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CELEBRATING LARRY!
Larry, SO many people love you, admire you, look up to you, are grateful for you, want to be like you, appreciate you--and CAN'T WAIT to be entertained by you!! With your Leo heart and Gemini gift for connection, you make everyone around you feel welcome, comfortable, and loved. Now it's our turn to return the gift!
Happiest of birthdays, my dear Larry! From my first judgment of you -- "yeah, he's cute" -- through the many over the lifetime we've had, I have always concluded with the feeling that I am so very lucky to have you as a best friend. As my favorite Mame Dennis to my Vera Charles, we've seen a lot, and I'm so very happy to be set to see as much more in the coming years! From my "don't take him anywhere, he doesn't have any money!' to your "oh, great! you win and we LOSE," from my throwing you onto death's door by force-marching you over the Cedar River because "oh, it's nothing, come on" to your outraged tossing me into the street in defense of the US Postal Service, or from "a parasite" to "just buy the 5k puppy" and "you'll regret NOT making a play for that straight gym crush!" we have shocked and buoyed one another with our passions, not least for our friendship, for one another. No one else in my life, with the possible exception of my amazingly loving mother, has made me feel love more abundantly than you. I am so glad you know I love you as much or more, even as I know I cannot come close to matching your marvelous expressiveness. May this be the happiest 29th birthday so far, and may we all enjoy many, many more to come! Now enjoy this little clip that I have often thought it would be fun to do together!
Love you! Jesse
Sixty years of Larry Goff on this earth, and the world still hasn't recovered! You have been turning heads, dropping one-liners, and absolutely serving since before most people knew how to have fun properly. Twenty-plus years of friendship with you has been the greatest gift — equal parts laughing until something hurts and marveling at how one person can be that witty, that warm, and that SASSY! You are the kind of man who walks into a room, and suddenly it's a better room. Sixty looks good on you, darling... but then again, everything does. Here's to you, Larry. Six decades of fabulous, and not a single one wasted. The desert sun in Indian Wells better be ready, because you are shining. 🥂✨ Happy 60th, you magnificent legend. I love you to bits.
I still remember the first time I met Larry—it was at the hair salon, and I had the privilege of doing his hair. From the very beginning, he always had something interesting to say. Sometimes it was profound, sometimes provocative, but it was always thought-provoking. We shared countless conversations, plenty of laughter, and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.
Over the years, our friendship endured, and somehow we even found ourselves living near each other in several different cities. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing some of Larry’s highs and a few of his lows, and through it all, he has remained a beacon of hope, strength, and unwavering integrity. He’s the kind of person who leaves a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to know him.
Happy Birthday, Larry! Wishing you a year filled with love, laughter, good health, and all the happiness you so richly deserve. You truly are a beautiful man.
Cheers! 🥂
Bryan
Happy 60th Birthday, Larry!
You make life more interesting and we are grateful for your friendship!
Making memories with you since the 2000's and looking to keep that going for the next 40 years.
All our love,
Steve and Tim
Happy Birthday to one of the most extraordinary people we know.
From the very first moment we met you, we knew there was something incredibly special about you. It has been such a gift to know you, and our love and admiration for you have only grown with every moment we've shared.
You have a rare light that shines brightly wherever you go. Your warmth, your wit, and your remarkable sense of humor have a way of lifting everyone around you. You make people feel seen, welcomed, and happy simply by being yourself.
What we cherish most is your beautiful heart. Your ability to feel deeply, to express yourself with honesty and vulnerability, and to love so wholeheartedly is inspiring. It is a quality that is all too rare, and one we admire beyond words.
Time with you is never ordinary. Every conversation is thoughtful, every laugh is genuine, and every moment becomes a memory worth keeping. Being in your presence is a privilege, and having you in our lives is a blessing for which we are deeply grateful.
Thank you for being exactly who you are—for your kindness, your generosity of spirit, your authenticity, and the joy you bring into the lives of everyone who knows you.
On your birthday, we celebrate not only another year of your life but the incredible person you are. We wish you a year overflowing with love, laughter, good health, meaningful adventures, and dreams fulfilled. May you always know how deeply you are loved, how greatly you are admired, and how profoundly grateful we are for you.
