08/09/2026
New Orleans has lost a giant, a brilliant historian, LGBTQ+ advocate and friend, Frank Perez. Aside from the many important projects Frank was involved in, he was currently serving on the Tour Guides Association of Greater New Orleans board as the Standards and Education Chair. Most recently he organized a great seminar on Hidden Histories for the organization.
He also taught Tour Guiding 1 and 2 at Loyola University. He's written several books on New Orleans. Please check out his work, his legacy.
Frank will be missed 💔
Frank Perez told me he hated having his photo taken because he didn't feel individually important. He did understand that he was part of a long continuum of people who passionately loved the French Quarter and his LGBTQ community and fought for them, but group photos were more his style. He wasn't a stand-alone player.
I twisted his arm last year because he had a new book coming out and needed some PR shots. So he grudgingly allowed me to find the right light and surroundings that reflected his personality and tell him where to stand and try to not roll his eyes when I was shooting.
We talked a lot that afternoon, and somehow drifted into a conversation about the possibility of an afterlife (having no idea he was in the last year of his own). Frank had once been a minister, but he eschewed the idea of heaven and hell.
He joked (or did he?) that the Quarter has different dimensions and for those who loved it, they just slipped from one to another at death. He reckoned he'd join the spirits of Pops Whitesell and Frances Benjamin Johnson and William Irby and Tennessee Williams and Clay Shaw at Dixie's every evening, knocking back proper stiff drinks instead of fluffy cocktails. Together, they'd debate, laugh, argue and quote classic literature until Miss Dixie forced them out the door to toddle home.
I came to believe Frank's version of Dixie's exists. About now, the others are standing and applauding his arrival. Hey, Frank! It's about time! Whatcha having tonight? On the house!
Back here in this dimension of the Quarter, Frank's left a lot of people shedding tears and enormous shoes to be filled. His leadership helped bring about substantial changes in the Quarter and in the LGBTQ community. Thankfully, he left behind an enormous body of written work to inspire us all and fuel the fire in emerging activists and advocates.
So don't send flowers for Frank. Do something meaningful instead: Read his work to educate yourself. Join an organization and work hard and donate to causes like his beloved LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.
And when you're strolling through the Quarter one quiet night, stop a bit and try to connect with that other dimension Frank talked about. If you listen very carefully, you might just hear the uproarious laughter from Dixie's.
Here's a link to Frank's stories in French Quarter Journal: https://www.frenchquarterjournal.com/search?q=Frank+perez
