Editor’s note: This press release was provided by the Progressive Women of Pelham. The Pelham Examiner publishes press releases in the form received as a service to the community.

Brent Miller, Senior Director, Global LGBTQ+ Equality; Creative Content and Partnerships at Procter & Gamble will be joining the panel discussion after the screening of CODED: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker on Monday, June 27 at 7:30pm at The Picture House Pelham. A legendary executive, Miller first brought this story to the attention of the producers and was a driving force behind the film.  The evening is sponsored by Progressive Women of Pelham in honor of Pride Month.

The panel discussion will be led by Pelham parent Darra Gordon (Deputy President and COO of GLAAD).  Other panelists include Christian Amato (grassroots organizer, LGBTQ+ community leader, and candidate for State Senate District 34) and Michael Cruz (Lecturer, Hunter College; PMHS 2015).

The 30-minute documentary short tells the story of legendary illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, a preeminent illustrator of the early 20th century, whose work for The Saturday Evening Post introduced iconic American visuals such as the New Year’s Baby and Santa Claus. A gay man whose frequent model was his life partner Charles Beach, Leyendecker’s early-20th century advertisements were often coded with LGBTQ imagery that quietly acknowledged a community that was forced to live and love in secret. The documentary explores Leyendecker’s legacy as a grandfather of modern advertising, connecting how today’s LGBTQ advertisements are built upon the foundation laid by his work.

Leyendecker and Beach lived in the gracious mansion that now houses Mount Tom Day Camp in New Rochelle for 37 years, from 1914 until the illustrator’s death in 1951.

CODED (2021) was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ryan White, produced by Imagine Documentaries and Delirio films, and distributed by MTV Documentary Films.