inferno.
Of course, the most widely celebrated of Tony DeBlase's achievements
in the world of leather is and probably always will be the
Leather Pride Flag which he presented to the world as a "proposed
design idea" on May 28, 1989, at International Mr. Leather.
As the creator of the flag, he was often asked to explain
the colors and design, but consistently refused to do so,
insisting that each person could do that for himself. The
design was immediately embraced and began appearing in parades
within a month of its introduction, and turned up in shops
as a bumper sticker barely two months later. Deconstructions
and recompositions of the flag's familiar black, blue and
white stripes with a red accent-originally a heart-are common,
but the design itself was accepted worldwide as introduced.
DeBlase the teacher and leather leader, the editor and editorialist,
the writer and publisher; Fledermaus the story teller; and
Dr. DeBlase the brilliant gourmet cook, scientist and textbook
writer will all be long and fondly remembered, but it is Tony,
the loyal friend and constant counselor of so many leathermen
and leatherwomen who will be most profoundly missed by the
hundreds or thousands who had come to depend on him for advice,
instruction and comfort.
A private memorial was held in Portland just days after Tony's
death. Other memorials will no doubt be held around the country,
but plans are underway for a major memorial celebration of
Tony DeBlase's life during International Mr. Leather 2001,
Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago.
Cards and condolences may be sent to Tony's surviving partner
in care of The Leather Archives & Museum, and they will
be forwarded or hand-delivered to Dr. Charles as quickly as
possible. Memorial donations to the Leather Archives will
be accepted to help offset the cost of retrieving and processing
Tony's massive collection of leather and SM files and memorabilia
and installing it properly at the LA&M.
For additional information, contact Joseph W. Bean, Leather
Archives & Museum, 6418 N. Greenview Ave., Chicago IL
60626; 773.761.9200;
archives@ix.netcom.com