Happy Birthday, Larry.
With all our love and gratitude,
Dominica, Oliver, Mirco, Jonathan
Larry, you are one of the kindest and funniest people I know. You have a gift for making everyone around you laugh and feel welcome. Sometimes you think people don't like you, but the truth is exactly the opposite. You are deeply loved.
Your sparkle isn't just the diamonds and glitter you adore—it's your generous heart, your humor, and the joy you bring to so many of us. The world is a brighter place because you're in it, and I am honored to call you a favorite human in my life.
May this milestone year remind you of what the rest of us have known all along: you are a gem, and you are cherished.
Love,
Leslie
Larry, wishing you only the very best on your milestone birthday and hoping that you are celebrating in style! Ever since I met you during the "Out in the Vineyard" wine tasting tour in Sonoma almost 15 years ago, every moment we've spent together has been so memorable for me! I cherish our adventures in Europe, Asia and my visits to your homes in the U.S., as well as our many dinner conversations and late-night chats. You & your sense of humor are rays of sunshine in my life, and I can't wait to see you again soon and celebrate you! Love, Matthias
Larry,
You have such a large heart for those around you and I have always admired your ability to persevere through the climate our country is in. I appreciate your “pack” being a safe place when we were all blue dots living in a sea of red. I begrudgingly moved to Texas but can now say that it is one of my favorite chapters - because it’s where our paths crossed! I will forever be grateful for the memories I was able to make with Symka and Grace and truly cannot thank you enough for trusting Matt and I to welcome them into our home. We still talk about them all the time and tell our friends about them whenever we can. You raised the most perfect girls and their friendship was exactly what I (and Kairi) needed to survive in that crazy state!
I hope this next decade is filled with so much happiness, love, and tranquility. You deserve all of those and so SO much more. Please don’t ever stop being the spitfire and generous man that you are! There’s so much about you that we can all learn from and I am so lucky to have you in my life to look up to.
Happy 60th Birthday!
Lots of love,
Karissa (Matt and Kairi, too!)
Happy 60th to my favorite brother in law and one of my most favorite humans! I am so very grateful that we are family, and that my brother was lucky enough to have found such a magical partner to travel through life with. You add sparkle and life and pizzazz wherever you go. I thank you for your endless generosity and deep friendship. I treasure every chance I have to spend time with you and love you with my whole heart. Have the best day ever, you deserve it!
Love, Lauren
Happy Birthday, Larry! Jeez you have almost caught up to me.
Larry, you are one of my favorite people. We don’t get together often but it’s always a good time when we do! Now that could be due to our state of mind…or lack of 🤷♀️.
I hope 60 is the best year ever!
Have an awesome time celebrating you!!!!
🥃 🎂 🥳🎁
Love you 💗
Ellen
Happy birthday, Larry! If you think 60 is bad, wait until 80!
I just want to thank you for your generous hospitality over the years. I've enjoyed all the talks and many laughs we have shared (mostly over glasses of wine). Having you in our family is a real joy.
Party on!! 🥂🥳🎉
Much love - Rhea
Larry welcome to your 60’s, it’s not that bad. I can’t believe I have known you almost 30 years. You and Eric have been so good to me, Opening up your home I San Francisco for wonderful Holiday celebrations. Pat Benatar concert at what we called the Tom Cruise theme park because all the rides were based on his movies. When you and Eric came and visited me in my tiny apartment in West Hollywood and we went to ‘the Price is Right’. To visiting you last year in Indian Wells. I am so glad we became friends. Here’s to many more fun filled years.
Mr Sassy / Mr Spicey! Never met a debate he couldnt kick in the teeth! Adore you for your passion and constant defense of what is good and right in the world. And so thankful for your love of Eric for decades. You are one of a kind and so thankful you exist! Love and hugs!
Christina
Uncle Larry, I love you so much and I hope you have the best birthday!! :-)
Baby Bridget
Happy 60th, Larry!
