19 Facts About Lance Loud

Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud was an American television personality, magazine columnist, and new wave rock-n-roll performer.

Lance Loud was born in La Jolla, California, in 1951, while his father was in the United States Navy.

Lance Loud spent his early childhood with his parents and four siblings in Eugene, Oregon, and his later childhood and adolescence in Santa Barbara, California.

Lance Loud hitchhiked to Altamont Raceway Park to attend the Altamont Free Concert, later the subject of the documentary Gimme Shelter.

Lance Loud's fame came with An American Family, a documentary of his family's life, which was broadcast in the US on PBS in 1973, drawing 10 million viewers and causing considerable controversy.

Lance Loud moved to New York City, driven by his obsession with The Velvet Underground and the Warhol scene.

Lance Loud became a regular at Max's Kansas City and attended Charles Ludlam productions at La Mama, with actors including Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn.

Lance Loud stated at the time that he thought the filmmakers had intentionally edited the series to make him seem obnoxious and grating.

Lance Loud became a gay icon by having his homosexuality revealed to a national audience during the course of the documentary.

Lance Loud regrouped his band, called The Mumps, along with Santa Barbara High School friend Kristian Hoffman, Rob Duprey, high school alumnus Jay Dee Daugherty, and Aaron Kiley.

Lance Loud wrote a monthly column in the influential Rock Scene magazine, where he reported on his favorite artists and covered unlikely junkets, such as a brief tour with Jim Dandy Mangrum from Black Oak Arkansas.

When Lance Loud retired from music, he became a noted columnist for several magazines, including The Advocate, Details, Interview, and Creem.

Lance Loud was present at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh when his teenage letters to Andy were officially entered into the Andy Warhol archive.

The Lance Loud family was kept in the public eye through two televised PBS updates, both filmed by the original Academy Award-winning team of Alan and Susan Raymond.

Subsequent to the showing of A Death in An American Family, Pat and Bill Lance Loud moved back in together, granting one of their oldest son's last wishes.

In 2001, Loud entered the Carl Bean hospice in Los Angeles, California, suffering from HIV and hepatitis C Realizing he was dying, Loud called the Raymonds back to film again, expressing dissatisfaction with the way An American Family ended and how the family members were portrayed in it.

Lance Loud's wish was that the Louds be portrayed as the family Loud knew them to be.

On December 22,2001, Lance Loud died of liver failure as a result of hepatitis C and a co-infection with HIV.

Portions of Lance Loud's memorial gathering in the garden of Hollywood's Chateau Marmont are included in the documentary, A Death in An American Family, including tributes by his many friends.