Pat Rocco

Pat Rocco: Harvey Milk speech in Los Angeles (1978) Summary: Short documentary footage of Harvey Milk (1930-1979), California's first openly gay elected official, at the 8th annual Gay Pride Parade in Los Angeles on July 2, 1978, several months before his assassination. Milk gives a speech at De Longpre Park, railing against Anita Bryant and religious leaders who use religion to support discrimination, as well as the Briggs Initiative. Milk further states that if homosexuals are barred from being teachers (the goal of the Initiative), they will soon be barred from any profession requiring a license or degree. Milk admonishes the crowd to come out to everyone they know. Finally, he asks Jimmy Carter to step forward and defend gay and lesbian rights.

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About filmmaker Pat Rocco

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare. In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S.
Pat Rocco: Sign of Protest (c.1970) Sign of Protest (c.1970) directed by Pat Rocco.

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare. In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S.
Pat Rocco: A Date with Phyllis (2003) A Date with Phyllis (2003), directed by Pat Rocco

Pat Rocco and his partner are meeting his old friend, actress and comedian Phyllis Diller, at her home in Brentwood, California. Diller gives them a tour of her house, photos and other memorabilia documenting her long career. Filmed on June 24, 2003.

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S.

Learn more about the Pat Rocco Collection at UCLA: ucla.in/2Gut670
Pat Rocco: We Were There (1976) [contains nudity] Please note: this footage contains nudity.

We Were There (1976), directed by Pat Rocco, is a look at the gay pride celebrations in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the United States bicentennial year of 1976.

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare. In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S.
Pat Rocco: Changes (1970) Changes (1970), directed by Pat Rocco.

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S.

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