Bash, Dominic
Name: Dominic Joseph Bash
Biography:
[DOMINIC BASH, HAIRDRESSER WHO HELPED AIDS VICTIMS]
Source: Ralph Cipriano, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Dominic Bash, 46, a South Street hairdresser who ministered to men dying of AIDS and made flamboyant public appearances in drag, died Sunday at his South Philadelphia home of complications from AIDS. Mr. Bash, who had pale, shoulder-length, blond hair, loved to be outrageous. Last year, he led the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade, strutting from Rittenhouse Square to Penn's Landing in a purple-and-pink sequined leotard and a lavender feathered boa. In 1991, Mr. Bash wasPublished on 1993-01-27, Page B06, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Dominic was a marvelous activist and hairdresser and salon owner in Philadelphia. He had a fabulous drag persona, Madominic. The name of his salon, The Abbey, reflected a deep religious faith that he often proclaimed, as in that name, with a great camp twist.
[Spiritual Guide for Men Dying of AIDS]
Philadelphia Inquirer (11/20/91), P. 1-A
Cipriano, Ralph
Abstract: Dominic Bash, the coordinator of the AIDS ministry for Dignity of Philadelphia Inc., a church for homosexual Catholics, visits AIDS patients several times a week to act as a sort of spiritual guide. "I just give a little nurturing, loving, and caring that they're not getting from mother church," he says. Bash serves Communion during his visits, counsels the patients, and helps with other church-oriented tasks such as funeral services. Because the Catholic Church condemns homosexual acts, many members of Dignity feel alienated from it. "I had to separate who I was angry with," says Paul, a pseudonymous member of Dignity who is dying of AIDS. "I can't blame God for what the Pope believes. My quarrel is not with God. I don't agree with the Catholic Church's teachings." Bash, who himself is HIV-positive, says, "I was brought up as a Roman Catholic, being taught to love one another. Yet [the Church] couldn't love me and I couldn't live a lie."
Picture: (Insert picture if available)
Date of Birth:8/14/1946
Date of Death: 1/24/1993
Age at Death: 46
Memorial:
Employment: Hairdresser, The Abbey Salon.
Social/Political Groups: ACT UP, Dignity Philadelphia
Bars/Clubs he attended:
His friends included: Chris Bartlett, Matty Hart, Jim Littrell
Testimonials to him: Dominic was a fiery friend and the first man who ever took me inside a gay bar in the late 1960's. He wore leather then; feathers came later. JL
