JUDITH
LIGHT
by Lawrence Ferber
Judith Light truly lights up our lives. One of
our community’s most steadfast allies, and a tireless
AIDS activist since the 1980s, the New Jersey-born, Emmy-winning
actress is involved with numerous LGBT organizations and
fundraising efforts, including a weeklong, 100-mile AIDS
walk through South Africa and a k.d. lang hosted script
reading benefiting The Point Foundation, which provides
LGBT teenagers with scholarships.
Her roles have ranged from a housewife-turned-prostitute
(One Life to Live) to an intellectual with terminal cancer
(Wit). She famously starred as Angela Bower on TV’s
Who’s The Boss, supporting co-star Danny Pintauro’s
decision to publicly come out in 1997; played Ryan White’s
mother in the 1989 TV movie The Ryan White Story; has
portrayed recurring character, Judge Elizabeth Donnelly,
on Law & Order: SVU since 2002; and recently made
airwaves again as Eric Mabius’ recovering alcoholic
mother on the comedy hit, Ugly Betty. This year, Light
plays against type, to say the least, in the new film
Save Me, co-starring out actors Chad Allen and Queer as
Folk’s Robert Gant. During a break from her busy
schedule, we sat down with Light to discuss her love of
travel.
What place in the world is on the
top of your list to visit, and what do you want to do
while you’re there?
I love Italy and want to go back again. I want
to go back to London to see some theater. And two places
I haven’t been to but really want to go are Israel
and Egypt, but I will wait to do that until things get
a little bit better in those areas of the world.
You play a judge on Law & Order,
so if you were a judge in real life and could make or
change one law in the USA, what would it be?
To let gay people get married. I really do believe
that is symbolically, extremely important. Our U.S.
Constitution says that everyone is created equal. That
means everyone. And while I know a lot of [gay] people
say, “Why would we want to be married?” everybody
should have the same privileges and rights my husband
and I have. If they don’t have the right to get
married we’re not all equal. And until then my
husband and I aren’t equal.
What are the most essential items
in your suitcase?
My electric toothbrush. My makeup bag. My books.
I read all different kinds of things—spiritual
reading and a lot of political stuff.
If you were the president of an airline
company, what changes would you make to improve business
and customer satisfaction?
I would stop the snack boxes and stop making people
pay for them. Either give them the snack box for free
or get rid of them. I would ask for customers to be
more patient and airline people to be more patient.
I would love to see us not be so dependent on foreign
oil so we didn’t have to jack up the prices at
the airlines and could fly more easily and have it not
be so terribly expensive. Travel is so important for
people. It gives you an idea of the rest of the world
and how other people live and keeps you from getting
into a narrow box. It expands your world and I would
like to have the airlines support us in that.
What was the first foreign country
you ever visited?
Germany. I went there because I was at Carnegie
Melon University [enrolled in their theater program]
and we were doing a U.S.O. tour and played all the bases
in Germany. From there I left and went to Paris and
then Spain and that was my first European experience.
What is the best or most unique souvenir
you ever brought home, and where is it right now?
I guess I would have to say it was something from
South Africa. Probably one of the things right here
on me now, a Masai bracelet I got in Tanzania. The other
would be an antique Masai necklace I bought—the
beading is amazing. We just had it framed. When we did
the AIDS walk in South Africa—we raised $1.3 million
for vaccine research and ground care—the memory
of that is very powerful to me. Being with the South
African people. I have little pieces of paper, thank
yous, and AIDS ribbons made in the villages.
If you could meet with anyone from
the past, who would it be, where would you meet, and
why?
Eleanor Roosevelt, in the White House, because
of her power, her intelligence, her kindness, her courage,
and her self-esteem. The other person I would want at
that meeting would be Helen Keller for exactly the same
reasons.
What elements would make the dream
Turndown Service?
A warm bed. An electric blanket. It would be like
the service at the hotel at the Ngorongoro Crater in
Tanzania. When you came back from your safari they had
this fire lit, a bathtub in the center of the bathroom
filled with warm water and rose petals, and more rose
petals around the bathtub. Electric blankets on the
bed and anything you could have wanted to eat—they
made homemade brownies and cookies, and there were glasses
and Sherry. The variety is the biggest thing. The comfort,
the warmth, the concern, and love and care that comes
with that, the energy you feel when you get taken care
of like that. My dream turndown service already came
true!
If you were stranded on a desert
island what three things would you hope to find there?
My husband, [my manager] Herb Hamsher, and his
partner Jonthan Stoller. My family!
[Published:
October, 2007]
|
On
the Road, A Mini Gay Film Fest