Gay Morning America TV Series
Gay Morning America (GMA) was a weekly New York City public access show which ran from 1983-85 and documented the gay culture of Greenwich Village at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It was started by George Sardi and Johnny Savoy, who also served as the show’s producers and hosts. The two were regulars at Waverly Waverly, one of many local hangout spots and sponsors of GMA and a local cabaret bar owned by Johnny Pool, who had a regular “recipes” segment on the show in which he mixed cocktails. Other regulars included Lord Byron Falk with a fitness segment, Leslie Irons with theater reviews, and Jerry Fitzpatrick with local gay sports. In addition, comedian and performer Lynn Lavner had a segment called “Girl Talk”, in which she discussed issues specific to lesbian women. Each episode also featured a special guest, who was usually a local gay celebrity. The show was directed by Jimmy Mellow. Gay Morning America was completely produced by volunteers, with no paid staff. Gay Morning America also featured advertisements for local gay-owned businessess and publications as well as resources like hotlines and directories. It was awarded a prize by the Christopher Street Festival Committee for its outstanding contribution to the gay community.
For the first two seasons, the show was filmed live on Friday mornings from 7:30-8:30 am at the Metro Access building at 110 East 23rd Street. In the third and final season, the show moved to Saturday mornings from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm. Also during the final season, the show began having regular “phone-in” episodes, in which they took calls live on air to discuss major events impacting the community.
Provenance Note
This collection was donated by George Sardi, co-creator and co-host of Gay Morning America.
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