To be sure, Elliott A. Brager, a
well-known attorney in the Baltimore area, had his detractors. He displayed a brash, caustic often
overbearing personality, which many folks in his personal and more likely his
professional life could not deal with.
However, I am confident that an overwhelming number of people who truly
knew Elliott loved him. Count me in the
latter group.
Elliott Brager (L.) with close friend Steve Shavitz at a 2012 AIDS Action Baltimore fundraiser |
I was deeply saddened by the
news that Elliott passed away on July 7, just two days after his 72nd
birthday from heart failure. Elliott was
a good friend to Bob and me, and he was the only other person whom I ever
entertained in each of my three domiciles spanning nearly 37 years in
Maryland. While he could come off as gruff,
passionate and aggressive— traits he took full advantage of during his lengthy
law career—there was virtually nothing he wouldn’t do for you if asked.
His work in the early days on
behalf of the then named Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore as a principal
fundraiser is probably the reason the Center still exists. He would aggressively push people to buy
tickets to the many fall fundraisers and spring brunches in support of the
Center. So intimidating was he, that I
was pressured to buy a couple of tickets in 1985 even though I was scheduled
for near-emergency eye surgery the next day!
He believed in a number of other
causes with AIDS Action Baltimore among them.
And when he attached himself to a cause, he went in with both feet. Don Davis, owner of Grand Central, aptly
called him a hero.
You can read about some of his
efforts in the splendid obituary by the Baltimore
Sun’s Jacques Kelly here.
The thing I loved Elliott most
besides his passion to do good deeds was his amazing, if acerbic, sense of
humor. It was a challenge to keep up with
him, but I tried. He never missed an opportunity
to remind me when we were in a public setting how much shorter I was than his 6
foot 4 inch frame. I found areas to
counter-punch him, but won’t mention them here.
My attacks, though, were good-natured.
We were neighbors in an
apartment complex in Randallstown, and on a sunny Saturday we were relaxing by
the pool. He offered me a peach as a
nice gesture. I told him I am allergic
to fresh peaches (among other fruits), and if I ate one, I’d go into anaphylactic
shock and likely die. He replied (I
think jokingly), “Have two!”
One day when visiting his
apartment, I noticed he had huge stacks of newspapers on the floor. I asked Elliott why he was saving the papers. He said that he is behind in his reading and
needs to catch up. I promptly informed
him that Truman upset Dewey in 1948.
As an attorney, Elliott was most
helpful to me in the early 1980’s when he provided legal input as part of a
story I was writing for the Baltimore Gay
Paper on the police crackdown on hustling in the Patterson Park area of
Eastern Avenue. He outlined in clear,
explicit terms the dangers a “john” would face in such an encounter and what
would happen if arrested in terms of being incarcerated and how it could affect
the john’s career. It was a compelling,
instructive part of the article, and hopefully, if people read it, that
contribution from Elliott may have steered them away from such risky actions.
Until recently, I had never seen
Elliott in action in court, but I had heard his antics were legendary. One could actually feel sympathy towards
judges, opposing counsel and people he had cross-examined over the years, if
his reputation was accurate.
Elliott Brager in 1986 |
I was called ahead of Elliott to
plead my case (to no avail) but had the good sense to hang around and watch
this legal lion in action. His defense
was that the camera was not functioning properly. While he lost his case in the end, observing the
way he went about his business and going toe-to-toe with the judge—respectfully,
of course—was literally
worth the price of the ticket. He was a gem.
Regrettably, our lives drifted
in different directions, and we did not see each other as often as we once
did. Nonetheless, each year we’d
exchange holiday cards to stay in touch.
His cards were always risqué during the years Lambda Rising was still in
business.
We shared a lot of laughs and I
totally enjoyed his company. We shared a
mutual respect for one another with Elliott being such a force in our community
and him being an avid reader of my work.
Beneath his tough exterior, Elliott
was a sentimental sweetheart. He loved
Bob and was so thrilled that he and I enjoy a happy relationship. Back when Bob and I threw a combination
Valentine’s Day and 6th anniversary celebration, although we
expressly requested that the guests do not bring us gifts, Elliott still gave
us a bottle of Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux (1983).
We were so moved that we decided not to open it.It’s still with us, and when Bob and I celebrate our 35th anniversary in February, we’re going to finally pop the cork and toast Elliott Brager. It’s time.
3 comments:
Thank you for this lovely piece.
I have some good memories of Elliott Brager.
This article decribed my uncle very well. Thank you. He is terribly missed
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