Other than poet Assotto Saint and his life partner Jan Holmgren, I am probably the only person to have viewed a videotape of our mutual friend Dave Frechette's final moments as he lay in a hospital bed.
Dave, a very gifted writer and journalist, died of AIDS-related complications at New York's Roosevelt Hospital in 1991.
As he lay dying, Assotto and Jan recorded him up to the point when he took his last breaths. At the moment of death, Assotto is seen trying to close Dave's eyes. But they wouldn't stay closed.
Assotto, shortly after showing me the tape in his Chelsea apartment, accidentally erased it. An avid fan of the soap opera, All My Children, he recorded an episode of the show on the tape containing the video of Dave's death. "Can you imagine," he lamented to me, "erasing the tape for a soap opera?" Apparently, he did not label the cassette or punch out the little plastic tabs at both ends of the cassette to prevent such a catastrophe. Unfortunately, that tape is now forever lost to gay history. ( There was a recording of Dave's funeral service, which I also viewed at Assotto's home, but I don' t remember if it was on the same cassette.)
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Hey Charles Michael Smith, I happened upon your post while Googling and searching for Assotto. Thank you for telling this story. Sometimes the telling of the thing has it's own strength.
ReplyDeleteMarvin K. White(Son of Assotto)