The Last American Gay Bar
Six-episode docuseries explores the history and decline of gay bars in America as LGBTQ+ acceptance grows, questioning if these sanctuaries remain vital.
Genre: Documentary
Cast:Ryan Dennis , Eligh Cade , Gary Moore , John Schmacker , Bryan Smith , Robert Eikleberry , Rick Miller , Brian Ohrberg , Greg Chamberlin
S1.E1 ∙ 1960s: Stonewall and Vietnam
As three gay men come of age and explore their sexuality in 1960s Iowa, the United States goes to war with Vietnam. The young men enlist or are drafted, forced to live in the closet as they face their own mortality. The Stonewall Riots bring gay rights into mainstream conversation, and the men come home to a changed nation.
S1.E2 ∙ 1970s: Scooping the Loop
The war is over and Stonewall has changed the gay community forever, but most gay Iowans are still living in the closet. Cruising and elicit hookups are the only ways people can meet.
S1.E3 ∙ Violence in the Streets
Iowa's LGBTQ+ community experiences violence, making safe spaces like gay bars even more important. Bob "Mongo" Eikleberry opens The Blazing Saddle, which quickly becomes a haven and an institution in Des Moines.
S1.E4 ∙ The War on AIDS
The Blazing Saddle crew came of age in Stonewall times and survived the Vietnam War, but nothing could have prepared them for the AIDS epidemic.
