Groovy guy contest
The Groovy Guy contest was started by The Advocate magazine in 1968 as a marketing tool for the then newly formed magazine and as a way to unite the Los Angeles gay community. The event was planned by Bob Barnett and John Charles. The first contest had seven contestants and 150 people in the audience. Word of mouth created such a buzz that by the following year there were 18 contestants and 700 people in the audience. By 1970 the contest had become so famous that The Advocate featured a Groovy Guy float in the first gay pride parade down Hollywood Boulevard in June 1970. The last contest was held in 1972. It suffered a setback when one of the winners was convicted of murder soon after winning. It also lost a lot of luster when naked dancers became common in gay bars in the early seventies. It was the forerunner of gay beauty pagents to this day.
It was replaced in 1973 by the founders of ''Data-Boy'' and 'Entertainment West' magazines, working with Barnett and Charles with the Groovy Stud Contest. By 1975 the event had returned to the title of Groovy Guy contest and continued until the end of the 1970s.
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