Judging from pictures, I think Griffith toned down his image as he aged. He wrote an essay on putting it behind him in an April 1963 issue of Boxing and Wrestling but it is mostly about how he learned from others who had caused deaths to look ahead rather than back. He became a post-Stonewall hero but the main thing about that, it seems to me, is that his context had finally caught up with him. If you are the only out gay man, you stand out; if you are surrounded by gay men, you have found your tribe. Griffith, I think, suffered because there was no tribe for him to join. Thank you again for a helpful comment.
Very interesting, as always, and elegantly written.
Fascinating story. I found it moving too. Did Griffith ever open up about that fight with Paret? Did he maintain his flashy personal life afterward?
Judging from pictures, I think Griffith toned down his image as he aged. He wrote an essay on putting it behind him in an April 1963 issue of Boxing and Wrestling but it is mostly about how he learned from others who had caused deaths to look ahead rather than back. He became a post-Stonewall hero but the main thing about that, it seems to me, is that his context had finally caught up with him. If you are the only out gay man, you stand out; if you are surrounded by gay men, you have found your tribe. Griffith, I think, suffered because there was no tribe for him to join. Thank you again for a helpful comment.