8 Jan 5th–Jan 11th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | ranging from drag shows and discussions on trans rights to fundraisers for the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus. Raucous parties were also the norm and often included Olivo at the center of the fun. Olivo was a fixture of the local LGBTQ scene for decades. Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he landed in Phoenix in 1972 after earning a degree in hospitality management from Penn State University and traveling the world. Following stints managing Phoenix’s infamous Playboy Club and co-owning the now-defunct pizzeria Mr. O’s, he bartended at legendary bars Mr. Fat Fingers and Apollo’s Lounge for more than 20 years. In 2002, Olivo bought what would become the Bunkhouse while continuing to support other nearby LGBTQ spots, which helped earn him such nicknames as the “Godfather of Melrose” and “Uncle Pat.” Kobalt Bar co-owner Jeffrey Perales cited him as a mentor in an Instagram post following Olivo’s death. “He never sought the spotlight but was a light that many could depend on for guidance, support and friendship,” Perales wrote. — BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN Gerda Weissmann Klein April 3, 2022 If all Gerda Weissmann Klein had done was survive the Holocaust, her story would be extraordinary. Born in Bielsko, Poland, she was 15 years old when the Nazis entered her town. Her brother disap- peared, and her parents were murdered in the concentration camps. Klein worked in a number of slave-labor camps before enduring a brutal 350-mile forced march that ended when her captors left in the night and American forces showed up. Among them was Kurt Klein, a Jewish soldier. They fell in love, married in Paris, and moved to Buffalo, New York, where, after years of being surrounded by death, Klein was able to begin living. The couple had three children, and in 1957, Klein wrote her memoir All But My Life, the first of 10 books she’d author. When Kurt retired, they moved to Phoenix, where they often spoke publicly about the Holocaust and established the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation to promote education and tolerance. When she was in her 70s, she was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary short, One Survivor Remembers. When she passed, she was a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, which was awarded to her by President Barack Obama in 2011; a grandmother of eight and a great-grandmother of 18; and a woman whose legacy of speaking up about the things that matter will long survive her. As they say in the Jewish faith, may her memory be for a blessing. — JENNIFER GOLDBERG Kent dana April 19, 2022 For decades, anchor Kent Dana was the most recognizable face in local television news. An icon of the Phoenix airwaves, he was welcomed into Valley homes nightly to deliver the latest headlines in a calm, gentle, and almost fatherly demeanor to generations of locals. Dana was so beloved that following his death last spring, longtime Valley residents felt like they’d lost a family member. Dana, 80, died due to complications from hip surgery. “If you grew up in Phoenix, you knew Kent Dana. He was the face of news in this town for a long time,” local resident Joe Ferra tweeted after Dana’s death. A Valley native, Dana was born into the broadcasting biz. His father, Joe, worked in local radio and TV from the 1930s through the ’50s. Kent began his career in 1974 at KOOL-TV, now Fox 10, as a protégé of the legendary Bill Close before moving to KPNX in 1979. He rose to prominence co-anchoring nightly newscasts and hosting weekly “Wednesday’s Child” segments that helped local foster kids find families. When the NBC affiliate topped the ratings beginning in the mid-’90s, Dana was often at the forefront of the station’s promos. In 2005, he changed channels again, heading to KPHO. Viewers followed, increasing ratings for the station’s news- casts by 55 percent. Dana, who retired in 2011, stayed humble and never let fame go to his head, eschewing the sort of ego typically associ- ated with news anchors. As former colleague Rick DeBruhl told KJZZ in April, “[Kent] was exactly the opposite. He was just such a low-key, pleasant, nice guy.” — BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN >> p 10 Departed from p 7
