Friends remember Robert Mainor, the owner of Galveston’s oldest gay bar – Houston Chronicle
Robert Mainor was often called “mother” or dad” by locals who frequented Robert’s Lafitte, the oldest gay bar in Galveston.
“I called him the mother of us all. He didn’t care if you were gay, straight, bi or trans. He just wanted to help people,” says Destiny Dion Van Wales. She worked for Mainor since 2006 as a show director, entertainer and bartender.
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Mainor, 83, died this month after years of various health problems. He was born in Houston and spent time in New Orleans, Los Angeles and Las Vegas before settling in Galveston. Robert’s Lafitte opened in 1965, and Mainor bought the club in 1970. After a fire destroyed the original location, it moved to 22nd between Strand and Postoffice before landing on Avenue Q, its current location, just blocks from the Seawall.
Robert Mainor with two Ladies of Lafitte.
Cassie Cass (Dixie Monroe)
“He loved garage sales and secondhand stores,” says Galveston icon Misty Valdez, known as the “Island Diva,” who began working with Mainor in 1982. “He taught the entertainers to buy old costumes and just redo them — but make sure they glittered onstage.”
Carly Davin Nation, crowned Miss Robert’s Lafitte 2011/2012, says Mainor was “an entire force of nature” and one of the original pillars of our community.”
The July 3 crowd at Robert’s Lafitte gathered to honor Robert Mainor.
courtesy
Throughout the course of his colorful life, Mainor endured multiple heart attacks, stents and a diabetes diagnosis. But he remained unflaggingly upbeat and optimistic.
“He was always such a vibrant, over-the-top personality,” says Terry Fuller-Waymire, who runs Pride Galveston with his husband Jamie Fuller-Waymire. Robert’s Lafitte was Pride Galveston’s home bar and hosted many of its celebrations.
“(Robert) crated a space for people to be themselves and have fun. It’s a haven for our community to come together and celebrate who we are.”
Indeed, Robert’s Lafitte welcomed everyone from sequined drag queens to tourists in shorts looking for a drink and a barstool. Houston pop group Wild Moccasins filmed a video there for 2014 single “Eye Makeup” featuring regulars and performers. Chance Andrews, a drag performer from New Orleans, moved to Galveston four years ago to join Robert’s Lafitte’s as a regular cast member because “the tips and energy from the crowd was fabulous.”
“I wanted to be a part of a legacy,” Andrews says.
Mainor became a celebrity of sorts himself when he was featured in the 2013 documentary “Before You Know It” by Austin’s PJ Raval about three gay men navigating life as senior citizens. Mainor deals with death, illness and legal troubles but proves the film’s most entertaining subject.
Robert Mainor, right, with director PJ Raval, center and Curran Nault.
PJ Raval
“To say Robert is one of a kind is an understatement,” says Austin’s PJ Raval, who directed the film. “He was also a fearless pioneer in establishing Robert’s Lafitte in Galveston with his partner Hal during a time when gay bars were being raided regularly by police. In the short time I filmed Robert, I witnessed many lives touched and at times perhaps even saved.”
Robert Mainor owned Robert’s Lafitte in Galveston.
Terry Fuller-Waymire
Mainor often took the stage himself, performing in drag as “Robert the Mouth.” The bar became known for its hilariously vulgar comedy skits and puppet shows. Drag queens would entertain the crowd in full face with homemade puppets, an ingenious way to get around ordinances prohibiting men from dressing in women’s clothing.
Robert’s Lafitte hosted puppet shows onstage with drag performances.
PJ Raval
The title of the “Before You Know It” documentary was inspired by Mainor’s personal motto.
“When you’re young, you can’t wait to get older. You can’t wait to be 21 so you can go in the bars and drink. You’re an adult now. And then after that, the years just run one right into the other. Before you know it, there you are. You get older, and you start having health problems, and all your friends start dying around you. They leave you, and it leaves a great big hole in your heart,” Mainor said in 2013.
“You just keep on going. Get up in the morning and think positive. I don’t care what happens. If somebody’s negative around you, get rid of them. Everything will work out right.”
As of now, Robert’s Lafitte will remain open per Mainor’s wishes. The cast hosted puppet shows over the weekend to honor the owner of Galveston’s most enduring gay bar. Raval, who was among the crowds during the weekend festivities, recalled filming Mainor garage sale shopping, one of his favorite activities.
“With every item he picked up, you’d see the excitement in his eyes contemplating the possibilities. He ended the shopping spree with a full length fur coat — hat he wore in the height of summer, mind you — and a bag full of Hawaiian print shirts to hand out to the bar regulars as gifts,” Raval says. “Later that night, he’d take to the stage and perform a few drag numbers before heading home. This is exactly how I will always remember Robert: living in the moment, full of generosity, prancing to his own beat and gathering people together along the way.”