THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Gay Boy Ric was an actor/writer/comedian and pop/rap singer. He performed numerous one-man shows in L.A. and New York, most recently Gay Boy Ric: For Straight Guys Only! at Theatre/Theatre in L.A. and Surfing with The Straight Boys at The Comedy Store in L.A. In addition, he wrote a nationally syndicated column called GAY TV and was host of The Gay Boy Ric TV Show, seen on several public access stations in L.A. A regular feature on the The GBR TV Show is 'The Keanu Song Corner,' during which GBR and guitarist Dylan Kelly perform acoustic garage tributes to Keanu Reeves, including 'Keanu, I'm Yours,' '(Keanu, I'm Already) Torn,' 'Keanu Wants It That Way,' and 'Visions of Keanu.' Ric discussed Eminem and performed his MP3 single on MTV's FANOGRAPHY: EMINEM, MuchMusic Canada's NEW MUSIC show and on PUBLIC EMINEM NUMBER ONE, a documentary that aired on the U.K. music channel PLAY UK and BBC Choice. As a pop/rap singer, GBR specialized in adapting classic rock and R&B songs to reflect and incorporate his own personal experiences. His 'boom-box-quality-only' cassette, Comin! At Ya!: The Ghetto-Blaster Bootleg Mix includes I'm Da Beastie Gay (Yo!), I'm Da Beastie Gay (a variation on Aerosmith's and Run-DMC's 'Walk This Way'), Boys, You Know It's True and Don't Blame It on The Gays. Reflective of how deeply entrenched homophobia is in the music industry, Billboard magazine once tried to censor a GBR ad in their annual rap issue simply because it contained the song title, I'm Into GUYS! 'They refused to print the title I'm Into GUYS!,' recounted GBR, 'even though the issue had song titles like 'Suck on This, Bitch.' The matter was only resolved when it was brought down to ad dollars and cents. I said I would withdraw the ad completely unless the title stayed. Rather than lose the ad, the magazine agreed to run the ad in its entirety.'

Ric was born in Lake Charles, La., and was raised as a military kid overseas in Turkey and Spain. 'We were Military Kids, not military brats!,' Ric said. 'It was the Embassy Kids who were the real brats!' Even as a young child growing up in Turkey and Spain, Gay Boy Ric liked to hang out in coffee shops and drink black coffee.