IN MEMORIAM
A
lan Davidson, a longtime Houston resident, author, teacher, and internationally known specialist in the area of mind/body wellness, died unexpectedly on Easter Day, at age 62. Davidson is survived by his husband of 19 years, Jim Giulian, several family members, and a worldwide cadre of individuals from his numerous endeavors in entertainment, massage, wellness and, most recently, strategic online marketing. Davidson was born in the small ranching community of Refugio, Texas, on December 31, 1958. “Alan’s father was in the Navy, so the family moved several times,” Giulian remembers. “Alan lived there until age 16, left home, and eventually moved to Houston.” Davidson lived on his own throughout the ’70s, working and eventually graduating from the University of Houston with a degree in psychology. Early in his life, he received support from many in the gay community, and in the early ’80s became “Bartender to the Fabulous” by working at the Montrose Mining Company and then, most famously, at Rich’s disco. While there, the notoriously charismatic Davidson began to develop a following. One of Davidson’s close friends, Gary Archer, remembers those early days. “Alan and I met in 1983 while we were working to open Rich’s. I was a member of the technical staff and Alan had been recruited to manage the bar.” From 1983 to 1986, Rich’s was a cornerstone of Houston’s gay nightlife. “The club and its ‘family’ of employees were important to our patrons,” Archer recalls. “By today’s standards this may seem odd, but at that time, a clubcentered social life was the norm in the LGBT community.” Like many of Davidson’s friends, Archer remembers their first meeting vividly. “In walks this big man with a big personality.” Davidson had been hired to recruit patrons to populate Rich’s then-iconic upstairs bar, and to make the space his own. It quickly became the off-the-dance-floor destination for everyone who visited the disco. “Alan was so warm and welcoming, he just took people in,” Archer says. “If you didn’t know who Alan was when you walked in, within a matter of seconds you wanted to.” 26 MAY 2021 | OutSmartMagazine.com
Remembering Alan Davidson The wellness expert and teacher died last month on Easter Day. By RICH ARENSCHIELDT
Davidson’s outsized persona enabled people to experience that warehouse-sized space and still have a connection to someone on a personal level. Teacher and mentor Helen Terry met Davidson around that same time. “Alan was part of a very small nucleus I call family,” she remembers. “We met at the old downtown YMCA where I had started to teach. Alan took the Saturday-morning class that was offered just before mine, which he described as being
filled with ‘all those badass people.’ He would hang around, wondering what we were doing [in my Nia sensory-based movement and healing class] and what music we were listening to. He eventually grew interested enough to take classes with me, and that’s how we began to know each other.” Terry and Davidson quickly realized their potential for creative synergy. “We would be in a conversation, something would ‘spark,’ and we’d just riff off of it,” Terry recalls. “Alan
