BERT COLEMAN What gay man wouldn’t have wanted Tina Turner to be their baby sitter or to count the equally iconic Bette Midler among his friends? Such is the life of Bert Coleman. The St. Louis native who majored in Theater and Political Science at Webster and Washington Universities will be the first to tell you—he’s led an interesting life. In the 1970s Coleman moved to New York earning roles in the National Tours of Hair, Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. He worked for Disco hit-maker, Polydor Records which soon gained him entre into New York’s nightlife, including Studio 54 and later worked for various record labels promoting, among others, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.
Brett Daniels shows no signs of slowing down. He remains active with Change for America, the organization responsible for the National March, as well as focusing on a personal passion of his—racial diversity and inclusiveness within the LGBT community.
It’s a fair statement to say that entertainment lies at the heart Coleman’s prolific activism—for the industry was one of the first to feel the ravages of AIDS and the disease’s decimation of the gay community in the early 1980s. Horror struck and angered at the death and government inaction, Coleman was one of the founders of LIFEbeat -The Music Industry Fights AIDS. He worked with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and was instrumental in holding myriad high profile benefits and events in New York. Coleman’s activism continued in California where he worked on the first Radio sponsored AIDS Dance-A-Thon with Powr106 and Madonna and, in 1990, joined David Mixner and thousands of LGBT citizens in marching against Gov. Pete Wilson. Returning to St. Louis in 1993, Coleman was one of the co-founders of the local chapter of the Human Rights Campaign Fund and served as co-chair for their Black Tie Gala. He has worked with Pride St. Louis, served as the first Restaurant Chair for Dining Out For Life and been involved with countless organizations, benefits and vigils oftentimes calling on friends from the entertainment industry to lend a hand. Most recently Coleman served on the Executive Steering Committee for last year’s National Equality March where he was put in charge of selecting the official March song and helped to organize the HIV/AIDS Vigil and Candlelight Memorial at the Ellipse. Coleman, who presently runs B & B Music Group and manages country singer,
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