60 years of Larry means 60 years of showing up exactly as you are. Steady. Funny when you want to be, serious when it matters. You didn’t take the dad route, but you’ve been ,Uncle Larry,big brother, and friend. You love people in your own way, and we all know it.
You’ve seen a lot in 60 years. You’ve earned those laugh lines and that no-nonsense look. And I’m grateful I got to grow up with you in my corner — even if you were also the one stealing my fries and messing with me.
I’m proud to be your baby sister. I love you, teasing and all.
Here’s to 60 years of you, and to whatever you decide to give me a hard time about next.
Love Always Bridget
Happy 60th birthday brother🎂🥳
It’s a wonderful thing to say I have known you all 60 of your wonderful years here on earth.
It has been said that we are thick as thieves.😂 I would not change it for anything in this world. I hope you have a wonderful birthday. You deserve it for sure.
Thank you for being my brother and my best friend.
I love you with all my heart!
Mary❤️
Your style and home are spectacular, and you are one of the most dangerous conversationalists we've ever met, able to weave between heartrending tragedy and the funniest thing we've ever heard, and we treasure all of the time we got to spend in your company.
-The last time I saw you was half my life ago, and yet being in your house, spending time together, you made it home for us.
-Wynne
-I am glad I got to meet you earlier this year, all our chats were great and I hope your birthday is wonderful!
-Nari
We love you, Larry. Keep shining!
To my first acting partner in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theatre!
Miss you my Dear friend, and our wonderful lunches at Kuleto’s and your beautiful bouquets!
Wishing you a fabulous 60th birthday! Hope to see you soon!
Lots of love,
Monique :)
Larry I am wishing you a relaxing and happy 60th birthday—you deserve the best. Love from Ohio and this grumpy old man,
Stephanie
Happy 60th Birthday, Larry!
We are so lucky to have had you in our lives for the past 27 years—almost half of yours! Through every city, every adventure, and every laugh, you've remained one of the kindest, most generous, and most fun-loving people we know. We love that you always speak your mind, but somehow manage to do it with compassion and heart.
Some of our favorite memories: the legendary Pink Parties in San Francisco, dinner in Denver, bourbon in Dallas, Nobu in Indian Wells, and of course... Super Bowl Squares. Don't worry—one of these years you'll actually win!
No matter where life has taken us, we've always managed to stay connected, and that's something we truly treasure. Here's to celebrating 60 incredible years and making plenty more unforgettable memories together.
Have an amazing birthday! We can't wait to celebrate with you in Palm Springs.
Love,
Robert
For Larry -
It started with a show—of course it did.
Waiting in queue to get you the coveted seat,
plotting the perfect night for Hamilton.
Then later, after I came out,
you barely blinked, just smiled and said,
"Oh, I knew you were gay.
No straight man loves theater that much."
I’ve recalled that statement many times and
laughed loudly, because only you could make a revelation
feel lighter than air—
meeting honesty with humor,
and acceptance with perfect timing.
Your home in Dallas
was never just a house.
It was conversations that wandered,
meals that lingered,
stories polished with every retelling,
and the comforting certainty
that we would leave happier than we arrived.
Then there was Palm Springs—
sun warming the mornings,
desert skies stretching forever,
evenings that somehow made time slow down.
The best vacations aren't measured
by what you see,
but by who is sitting beside you.
Friendship is funny that way.
It isn't built from grand occasions,
but from inside jokes, shared tables,
the easy silence between conversations,
and the people who know exactly who you are
long before you find the words yourself.
And, most importantly, your disdain from DaVita and Republicans. :)
Thank you, Larry,
for opening your homes
and your heart.
For reminding us that laughter
is one of life's greatest gifts,
and that acceptance can arrive
in a single unforgettable sentence.
Here's to Dallas.
Here's to Palm Springs.
Here's to theater, sunshine, and stories.
Here's to every memory we've made—
and to the many more to come.
Love,
Jeff & Matt
Dearest Larry,
Happy Birthday from sweltering Dallas. I know you don't miss Dallas but I so miss you both. You arrived here and instantly made the Hockaday neighborhood a better place. You jumped right in and gave so much of yourself and your time and energy to the neighborhood.
