Editing Lance Loud

{{Short description|Columnist, musician (1951–2001)}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Lance Loud
| image       =Lance Loud 1973.JPG
| alt         =Loud in 1973
| caption     =Loud in 1973
| birth_name  = Alanson Russell Loud
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1951|06|26}}
| birth_place = [[La Jolla, San Diego, California]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2001|12|22|1951|06|26}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| other_names =
| known_for   =
| occupation  = Musician, magazine columnist
}}

'''Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud''' (June 26, 1951 &ndash; December 22, 2001) was an American television personality, magazine [[columnist]], and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in ''[[An American Family]]'', a pioneer [[reality television]] series that featured his [[coming out]], leading to his status as an icon in the [[gay community]].<ref>{{cite news
| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lance-loud-729879.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090323141233/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lance-loud-729879.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = March 23, 2009
| title = Lance Loud (obituary)
| date = 2002-04-02
| first = Adrian
| last = Dannatt
| work = [[The Independent]]
| publisher = Independent News and Media
| location = [[London]]
| access-date = 2008-10-26
}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Villarejo |first=Amy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/842209179 |title=Ethereal queer : television, historicity, desire |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-8223-5495-6 |location=Durham |pages=81–121 |oclc=842209179}}</ref>

==Early life==
Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud was born in 1951 in [[La Jolla, California]] to William and Patricia (nee Russell) Loud.  The oldest of five children, at the time of his birth, Loud's father was in the [[United States Navy]]. Following his father's separation from the Navy, Loud and his family spent several years living in his mother's hometown of [[Eugene, Oregon]].  During Loud's adolescence, he and his family moved from Oregon to [[Santa Barbara, California]].  It was here that Loud's teen years were shaped after discovering the artistic and cultural influences of [[Andy Warhol]], [[The Factory]], and [[The Velvet Underground]]. Eventually, Loud became a pen pal and friend of Warhol's.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lance Loud! . Lance: His Life & Legacy {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/lance/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>

In late 1969, Loud and his best-friend, [[Kristian Hoffman]], drove to [[San Francisco]] to experience [[Haight-Ashbury]] and the neighborhood's much-publicized cultural scene as well as explore the city's gay enclaves.  After leaving the [[Bay Area]], the pair drove east to the [[San Joaquin Valley]] and [[Altamont Raceway Park]] near [[Tracy, California]].  There, they attended the now-infamous [[Altamont Free Concert]].

==''An American Family''==
{{main|An American Family}}
Loud's fame came with ''An American Family'', a documentary of his family's life, which was broadcast in the U.S. on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] in 1973, drawing 10 million viewers and causing considerable controversy.<ref name=":0" />

==The Mumps==
{{main|Mumps (rock band)}}
Loud regrouped his band, naming it "The Mumps".  Along with Kristian Hoffman, the band included [[Rob Duprey]], [[Jay Dee Daugherty]] and Aaron Kiley. Daugherty and Kiley left the band early on and were replaced by Kevin Kiely and Paul Rutner.

Over the course of five years, The Mumps were booked regularly at [[Max's Kansas City]] and [[CBGB]], played on bills with rock and punk rock bands such as [[Television (band)|Television]], [[Talking Heads (band)|Talking Heads]], the [[Ramones]], [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], [[Milk 'N' Cookies]], [[The Cramps]], [[Cheap Trick]], and [[Van Halen]]. Despite this popularity and two critically acclaimed, independent 45s, the group never landed a contract with a major record label. Two compilations of their music have been released: ''Fatal Charm'' (Eggbert Records, 1994), and a lavishly illustrated, remastered, 2-disc CD/DVD compilation, ''How I Saved The World'', in 2005.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p141585/biography|pure_url=yes}}], Biography of The Mumps, ''[[Allmusic]]''</ref> The CD booklets contain affectionate tributes from members of the [[Cramps]], [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]], [[R.E.M.]], the [[New York Dolls]], [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], [[Dramarama]], [[the Go-Go's]], [[Danzig (band)|Danzig]], [[Devo]], [[Patti Smith|Patti Smith Group]], and the [[The Screamers|Screamers]], as well as praise from [[Danny Fields]], [[Jayne County]], [[Rufus Wainwright]], and [[Paul Reubens]], helping to secure The Mumps a place in musical history.

Loud wrote a monthly column in the influential ''Rock Scene'' magazine, an early supporter of glam and the punk genre.  In his columns, Loud reported on his favorite artists and covered junkets he took, such as a brief tour with [[Jim Dandy Mangrum]] of the band [[Black Oak Arkansas]].

