Meet the gay Brooklyn bullfighter who befriended Hemingway
Sidney Franklin's life will be honored Monday
He was the world’s first Jewish matador, he was secretly gay, and he was friends with Ernest Hemingway and James Dean. He was El Torero de la Torah, or Bullfighter of the Torah, and his name was Sidney Franklin.
Franklin grew up in Park Slope in the early 20th century, the son of Russian-born, Orthodox Jewish parents. He was one of 10 children, attended P.S. 10 and lived on 14 Jackson Place before moving to East 29th Street in Midwood.
“One of the key things about him is that he interestingly distanced himself from his Jewishness when he was older,” said Rachel Miller, director of archive and library services at the Center for Jewish History. “He very much clung to the identity of bullfighter, the identity of an American and as a Brooklyner — like a tough Brooklyn guy.”
A talk on Monday hosted by the Center for Jewish History will bring Franklin to life with photographs, recordings of him singing and even hangers that held his traje de luces, or suit of lights — the traditional clothing that bullfighters wear. The event, which is hosted by Miller, is the first in a series called “Out of the Box” and coincides with Pride Month.