You are such a wonderful and caring person. I hope you are loving Indian Wells, California. You deserve only the best!
Much love,
Hanne
Larry,
Congratulations achieving one of life's milestones! Sixty years is quite a an accomplishment, and we have had the pleasure of knowing you now almost forty years, and your humor has always kept us laughing!
Nobody tells a story like YOU!!!
You and Eric have a wonderful celebration of your special day. We love you!!
❤️
Don and Bill
Happiest of birthdays to you Larry!
We are so grateful to know you and have seen funny drag brunches and enjoyed fabulous dinner parties!
Here is to a landmark birthday and more memories and laughs to come!
Ryan & Ty
Happy Birthday Dear Larry!
Thank you for bringing joy and laughter into our lives these past three years and hopefully for many more! You are such a kind and beautiful soul who truly cares for others in a genuine way. Knowing you has made me a better person because you inspire us to find the joy in every day despite everything you have been through. The kindness you showed my daughter will never be forgotten.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
- Kelly
Larry, thank you for bringing light and laughter to our Rancho group! Your sarcasm and witty humour brought me joy during a very difficult time in my life, and I am forever thankful for that! You are such an inspiring person and I am grateful to have someone amazing like you in my life. I wish you the happiest birthday and a great year ahead!
- Lila
I.
The rhythmic thump of the music was resonating in my chest (or was that my heart?) as I gazed at you across the smoky, hazy, glistening bodies of men undulating on the dance floor of the dark, windowless bar rising up from the cold December floor of the desert.
With my giant plume of spiked hair, fringed jacket, and jeans that fit like second skin, I was like a shy peacock simultaneously calling for attention and yet shrinking from it.
‘He sent you a drink. It’s rude not to acknowledge it,’ barked Jesse, gesturing through the smoke.
I made my way to you through the sweaty mass of men, certain now that it was my heart that was thumping in my ears, and when I reached you, all I could see was your back, broad and masculine and beautiful, awash in a kaleidoscope of spinning light.
You turned. I gasped.
When your wide, blazing blue eyes met mine, I found myself stunned, without language, as if entranced by the spell of your gaze. But it was not a spell. It was simply the outrageous beauty of your eyes, your nose, your lips, your face, and the profound, sensation that it was, actually, YOUR heartbeat that I had felt across the dance floor, calling me like a beacon.
‘Hi,’ you said at last. ‘My name’s Larry.’
II.
Oh the feeling of loving another so completely that if you died in that moment, it would be all right because for the first time in your life you are whole, complete, fulfilled, alive! That is the sensation that took flight in my soul every day as we began our life together in the Valley of the Sun:
holding hands with you on the edge of Tapatio Cliffs as the stars winked at us from above, Phoenix rising from the horizon below;
sharing a twin bed but not caring because it meant our skin touching all night;
inhabiting a roach-infested dump with foil on the windows to save on the electric, but not noticing because YOU were all I noticed;
tearing up in the Fiero on Interstate 10 on my way to school because I was devastated to spend the day without you, comforted by the smoke from my cigarette that swirled around my grief like your embrace;
beaming with pride as we moved in to our own apartment, filled with the matching furniture we bought from a parking lot but which to us may as well have come from Versailles.
We had each other. Everything else was a “nice to have.”
III
Driving across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Feeling the hard lump in our stomachs as the cold, gray silhouette of the City pierced the fog ahead of us, we thought, ‘What have we done?’
Something in our guts was urging that life would be hard in the City of Saint Frances. And it was hard.
One day, as you were gingerly changing Steve’s bandages as he lay moaning in the hospital bed in our apartment, you said, ‘He needs more than I can give.’
When Steve died in the hospital after months of your nursing from the deep reservoir of love that swells inside you, you and I both suddenly grew up. In that instant, AIDS had rendered us adults, together.
And then Elias died. And your Mom. And your Dad.
And you became sicker and sadder and darker, your viral load stratospheric. I was terrified.
Sometimes you would be in our darkened bedroom for hours at a time. Sometimes you slept so quietly that I put my face next to yours to make sure you were still breathing.
