Director's Notes on Sylvester's early years:

EASTER WEEKEND 1970
Sylvester had enough of gay life in his native Los Angeles when a friend suggested he travel to San Francisco for the weekend. Sylvester instantly fell in love with The City by the Bay. By the following Wednesday he was completely moved in to the city that would be his home for nearly 20 years. Some say he arrived on Easter Weekend 1970, but whatever the exact date Sylvester had found a home where he  could live the life he wanted exactly the way he wanted . He found the freedom exhilarating and in no time  found himself surrounded by like minded friends.

M-I-C-K-E-Y
Sylvester moved around from flophouse to flophouse in The Haight-Ashbury section where he enjoyed his status as a black hippie. One day he found his way to a rehearsal of a  radical drag performance group The Cockettes. While surronded by the typical chaos that passed for a rehearsal  Sylvester sat at the piano and tapped out a tune. Soon everyone on stage was standing around the piano listening to the androgynous 22-year-old black hippie deliver a Gospel version of The Mickey Mouse Club theme song.   Sylvester quickly found acceptance.  Soon he was singing as a featured performer every Saturday night in The Cockettes Show at the Palace Theater in North Beach.

Continue to part two...