Peter Adair
Encyclopedia
Peter Adair was a filmmaker and artist, best known for his pioneering documentary, Word Is Out
.
, a film record of a Pentecostal snake handler worship service in the Appalachians. From 1975 to 1977, he collaborated with his lesbian
sister Nancy Adair and other members of the Mariposa Film Group to produce and direct Word Is Out
. The film, the first of its kind to present gays and lesbians in a positive light, was a critical hit nationwide. Word Is Out inspired Nancy to collaborate with Casey Adair, Peter and Nancy's mother, on a companion book, published in 1978. Peter Adair always chose the subject matter for his film based on his current passions, and Word Is Out was as much a vital part of his own coming out
process as it was an attempt to show gays and lesbians in a very human and non-sensational manner.
In 1983 Peter Adair produced Stopping History and in 1984 acted as consultant and did additional camerawork on The Times of Harvey Milk
, directed by his former protégé Rob Epstein
. That same year he worked with the Project Read adult literacy program of the San Francisco Public Library
to produce a series of tutoring videos.
, Adair co-directed, with Rob Esptein, The AIDS Show
: Artists Involved in Death and Survival, one of the first films to examine AIDS' impact on the arts community, in 1986. When he became aware of his own HIV
status, he wrote and directed Absolutely Positive, an examination of how asymptomatic HIV positive people live with uncertainty.
On 27 June 1996, Peter Adair finally succumbed to complications of AIDS at the age of 52 in San Francisco.
Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives is a 1977 documentary film featuring interviews with 26 gay men and women. It was directed by six people collectively known as the Mariposa Film Group. Peter Adair conceived and produced the film, and was one of the directors...
.
Career
Adair entered the film industry in the 1960s and first gained critical attention with his 1967 documentary Holy Ghost PeopleHoly Ghost People
Holy Ghost People is a 1967 documentary directed and narrated by Peter Adair. It is about the service of a Pentecostal community in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia, United States....
, a film record of a Pentecostal snake handler worship service in the Appalachians. From 1975 to 1977, he collaborated with his lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
sister Nancy Adair and other members of the Mariposa Film Group to produce and direct Word Is Out
Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives is a 1977 documentary film featuring interviews with 26 gay men and women. It was directed by six people collectively known as the Mariposa Film Group. Peter Adair conceived and produced the film, and was one of the directors...
. The film, the first of its kind to present gays and lesbians in a positive light, was a critical hit nationwide. Word Is Out inspired Nancy to collaborate with Casey Adair, Peter and Nancy's mother, on a companion book, published in 1978. Peter Adair always chose the subject matter for his film based on his current passions, and Word Is Out was as much a vital part of his own coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
process as it was an attempt to show gays and lesbians in a very human and non-sensational manner.
In 1983 Peter Adair produced Stopping History and in 1984 acted as consultant and did additional camerawork on The Times of Harvey Milk
The Times of Harvey Milk
The Times of Harvey Milk is an American documentary film that premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco...
, directed by his former protégé Rob Epstein
Rob Epstein
Rob Epstein, also credited as Robert P. Epstein, is a director, producer, writer and editor. Epstein has won two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature for the films The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt....
. That same year he worked with the Project Read adult literacy program of the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
to produce a series of tutoring videos.
Late career
As he began to see his friends in the art and film communities succumb to the plague of AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, Adair co-directed, with Rob Esptein, The AIDS Show
The AIDS Show
The AIDS Show is a collaboratively written theater piece about AIDS, and a documentary video about the making of the stage show.-1984 production:...
: Artists Involved in Death and Survival, one of the first films to examine AIDS' impact on the arts community, in 1986. When he became aware of his own HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
status, he wrote and directed Absolutely Positive, an examination of how asymptomatic HIV positive people live with uncertainty.
On 27 June 1996, Peter Adair finally succumbed to complications of AIDS at the age of 52 in San Francisco.