Lance Loud

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Lance Loud

Lance Loud (June 26, 1951–December 22, 2001) was an openly gay columnist. He is probably best known for his role in An American Family, which is widely considered television's first reality show.

Lance was born in La Jolla, California, while his father was in the Navy during the Korean War. He spent his early childhood with his parents and four siblings in Eugene, Oregon, and his later childhood and teen years in Santa Barbara, California. When he was about 13, Lance discovered Andy Warhol (who later became a penpal with him), The Factory, and The Velvet Underground.

As a teenager, Lance commandeered the family car and drove a few friends to Haight-Ashbury to see what that was all about. He hitchhiked to Altamont Raceway Park to attend The Rolling Stones concert that later became the subject of the documentary Gimme Shelter.

An American Family was broadcast in the US on PBS in 1973, drawing 10 million viewers and causing considerable controversy at the time. The show was based in Santa Barbara, California. Lance moved to New York City to live, where he frequented various clubs and drag shows. After the series ended, Lance appeared on The Dick Cavett Show and stated that he thought the filmmakers had intentionally edited the series to make him seem obnoxious and grating. In New York, he revived his band called The Mumps, which played often at CBGB but never signed a recording contract. Lance also developed an addiction to crystal meth which lasted for over 20 years.

Loud became a columnist for various magazines, including The Advocate, Details, Interview, and Creem.

At age 50, Loud entered the Carl Bean hospice in Los Angeles, California suffering from HIV and hepatitis C. A film crew had revisited him for the program American Family Revisited, shown in 1983. On realizing he was dying, Loud called the film crew back again, expressing dissatisfaction with how the series ended and how various people were portrayed in it. He died in 2001, and the documentary of his final days, Lance Loud!: A Death in An American Family, was shown on PBS in January 2003.

[edit] Quote

In his last few days, on having injected crystal meth for 20 years: "I was a bit of a prick."
In his final appearance on camera in the 2003 documentary A Death in An American Family, as mother Pat holds him in her arms, he states, "When Louds love, they love long and deep about six feet deep."