Vivacious, unconventional, candid, and straight, Helen Branson operated a gay bar in Los Angeles in the 1950s America s most anti-gay decade. After years of fending off drunken passes as an entertainer in cocktail bars, this divorced grandmother preferred the wit, variety, and fun she found among homosexual men. Enjoying their companionship and deploring their plight, she gave her gay friends a place to socialize. Though at the time California statutes prohibited homosexuals from gathering in bars, Helen s place was relaxed, suave, and remarkably safe from police raids and other...