==Later career and family==
When Loud left music performance, he became a columnist for several national magazines, including ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'', ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]'', ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'', and ''[[Creem]]''. As a journalist, Loud remained active in cultural scenes as well as giving occasional lectures on the impact of ''An American Family'' on American society at colleges around the country. He was present at the [[Andy Warhol Museum]] in [[Pittsburgh]] when his teenage letters to Andy were officially entered into the Andy Warhol archive.

The Loud family was kept in the public eye through two televised PBS updates, each filmed by the original ''An American Family'' team of Alan and Susan Raymond.<ref name="pbs-about">{{cite web| url = https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/about/
| title = About the Film | work = PBS.org | access-date = 2008-10-26 }}</ref> The last documentary, called ''Lance Loud! A Death in An American Family'', was about Loud's physical decline, to include his 20-year addiction to [[Methamphetamine|crystal meth]] and his struggle to survive with [[HIV]]. The documentary was shown on PBS in January 2003.<ref name="pbs-about" />

Subsequent to the showing of ''A Death in An American Family'', Loud's parents moved back in together, granting one of his last wishes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yardley |first1=William |title=Bill Loud, the Father of TV's 'An American Family,' Is Dead at 97 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/obituaries/bill-loud-dead-american-family.html |access-date=1 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0" />  Loud's mother and father lived in the same vicinity of all of their children, with the exception of Kevin, who lived outside of California.  Loud's father, Bill, died in 2018 and his mother, Pat, died in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/pat-laud-dead/2021/01/11/6268eb54-5413-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html |title=Pat Loud, early reality TV star as matriarch on 'An American Family,' dies at 94 |date=2021-01-11|author1=Emily Langer |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}</ref>

==Death==
In 2001, Loud entered the Carl Bean [[hospice care|hospice]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], suffering from [[hepatitis C]] and the effects of [[HIV]].  While in hospice care, he wrote his final article, "Musings on Mortality".<ref>{{cite web|author=Loud, Lance|title=Musings on Mortality|url=https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/hepatitis/mortality.html|access-date=29 May 2011|website=Pbs.org|date=December 2001|orig-year=originally published in the January 22, 2002 issue of ''The Advocate''}}</ref>

On December 22, 2001, Lance Loud died at age 50 of liver failure due to the [[comorbidity]] of hepatitis C and HIV.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lueck |first1=Thomas J. |title=Lance Loud, 50, Part of Family Documentary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/29/us/lance-loud-50-part-of-family-documentary.html |access-date=1 June 2020 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 December 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/hepatitis/index.html|title=Lance Loud! . Hepatitis C & HIV |website=Pbs.org|access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>

Portions of 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 from friends and family.  A rendition of "[[Over the Rainbow]]" was sung by [[Rufus Wainwright]] while he was accompanied on piano by Wainwright's mother [[Kate McGarrigle]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paley Center - Lance Loud documentary |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=see&p=262&item=T:78339 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.paleycenter.org}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2010, [[HBO Films]] announced that it was making ''[[Cinema Verite]]'', a film about the making of ''An American Family'', with [[Thomas Dekker (actor)|Thomas Dekker]] cast as Lance Loud.<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Eber
  | first = Hailey
  | title = Thomas Dekker to play Lance Loud, the original reality TV kid
  | work = The Los Angeles Times
  | date = 2010-06-17
  | url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/06/thomas-dekker-to-play-lance-loud.html
  | access-date = 2010-08-07}}</ref> The film had its debut showing on HBO on April 23, 2011.<ref>[http://www.tvguide.com/News/HBO-Cinema-Verite-1030815.aspx ''HBO Announces Premiere Date For Cinema Verite''] TV Guide, March 17, 2011</ref>

In 2012, Loud's mother, Pat, authored a book about his life titled ''Lance Out Loud''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Loud |first=Pat |title=Lance Out Loud |publisher=Geditions |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-9832702-6-3}}</ref>  The book was edited by Christopher Makos and published by Glitterati Incorporated.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfwGOHFBsu5SL-hhsE_mbog Mumps] on [[YouTube]]
* {{Discogs artist|Mumps (3)|Mumps}}
* [https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/ ''Lance Loud! A Death in An American Family''] at [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loud, Lance}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from California]]
[[Category:American columnists]]
[[Category:American punk rock singers]]
[[Category:Participants in American reality television series]]
[[Category:Writers from Eugene, Oregon]]
[[Category:Writers from San Diego]]
<!-- La Jolla is part of San Diego -->
[[Category:Writers from Santa Barbara, California]]
[[Category:American gay writers]]
[[Category:AIDS-related deaths in California]]
[[Category:American gay musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:People from La Jolla, San Diego]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]]