Karel Bouley
A larger than life personality became both a defense and a calling for Karel Bouley, who turned early experiences with bullying into a career built around performance, writing, radio, and LGBTQ activism. During the AIDS epidemic, he worked as a patient advocate and hospice caregiver while watching much of his generation disappear. In 1989, Karel met Andrew Howard, beginning a relationship that would eventually make broadcasting history when Karel & Andrew became the first openly gay couple to host a major market drive time radio show in the United States. Andrew’s sudden death in 2001 led Karel into a six year legal battle that ultimately helped secure equal legal standing for domestic partners. Through loss, body image struggles, activism, and decades in the public eye, Karel continues to advocate for self acceptance and living fully, carrying forward a simple philosophy: life is not a dress rehearsal.