• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • All Articles
  • Arts & Culture
  • Health
  • News
    • News
    • Announcements
    • Obituaries
    • The Official Dish
  • Opinions
  • Horoscopes
  • PODCAST
  • Subscribe

Ambush Magazine

The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™

  • Read All Articles
  • Print Archive
  • Old Archived Site
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

A History of “The Steamboat Club of New Orleans”

July 18, 2022 By Community Contributor

The Steamboat Club of New Orleans, the city’s oldst social organization for gay men, is approaching its 70th anniversary having been founded in January of 1953.

It began with twelve older influential gay men.  Often they would meet informally at the Bourbon Coffee House and share ideas. After some planning sessions for “Steamboat” in 1952, the first official meeting of the then newly organized club was held at the home of Arthur T. “Boo” Gaudet.  There were ten charter members, each of whom shared common interests in the New Orleans Opera and Mardi Gras. 

One of the charter members was Leon Khalil Zainey who believed the community needed such a social organization like “Steamboat” since, in the 1950s, gay men were extremely closeted and feared reprisals and lost careers should they be outed. Zainey hoped that “Steamboat” would eventually have the resources to become a recognized parading organization during the annual Carnival celebration.  He also envisioned that the club would own its own permanent home in New Orleans, much like the Boston Club, founded in the 1850s.

Steamboat Club collage (Photo: Steamboat Club of New Orleans)

Born in New Orleans in 1908, Zainey, of Lebanese descent, graduated from Warren Easton H.S. and served in the Army during World War II in the Alaskan Defense Command.  Zainey had always been interested in theater;  along with attorney Alfred Danziger, he organized a children’s theater in the late 1920s and published the Processional, a newspaper giving information about productions in New York and San Francisco.  He was the wardrobe & property manager of the New Orleans Opera Association for 43 years, and served as a costumer for Le Petit Théâtre Du Vieux Carré. Zainey died December 4, 2009, at age 101 in a Gainesville, TX, nursing home where he had been evacuated due to Hurricane Katrina.

Since its inception, the sole purpose of the Steamboat Club has been to provide social functions (e.g.. cocktail parties, dances, etc.) for the entertainment of its members and their guests. Understandably, most of the early “Steamboat” meetings and parties were held in members’ homes, giving the club a somewhat mysterious air. It is believed that from these gatherings, the true gay carnival krewes were born, such as the Krewes of Yuga, Petronius, Ganymede, Armeinius and others. We know this to be true as several of the founders of these carnival krewes were members of the Steamboat Club as well.

Advertisement

The Steamboat Club’s original purpose continues to this day. As society changed and being gay became more accepted, however, “Steamboat” has had numerous functions in such public venues as the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, Andrea’s Restaurant and on the Steamboat Natchez among other locales. 

The Club’s annual calendar always begins with a Mardi Gras party in someone’s home on a parade route followed by various functions throughout the year such as pool parties, progressive dinners in the French Quarter, etc., always ending with its black tie New Year’s Eve party.  The club has grown in number from the original 12 in 1953 to 30 members presently. Over the years, reportedly, such well-known gay New Orleanians as John Casper Dodt, Clay Shaw, Rivet Joseph Hedderel, among many other movers & shakers in the gay community, have been members.

Current Officers are Timothy Goodwin (president), Jim Meadows (vice-president), Jim Roth (secretary), Richard Comford (treasurer). Membership in the Steamboat Club is by invitation only from a member in good standing.  After attending several functions of the club, the candidate is voted on by the membership. When elected a member, he is encouraged to participate in the activities of the club, including hosting a meeting or function or assisting a host member. 

Advertisement

Since 1953, it has always been an honor to be a member of the “mysterious” Steamboat Club of New Orleans. This article was written by Billy Henry, Immediate Past President of the Steamboat Club of New Orleans.

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Featured

Related Posts

From New Orleans with Hate, Bianca Del Rio on Her Career
Lady Beast and Vinsantos (Photo Credit Colton Clifford Photography)
LadyBEAST and Vinsantos present an ode to New Orleans cabaret. June 6-9
Tracy “TJ” Boyd, Jr
New Orleans EMS Appoints LGBTQ Liaison

Primary Sidebar

Connect & Join the Conversation

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Recent Print Editions

  • Volume 38 Issue 17
  • Volume 38 Issue 16
  • Volume 38 Issue 15
  • Volume 38 Issue 14
  • Volume 38 Issue 13
  • Volume 38 Issue 12
  • Volume 38 Issue 11
  • Volume 38 Issue 10
  • Volume 38 Issue 05
  • Volume 38 Issue 04

Recent Articles

  • The LGBTLOL Queer Comedy Fest Returns to New Orleans
  • The Rockford Files: Waiting for Life to Begin
  • Trodding the Boards May 9, 2025
  • Queer Arts as Resistance
  • Ambush on the Road – A Gay in the Garden State

Experience Gay New Orleans

  • Gay New Orleans
  • Gay Mardi Gras
  • Gay Easter Parade
  • New Orleans Pride
  • Gay Appreciation Awards
  • Southern Decadence
  • Gay Halloween

Categories

  • A Community within Communities
  • Announcements
  • Arts & Culture
  • Bartender of the Month
  • Book Review
  • Business
  • Chop Chop
  • Commentary
  • Drag Queen Profile
  • Featured
  • Film Review
  • Financial
  • Geo Doing Geo Things
  • Health
  • Horoscopes
  • Interviews
  • Interviews from Key West
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Moments in Queer New Orleans History
  • Museum Spotlights
  • Music
  • Musings by Catherine
  • New to New Orleans
  • News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Pride Spotlight
  • Profiles & Spotlights
  • Sports
  • The Here and the Now
  • The Official Dish
  • The Real Cheese
  • The Rockford Files
  • Trodding the Boards
  • Uncategorized
  • Under The Gaydar

Footer

Ambush Magazine Logo

Ambush Magazine is New Orleans' and the Gulf Coast's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer entertainment, news, and travel guide since 1982.

Publisher TJ Acosta
Editor-In-Chief Reed Wendorf
Founding Publisher/Editor Rip Naquin-Delain
Senior Editor Brian Sands
Distribution George Bevan Jr

Email info@ambushpublishing.com
Phone (504) 522-8049

Recent Posts

  • The LGBTLOL Queer Comedy Fest Returns to New Orleans
  • The Rockford Files: Waiting for Life to Begin
  • Trodding the Boards May 9, 2025
  • Queer Arts as Resistance
  • Ambush on the Road – A Gay in the Garden State

Proud Member

Gulf South LGBT Chamber Logo

Let’s Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Ambush Publishing LLC All Rights Reserved · Website Built by Reed Wendorf · Log in