Dennis Akazawa

At Explode The Rose, 1987

Dennis Masashi Akazawa
aka Miss YooHoo
01 Jun 1949 - 12 Jan 1989

Clubs & Associations

Tinseltown Squares

Quick Facts

partner of Marlin Criddle

Obituary

DENNIS MASASHI AKAZAWA, 39, of Los Angeles, died Jan. 12, 1989. He was born in Kauai and was a textile designer. Survived by sisters, Mrs. Glenn (Karen) Hori and Mrs. Albert (Colleen) Tsukimoto; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Akazawa. Service 5 p.m. Sunday at Hanapepe Hongwanji. Arrangements by Garden Island Mortuary.^[1]

Remembrances

Dennis Musashi Akazawa
June 1, 1949 - January 12, 1989
— Steve Lew

Dennis recently passed away, probably the first open Gay Asian with AIDS in Los Angeles. Some members of GAPA were fortunate to know Dennis through his involvement in the Los Angeles Gay Asian Rap, and remember his commitment to Gay Asian organizations. This was reflected in his memorial service where his gayness was openly celebrated and his living with AIDS recognized. Steve Lew offers a few memories of Dennis excerpted from his eulogy.

As I rode the train down to Los Angeles, the anxiety I had carried for the last two months was gradually streaming out of me. Through a mixture of tears and laughter, I tried to write something about this crazy friend that his family and friends would see and remember about him. What do you say about someone who, wanting to keep his reasons for taking a work leave confidential (after his recent AIDS diagnosis), told co-workers he was going to Denmark to have a sex change. Dennis had wanted me to talk about his identity as a gay Asian - his strong belief in being open and proud about both of these aspects in his life.

I wanted to say something about the way family and friends embraced his gayness as a positive and important part of him, how many of us in the Gay Asian Rap admired him for this quality and saw him as a role model. Dennis was one of the “elder” members of the group, and his experience of coming out twenty years ago was much more challenging back then. He would often stress how valuable the group would have been at that time, when there was no support groups or visible gay Asians to connect with. He was a persistent, adamant advocate for meeting our needs as Gay Asians.

Sometimes people were not always ready for Dennis. His “outfront” attitude; his holistic embrace of feminine and masculine attributes; and his ability to step out of the “quiet Asian” role at times scared our more conservative sensibilities. Dennis was sensitive to this but would just reply, “get it together, Mary”.

Did you know this man? He heard about GAPA’s first big “Come As You Are” bash, packed his bags and drove up from LA to make an appearance as Miss YooHoo (with plastic forks in his teased hair). He was one of the first Asians to get involved in AIDS work when many people were saying it was a white disease. He was the guy that got over thirty GARP members to march in their first Gay Pride parade last summer. And he was the gentle uncle that showed his young nephew by example that one could be proud and happy as a Gay Asian. I remember visiting last summer and hearing Tai playing in the hallway yelling "I’m a Gay Asian, I’m a Gay Asian." Dennis would only say, well Tai, you don’t know that — yet.

My last memory of this man. This past year as he lived with AIDS, he did not retreat into secrecy as some accuse us of doing, he continued to be active in AIDS work, in the Gay Asian Rap, and in the Asian and gay communities as a Gay Asian man. A beautiful Gay Asian man. A gentle, outrageous, compassionate, and generous person who got us to march in the parade, and to keep on steppin’. ^[2]

In Memoriam
Dennis Akazawa
Dennis Akazawa, one of the founding members of A/PLG, died January 12th of complications of AIDS at age 39. Dennis was bom in Hawaii, and lived most of his adult life in Los Angeles. He was very active with A/PLG in the first few years of its existence.

Dennis was an accomplished artist. His expertise was creating designs on fabric in the commercial world. Probably the most lasting and still visible creation he did as a member of A/PLG is the logo, shown above, that A/PLG has used for many years on its Newsletter, stationery, and other printed matter. Most members never knew who created our logo! He also designed the colorful banners we use during the CSW parades and the Fourth of July picnics.

More recently, Dennis was active with GARP, the Gay Asian Rap Group here in Los Angeles. At GARP, he was instrumental in convincing many members to march in the annual CSW parades. He also worked on other GARP activities, such as raps and educational projects.

Throughout his life, his friends generally used one word to describe Dennis: Outrageous! The word was always said with much love and affection. His entrance into a room was usually preceded with a loud “Yoo-hoo!” He could always be counted on to have his hair done up in unique and crazy fashions. At a recent opening showing his art, he arrived with his hair dyed blonde. His entry at a national Gay square dance contest was as “Miss Yoo-hoo,” where he won an honorable mention.

About five years ago, Dennis joined over 1500 volunteers in the Los Angeles area at the UCLA Men’s Study. Every six months, each man is called in for blood samples and other tests that may show the evidence or progression of AIDS. He noted the general lowering of his T-cell count. The presence of the HIV virus was detected in later tests. A little over a year ago, he discovered evidence of Karposi’s Sarcoma, which was confirmed by a biopsy.

As the disease progressed, Dennis decided that he wanted to take some time off from his professional job and work on his own personal artistic endeavors. He asked for and was granted a six-month leave of absence from his job. In his truly outrageous manner, he told his fellow workers that he “was going to Denmark for a sex change.”

He did return to his job, but only for one day. By late 1988, he was too ill to continue his work. Dennis was as outspoken about his disease as he was about his sexuality. Even during his illness, he was very active with the GARP/AIDS Minority group fundraiser. A/PLG and its members express our deep condolences to Marlin Criddle, Dennis’ companion and lover of over ten years, as well as Dennis’ sisters, family, and numerous friends. — Fred Bradford ^[3]