Zelda R. Suplee (1908 – 1989) was a pioneering woman in the nudist movement and lgbtq rights activist who fought and lived for transgender equality in the US in the 1960s.
Biography
Born Zelda Roth in NYC in 1908 to Jewish parents, she grew up in New Jersey. She attended Washington Square College (the former name of New York University’s undergraduate program in Greenwich Village) and New Jersey College for Women (today part of Rutgers University-New Brunswick), where she completed her B.A. 1The Erickson Educational Foundation After she moved to Greenwich Village and in 1930 began working as a researcher for “Physical Culture” proponent Bernard Macfadden, known for his controversial writing on health and sexuality. 2 A Gender Variance Who’s Who
She continued working for Macfadden through her first marriage, which ended in 1946. It was not long after this divorce that she married the recently divorced J Reed Suplee, an engineer, former Quaker, and owner of Pennsylvania’s popular SunnyRest Lodge. It was in her role as co-owner and camp director for Sunny Rest Lodge that Zelda — along with J Reed — she became a fixture in the national nudist movement and a public advocate for the nudist lifestyle.
Nudist camp owner
In 1948 they opened a second camp, Sunny Palms, in Florida. The Suplees also both edited Sun Tan, the official journal of both AANR East and Western AANR (then known as the Eastern Sunbathing Association and Western Sunbathing Association, respectively). In addition to holding the unconventional title “Woman’s Editor”, Zelda Suplee also contributed the regular column, “To The Ladies”. During the 1930s – 1950s, Suplee owned and/or managed three nudist camps. 3 A Gender Variance Who’s Who
In 1953 that Zelda captured hearts within the textile public when she appeared on “What’s My Line?” as a nudist camp owner. Before Zelda stole the show in 1953, J Reed had also appeared on “What’s My Line?”, but was perhaps less successful in entertaining the crowd. His appearance was detailed in this 1951 issue of Sun Tan.
Zelda Suplee became the face of nudism for many non-nudists. Here she is portrayed in a nudist comic, and described in an accompanying article, in “Phoenix Arizona Republic” August 21, 1959. 4Camp Naturist
Actor
Zelda Suplee became even more well known when she appeared in the 1961 film Diary Of A Nudist as herself. She played an important role in the film, eventually helping the leading man and woman discover their love for one another. She would go on to act in more nudist films in the 1960s, including The Moving Finger, 1963 and The Parisienne and the Prudes, 1964. Suplee was an editor and researcher of the magazines True Story, True Detective and Master Detective.5 A Gender Variance Who’s Who
LGBT advocate
Zelda and Reed divorced in 1961. As part of their settlement, Reed took Sunny Palms and moved to Florida. Zelda kept Sunny Rest Lodge. 1965 Zelda Suplee left Sunny Rest to work with Reed Erickson, a wealthy transgender philanthropist and founder of the Erickson Educational Foundation — an organization with the goal of educating the public about transsexuality and gender identity. She was a consulting sexologist, later became the director of the foundation. 6 A Gender Variance Who’s Who
In 1967, she was hired by Erickson as Assistant Director of the Erickson Educational Foundation. Later as later Director, of the EEF, Suplee took in a variety of responsibilities, including managing day to day operations of the EEF. establishing a communication agenda for the dissemination of information on transsexualism, overseeing the development of communication materials, working with the media, and counseling transgender people seeking assistance. 7The Erickson Educational Foundation
Before joining the EEF, she worked as a writer, magazine editor, and literary agent and, during the 1950s and 1960s, co-directed two nudist camp resorts with her second husband, J. Reed Suplee. Zelda Suplee was the first member of the American nudist movement to appear on national television (on What’s My Line? in 1953) and earned a reputation as “queen of the nudists.” She was also interested in psychic phenomenon and alternative healing, passions Erickson shared.
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