Larry Townsend (1930–2008), author of nearly eighty books including The Leatherman’s Handbook (1972), a foundational text of gay S&M and leather culture, was a West Hollywood-based activist and founding president of the Hollywood Hills Democratic Club. A friend of Jack Fritscher’s for forty years and a contributor to Drummer at Fritscher’s invitation, Townsend is the subject of Fritscher’s award-winning memoir The Life and Times of the Legendary Larry Townsend (2021), published to mark the Handbook‘s 50th anniversary.

The Life and Times of the Legendary Larry Townsend by Jack Fritscher

The Man Behind the Leatherman’s Handbook (Bay Area Reporter-PDF)

Leading Questions about the Legendary Larry Townsend (Physique Pictorial Interview)

Introduction to the Leatherman’s Handbook – Silver Anniversary Edition by Jack Fritscher

Introduction to Gay San Francisco: Eyewitness Drummer by Larry Townsend

The Prime of Mr. Larry Townsend: Gay San Francisco: Eyewitness Drummer by Jack Fritscher

Short Obituary of Larry Townsend written by Jack Fritscher

“The Official Obituary of Larry Townsend,” written by Jack Fritscher, The Leather Archives and Museum, The Leather Times, No. 2, 2008