I remember doing the laundry on foggy Sunday afternoons in the cold, drafty basement at 2645 Market Street because you were too sick to go up and down the stairs with the basket.
Lost in thought as I folded clothes on the dryer, my tears falling on the hot machine and evaporating into crusty little circles, I would ask myself, ‘What am I going to do?’ I would weep silently in the laundry room on many Sundays And then go back upstairs to be strong.
IV
As your heart lay broken in the cold steel bed of the coronary ICU and mine along with it, serenaded by a mournful chorus of chirps and tweets from the monitor pole that watched over you like a sentry--as did I-- and a bouquet of wires emerging from your gown, I wondered what we, at 39 years old, were doing here with octogenarians.
But as I held your hand and looked into your eyes and told you everything would be OK, I knew it was a promise, not a lie.
Every visit to the hospital thereafter became oddly easier, the soulless whir of the machines, the groans of senility, even the undignified smells of suffering became familiar as your broken heart began to mend.
As the physicians tended to the mechanics of your body, the other healers, with their magic needles, their enchanted touch, their whispers of enlightenment, elevated your spirit, lifting the heavy veil of ‘not enoughness’ ever so slowly from your face and gently wiping the Vaseline of insecurity from your eyes.
And with the mending, as your spirit began to rise with the veil, you began to see in the looking glass what I saw, my magnificent Four!
You began to see the faint outline of Saint Frances ministering to the animals despite his own afflictions, nourishing the birds and freeing ensnared rabbits while the sores from his own broken body wept.
THIS is the miraculous Larry who has always been and always will be, the man I glimpsed when I gazed into those impossibly blue eyes that winter night so long ago in the steamy desert bar.
Larry, meet the man of my dreams!
And as your spirit, breaking free of the leaden veil of self-hatred, began to rise, it grabbed my hand, and we rose together to join the birds in the sky.
V.
Leaving San Francisco was like leaving the womb.
As we pulled out of the driveway in the chilly February fog, Symka panting in the back seat, her eyes asking, “Where are we going?” I realized neither of us really knew. On the 1,200-mile journey that took us from the warm, yellow hills of California, through the jagged, icy peaks of Salt Lake City and the spooky silence of Laramie, Wyoming, where Matthew Shepard was crucified on a fence for being gay, we wondered if we had made a mistake.
But the Mile-High City, perched like an unlikely Oz atop mountain ranges as old as the world, gifted us something the familiar, comforting embrace of San Francisco never would: enough distance to see who else we might become.
Driving slowly up 73 Magnolia Way on the way home from work, a cherubic welcoming party of waving neighborhood children encircling the car, smiling and screaming, “Hi!” as if they had been awaiting our arrival all day;
Symka bounding joyously across the street on warm spring evenings, tail wagging furiously, inviting herself into the home of her new best friends and racing with glee through the house, a stuffed animal flopping in her mouth;
The squeals of awe-inspired schoolkids, blue and red paint smeared on their smocks, expressing themselves for the first time through the gift of art you brought to them through your foundation work;
Late summer nights on the Harry's patio with friends, laughter and the smell of wine drifting into the night as the idea slowly settled upon us that we were no longer defending ourselves against the world, but becoming part of it.
These things showed us that we BELONGED anywhere we chose to be.
Dallas deepened that discovery.
Returning to Texas was like returning to the scene of a crime: that place that so many years before when you were a teenager had hissed at you through clenched teeth, with ice-cold intensity, that you’d be better off dead than gay.
But, this time you were not alone.
We returned side-by-side, like Pluto descending into the underworld, to confront some of the most hellish challenges of our life:
Realizing that you had survived one deadly plague . . . only to confront another;
Waking up in a pool of blood, wondering what happened; then staples in your head;
A 150-pound dog, its teeth sinking into your 135-pound frame;
Sepsis, which the doctor said you only had a 10% chance of surviving (but he didn't know YOU!);
A 14-hour back surgery, a new spine of steel, and 2 months in rehab to learn how to use it;
The transition of my father and our precious Symka to non-physical.
But ALL of this only made you stronger and more determined to live, my 9-lived Leo! Only the Universe truly knows how or why you survived these unspeakable traumas.
