Houston LGBT media pioneer Henry McClurg dies
courtesy of the National Gay Media Association
Houston LGBT media pioneer Henry McClurg passed away on September 16 at the age of 70.
Starting in 1974 with the Gulf States paper Contact, McClurg went on to publish the Montrose Star, Houston’s first gay newspaper, and is perhaps best known for starting the “Voice” empire, beginning in 1980 with the Montrose Voice, which gradually became the Houston Voice.
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According to his obituary in Outsmart Magazine, Montrose originally became Houston’s gay neighborhood in part because of the name of McClurg’s paper. McClurg sold the Houston Voice in 1993, and it eventually folded when Windows Media closed in 2009.
“Henry was a wonderful and delightful man who I had the pleasure of working with when I was president of The National Gay Press Association, which was the first professional trade organization for LGBT media,” said Mark Segal, longtime gay activist and publisher of Philadelphia Gay News. “Henry was my vice president and should be recognized for that pioneering work on a national level. Almost two years ago, I was in Houston on the book tour of my memoir and as soon as Henry knew I was coming to town he made sure I’d have dinner with him, and get his personal tour of Montrose. It was a special evening for the joy that was Henry.”
Writing in Outsmart Magazine, JD Doyle described McClurg as the person “who contributed the most to bringing gay and lesbian news to Houston,” and quoted McClurg from a 2012 interview: “I figured my publications had a purpose, to do good, to educate people and to educate our community, let them know what is going on and be proud — not be ashamed that you’re gay,” McClurg said.
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