Honoring the Late & Great Jerome Caja Online

Check out this lovely Facebook memorial page (Jerome Caja Shrine) dedicated to Jerome and his work. This public group forum was constructed years ago by Jerome's friend Christopher Craig. Scroll through and get lost in Jerome's art. It is magical! Thank you for all your help, Christopher. You have been key in finding obscure and unknown collections of Jerome's work. The Jerome Project is honored to have your support!

by Anthony Cianciolo

The Most Outrageous Drag Troupe

My friends Michael Johnstone and David Faulk are the brilliant creators of the San Francisco drag troupe called Verasphere. One of the best ways to experience their creativity is to march with them on Gay Pride. Every year they open up their colorful drag closet (a huge storage container) and share the contents with friends and family. I have marched many times with them down Market Street, and we always win the award for most outrageous contingent. Come join in the fun!

Michael and David have been supporters of The Jerome Project since its infancy. They donated video and ephemera that belonged to Jerome (modified drag pumps, a bald Bozo the Clown head piece, and a scary 50's clown toy). Because of their generosity, I decided to create a repository of Jerome treasures that is accessible for research and academic use.

Lastly, check out the grin on Bob Girardi. Bob is my new intern. He is helping out with scanning content for the Jerome Caja Digital Catalogue Raisonné. As you can see, he had a great time with Verasphere. They welcomed him with open arms. Thank you, Verasphere, for letting us march with you!

Verasphere website: www.verasphere.com

by Anthony Cianciolo

Breaking Bread with Loretta & Richard Caja

This was the first time meeting Jerome's brother and sister-in-law. Carl and I were in stitches laughing from the numerous Cleveland -- Jerome stories that they shared. I cannot wait to incorporate some of them in the film. Again, thank you for all the support on The Jerome Project. We really appreciate it. It is an honor to work with your memories, and every day that I work on this film I am reminded of how lucky I am to have such an amazing creative project on my desk.

Jerome was loved by so many!

by Anthony Cianciolo

Beautiful Work by Stu Maddux

Keep your eyes out for the new documentary by Stu Maddux, "Reel in the Closet". I just saw it screen at San Francisco's Frameline film festival. It is lovely! The film has some of the best archival footage of gay people from the 40's, 50's, and even the 30's. It includes a priceless interview with Jerome's friend Daniel Nicoletta explaining how he outed himself to his family (I won't spoil the surprise -- you'll just have to see the film for yourself).

Reel in the Closet is a benchmark I am using for my documentary film on Jerome Caja. Maddux's film unearths never-before-seen treasures from our queer history and pulls them together in a strong narrative arc. This is what I aim to do with Jerome.