FEATURE
“What The Neighbours Think Is Very Unimportant.”
COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID VANCE. BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES COURTESY OF DAVID LEDDICK.
If variety is the spice of life, David Leddick is one hot tamale! At 82, the sailor who became a ballet dancer and then an advertising executive and now an author, shares his inspirational and often hilarious views on life and living. Story by Tim Warrington. DNA: It’s quite a leap from the US Navy to writing a book like How To Be Gay In The 21st Century. How did you get there? David Leddick: It was a very long leap. I was a naval officer right out of college, in the early 1950s. Then I went to New York City, studied ballet and danced with the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Ballet Corp (I lied about my age). Then I went to Plan B, which was the world of advertising in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. I eventually became Worldwide Creative Director for Revlon at Grey Advertising. I then lived in France and was Creative Director for L’Oreal at McCann-Erickson Advertising. In 1995, I left advertising and became a writer. I started doing photo books and novels. I have done 23 books. I live between France, Miami Beach and Montevideo. Did you write the guide because you feel gay men have lost their way? Not at all. It is because the gay world has opened up so much and reached a level of acceptance that we shouldn’t behave as though we are guilty of something and live some kind of half-underground life. Now we are all in a 44 DNA
different world and need to be gay in different ways that work for each and every one of us. I wrote How To Be Gay In The 21st Century because it’s time for change. No more 20th Century thinking.
“The most important reason we are here is to love someone… How can anyone love you if you are pretending to be someone else?” Your guide to being gay is very, very funny but it’s also informative. Do you think humour is an effective way of presenting information? I hate preaching. People love to laugh and they
can learn something at the same time. I have also heard from a lot of straight people who read the book and liked it, so it helps people understand that we are all in on this project called life together. You started your new career as a writer when you were 65. What advice would you give to someone who is unsure about what they want to be, or someone who is unhappy in their career? I don’t think you are ever really unsure about what you want to be; it may just not be some kind of career. I always considered advertising a job, not a career. And it paid for my lifestyle, which is what I wanted to do, which was great. A lot of careers can be like that. Only a few, like Picasso, actually do fulfilling work. The rest of us have to work at living fulfilling lives. Listen, we only go through life once. If you aren’t happy, stop and do something else. Many of your books celebrate the male form. Do you ever tire of looking at men? Have you become desensitised? Not really. Men are beautiful in so many different ways. Sometimes photographers just