Local
Annie Kaylor of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse dies at 86
Namesake of popular Dupont restaurant for more than 30 years
Annie Kaylor (Washington Blade archive photo by Doug Hinckle)
Annie Kaylor, a bartender and night manager of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse near Dupont Circle who became the gay-friendly restaurant’s namesake and public face for more than 30 years, died July 24 of natural causes. She was 86.
People who knew her, both gay and straight, have said Kaylor became a beloved figure on the 17th Street residential and business strip since she began working at the restaurant in 1952, four years after her brother George Katinas opened the then Paramount Steakhouse in 1948.
“Her commitment to impeccable service with a fun attitude, welcoming hospitality to all, and unwavering support to the GLBT community and Dupont Circle neighborhood has set a high standard for everyone else to follow,” according to a message posted on the restaurant’s website prior to her death.
The website says Kaylor and her sister Sue Stout were part of the family-owned restaurant’s all-female service staff who, beginning in the early 1950s, established its reputation as a place of openness and acceptance of all people, including gays.
“Their sense of acceptance soon made the restaurant a gay mecca, where the gay community could come and feel comfortable and safe without being harassed and discriminated upon,” the website write-up says.
“In the 1960s Annie’s name was added to the name and thus Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse was born,” the website says.
Dito Sevilla, a bartender at Floriana Restaurant located across the street from Annie’s and a longtime Annie’s customer, said Kaylor’s reputation as a friend and ally of the gay community and her warmth toward her gay customers is legendary among those familiar with the 17th Street restaurant strip.
Sevilla said one story he has heard repeatedly from older customers who knew Kaylor back in the 1960s appears to capture her warm personality.
“In the late ‘60s or early ‘70s there were two men sitting at a table and she saw that they were holding hands under the table,” Sevilla said he recalls customers telling him. “And she walked up to them and she sort of startled them. She said, ‘You guys don’t have to hold hands under the table.’ She said, ‘No, no – you hold those hands right up here on top of that table.’”
Although her appearances at the restaurant were less frequent in recent years following Kaylor’s retirement, the Annie’s website write-up says she enjoyed talking to longtime customers and staff during her regular visits. Sevilla said she was especially moved when the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington came to the restaurant to sing for her on the occasion of her 80th birthday party.
In prior years, Kaylor rode in a special Annie’s car in D.C.’s Pride Parade, which travels along 17th Street past Annie’s restaurant.
“A CELEBRATION OF LIFE is slated for Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at Annie’s from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., which would have been her 87th birthday,” reads a fax from loved ones regarding plans for Annie’s memorial. “The memorial service is still being planned by the family. Details to follow.”
Photos
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Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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