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that sometimes fails to hold in an unruly shock of red hair. These have become the transvestite trademarks of Sister Boom Boom, member of the Order of
Perpetual Indulgence, and the drag creation of a 29-year-old astrologer named Jack Fertig. Part put-on artist and part self-promoter, Boom Boom sparks reactions that run the gamut from righteous outrage to raucous approbation. Outside San Francisco, Fertig's bizarre alter ego has come to symbolize a climate of tolerance gone haywire.Boom Boom's "order," which consists of about 20 other "nuns" who go by names like Sister Mary Media and Sister Sadie Sadie Rabbi Lady, has performed legitimate charity work by raising funds for AIDS victims and gay Cuban refugees. Fertig ran for the board of supervisors in 1982; with five seats open, he placed a respectable eighth, collecting 23,124 votes. Even some gays find it offensive when he wears a cross as part of his costume or mocks the sacred. But Fertig insists that he is genuinely, if not conventionally, pious. "The sisters share my own sense of absurdist theater," he says. "I believe that you can reach God through your own means."
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Sister Boom Boom. No large gathering in San
Francisco's homosexual community, including the gay rights march planned for the day before the convention opens, would be quite complete without the appearance of a figure clad in a hiked-up nun's habit, black fishnet stockings, and a tightly drawn wimple
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campaigning tactics bringing humor and raising issues he felt were being ignored in the race. He won 23,124 votes with his occupation listed as "Nun of the Above". Five supervisors were elected; he placed eighth. After he started campaigning for mayor in
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Often erroneously credited as a founder of the group, Sister Boom Boom actually joined the
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in 1980, several months after its founding. His persona's full name was
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I feel supremely blessed to have found a home in this wonderful family of God and
Humanity, this fallibly human, yet gloriously divine Roman Catholic Church.
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program. He left the
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Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish in San Francisco
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Fertig converted to Islam in 2001, and now works as an astrologer in San
Francisco.
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Jack Fertig aka Sister Boom Boom - Nomination page on 'The Legacy
Project Chicago'
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Falwell Inc.: Inside a
Religious, Political, Educational, and Business Empire
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350:"SHORT TAKES / MOVIES : Robin Williams Reassures 'Castro' Filmmakers"
426:"When Sister Boom Boom sobered up he vanished from San Francisco Streets"
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161:(February 21, 1955 – August 5, 2012). He was a prominent member of the
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Moritz, Michael; Dick Thompson; William R. Doerner (July 16, 1984).
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on the ballot. This was commonly called the "Sister Boom Boom law".
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And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
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Fertig worked as an astrologer. He died on August 5, 2012, in
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Sister Rose of the Bloody Stains of the Sacred Robes of Jesus
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Sister Rose of the Bloody Stains of the Sacred Robes of Jesus
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Film of interview with Sister Boom Boom and Dianne Feinstein
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and Milk was the city's first openly gay supervisor. In the
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Fertig retired Sister Boom Boom in 1985, and joined a
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188:In 1982, Sister Boom Boom ran for a seat on the
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571:"Stage: Emily Mann's 'Execution of Justice'"
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27:American drag nun and astrologer (1955–2012)
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811:Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism
169:group founded in San Francisco in 1979.
673:"Jack Fertig - Sister Boom Boom - dies"
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209:requiring candidates to use only their
821:Deaths from liver cancer in California
392:"Boom Town: San Francisco Cracks Down"
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239:Boom Boom is one of the characters in
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519:. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 467.
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765:s GLBT Historical Society collection
626:"Taking it all off in San Francisco"
273:production, Boom Boom was played by
216:Boom Boom wrote a theatrical-ritual
234:1984 Democratic National Convention
881:Drag performers from San Francisco
601:"Jack Fertig aka Sister Boom Boom"
424:Bizjak, Tony (November 11, 1989).
236:, before a crowd of about 2,000.
232:on July 13, the Friday before the
190:San Francisco Board of Supervisors
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806:American people of Jewish descent
624:Garchik, Leah (August 8, 2012).
478:"What's Happening off the Floor"
398:. April 11, 1983. Archived from
296:on February 21, 1955. Born to a
767:. Conducted by Roland Schembari
647:. Lexington Books. p. 43.
163:Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
133:Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
851:American LGBT rights activists
831:LGBTQ history in San Francisco
816:Politicians from San Francisco
671:Nolte, Carl (August 7, 2012).
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876:Drag performers from Chicago
861:Activists from San Francisco
630:The San Francisco Chronicle
348:Murphy, Ryan (1992-12-21).
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871:American former Christians
846:LGBTQ people from Illinois
540:Nolte, Carl (2003-11-26).
465:. London. August 15, 2012.
205:, San Francisco passed an
841:American gay entertainers
77:San Francisco, California
891:Politicians from Chicago
761:Oral history as part of
199:the 1983 recall election
801:Muslims from California
678:San Francisco Chronicle
643:Godfrey, Donal (2008).
546:San Francisco Chronicle
435:San Francisco Chronicle
312:, before converting to
886:Activists from Chicago
698:Smillie, Dirk (2008).
605:Legacy Project Chicago
316:in 2001. Fertig never
267:mayor of San Francisco
513:(November 27, 2007).
377:blog (August 7, 2012)
318:identified as a woman
145:Sister Mary Boom Boom
91:Sister Mary Boom Boom
826:American drag queens
796:American astrologers
763:California Revealed'
431:Anchorage Daily News
402:on February 18, 2007
246:Execution of Justice
462:The Daily Telegraph
292:Fertig was born in
255:1978 assassinations
249:about the trial of
856:Muslim astrologers
747:2012-07-19 at the
576:The New York Times
201:against incumbent
715:978-0-312-37629-1
433:, reprinted from
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71:(2012-08-05)
836:Gay Muslims
791:2012 deaths
786:1955 births
567:Gussow, Mel
263:Harvey Milk
211:legal names
173:Drag career
159:Jack Fertig
154:persona of
102:Occupations
44:Jack Fertig
780:Categories
721:2009-04-09
610:2023-03-02
492:2009-04-09
359:2023-03-02
335:References
241:Emily Mann
156:astrologer
147:, was the
120:astrologer
50:1955-02-21
706:Macmillan
375:SF Weekly
302:Christian
251:Dan White
207:ordinance
745:Archived
582:13 April
551:13 April
441:13 April
406:13 April
282:sobriety
271:Broadway
253:for the
243:'s play
218:exorcism
194:agitprop
115:activist
327:, from
294:Chicago
183:fermata
712:
651:
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298:Jewish
314:Islam
192:with
710:ISBN
649:ISBN
584:2012
553:2012
521:ISBN
443:2012
408:2012
308:and
261:and
224:and
165:, a
149:drag
109:Drag
66:Died
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220:of
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