But I like to think you did it for me.
And now, 36 years after our eyes locked in that hazy, sticky dive bar in the desert, we have returned to a Valley of the Sun once again:
triumphant
transformed
transcendent
And as we recite our daily appreciations, like prayers, on our evening Indian Wells walks, the hot wind rustling the palm fronds overhead, humming birds hovering over Mexican birds of paradise, and the setting sun casting a fiery glow across the Santa Rosa mountains, we both recall those scared, hopeful twenty-somethings from so long ago . . . and smile.
VI.
Ah, my Phoenix, what an adventure we have shared over these decades, gliding through history on your golden wings for a birds’ eye view of the world:
in Ephesus, walking in the footsteps of the martyrs and saints to know their anguish and their triumph;
in Giza, watching the sun set over pyramids and temples, melding our hearts with all the lovers who have ever done so;
in the Valley of the Kings, touching the walls of the tombs of emperors to feel the shiver of their joys and sorrows;
in Versailles, holding hands in the palaces of queens to find our own inner majesty; and
in Tipperary, marrying in the castle of kings and knights so that we might become the warriors of our own union.
In our next third-century, where shall our journey take us, Love of My Life?
As we continue to rise, lifted by the force of our shared vision, Where shall we go? What shall we do?
Does it matter?
Wherever we go, we will remain in the Golden State,
Hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm, soul-in-soul,
It will be 11:11 wherever we are.
Time to alight my Firebird . . .
And SOAR!
************************
With All The Love In My Heart, Forever,
Your Adoring Husband
Best wishes for the happiest birthday ever, Larry! You have added so much laughter and joy to our family’s gatherings, especially during the many summer vacations that you and Eric often made possible. I have the most wonderful memories from the Jersey shore (several times), the Cape (many times), Rehoboth, Paris and Ireland (the very best) and lots of Christmas holidays that wouldn’t have been as much fun without you.
Most of all, Larry, your love for Eric and the caring you have shown the rest of us has made a special place in my heart for you. You are the best SIL a mother could have. I hope this birthday, and every day following, is all you wish for!
With love,
Mom❤️
Happy 60th Birthday, Larry!
Wishing you a birthday as amazing as you are.
Here's to sixty years down and many more incredible ones ahead.
Love,
John and Andrew
Thank you Larry for your one-of-a-kind presence on this planet! While I had known of your existence for years through my friendship with Eric, it wasn’t until visiting your Palm Springs Dallas home that I was able to spend time with you and get to see so clearly why you and Eric have been on this life journey together. So much heart … so much willingness to say what you see … a willingness to grow and have adventures …. and a wicked smart sense of ironic humor … all bundled into a being who keeps showing up for life and the people he holds dear. As we share the enneagram 4 heart type I appreciate the depth of feeling … and willingness to play in the places of emotional realism (a super power of the 4 … as long as we don’t stay there too long!) A blessing … In the years and decades ahead, may you know both peace and aliveness. may you feel loved and seen. may you feel your creative spirit free to express in the ways that bring you the most joy. may you know that your presence matters. may what matters most to you bloom. and like a hummingbird or blue monarch butterfly, may you receive the nectar from savoring all moments of life, connection and love.
Grateful to know you!
XO christine
I have only had the pleasure of meeting Larry a few times, but I have had the privilege of knowing him very well through Eric for a few years.
Through that relationship, I have come to appreciate the important role Larry has played throughout Eric's life. While I cannot speak to all of the countless memories they have shared together, I can speak to the impact of his steady presence, encouragement, and support.
Long-lasting partnerships are built on love, commitment, patience, and an ability to stand by one another through life's many changes. From everything I have seen and heard, Larry exemplifies those qualities. The strength of his partnership and the support he has provided over the years have undoubtedly helped make possible so much of what Eric has achieved and experienced.
Although my own interactions with Larry have been limited, I have great admiration for the life he and Eric have built together. It is a testament to dedication, love, and shared purpose, and I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Larry and all he means to those who know him best and especially his love for art! He has great taste!! :)
Happy 60th birthday!!!
Lacey
