Colin Murphy, co-founder of Boom Magazine — a queer publication focusing on the bistate region — died on Feb. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 53.
Boom Magazine was founded by Murphy and his husband, R. Kurt Ross, to fill a gap in queer publications in the region. Murphy’s intention was to create a platform for queer news and politics along with entertainment and the arts.
“There was a real chasm between an emphasis on celebrity and fashion and those of us who wanted that but also hard news,” said Joan Lipkin, artistic director of That Uppity Theatre. She told St. Louis on the Air: “Murphy really understood that we had to tell the stories of our community, because these stories were not necessarily going to be covered in mainstream media. And it’s really important to have identity-specific publications.”
James Lesch met Murphy while interning at Vital Voice, another St. Louis queer publication, in 2010. He remembers his friend as one of the first queer mentors he looked up to. For Lesch, Murphy was a source of queer activism, history and joy.
“As a young queer person, one of the first memories I have with Colin is going to Springfield, Illinois, for a rally and getting out of the car like, ‘OK, now what?’” Lesch said. “He had to help me understand that we’re here to take up space. We’re here to make ourselves seen and heard. At that point in my life that alone was radical to me. Just standing in the street and acknowledging our existence collectively was powerful.”
Fellow magazine co-founder Colin Lovett worked alongside Murphy as journalists and activists. He said despite his friend’s coming of age during the AIDS crisis and fight for marriage rights, Murphy remained positive and could be counted on to “show up.”
“[Murphy] was about going to the events in the [LGBTQ] community … and then later being the LGBTQ journalist in the room asking the tough questions and holding the powerful accountable,” Lovett said. “His struggle didn’t end with the AIDS crisis. He lost his husband to COVID and did so in isolation. He, throughout his entire life, faced monumental struggle [and he] was a beacon of just setting an example of how to persevere with joy and seeing the positive side of things.”
For more about the life and career of Colin Murphy, his love for drag performances and musical theater and which songs remind Joan Lipkin, James Lesch and Colin Lovett of their friend, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Colin Murphy’s Public Celebration of Life
When: March 24
Where: Just John Nightclub (4112 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110)
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
