Mark Hundahl, a co-owner of gay
alternative Frontiers, died on Thursday after losing a battle
with cancer. He was 61.
Hundahl passed away early Thursday
morning, with his wife and her family by his side, according to the
blog LGBT
| POV, which is hosted by Frontiers.
Frontiers,
Southern California's oldest and largest LGBT magazine, was
launched in 1981 by Greg Carmack and Jerry Hyde.
At the time, Hundahl and co-owner Jon
Hirsh were busy working on Probe, their highly successful Hollywood
gay disco.
In 1983, Carmack and Hyde turned to
Hundahl to help their struggling venture. He gave them $5,000 in
exchange for two years' worth of advertising.
“Greg told me that he and Jerry
started the magazine to be an advocacy magazine,” Hundahl said.
“They made Frontiers the voice of the Los Angeles gay
community and had the foresight to become part of the strong advocacy
movement across the United States. In L.A., lots of people wanted to
read it. It struck a never at the right place and right time.”
Hundahl met David Stern when he moved
his advertising to Edge magazine, where he was working as a
sales associate. The pair would later become business partners,
launching IN LA magazine, a Frontiers sister
publication.
In 2007, Hundahl and Stern bought
Frontiers.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
called Hundahl “a tremendous ally in the fight for equality,
breaking down barriers and providing a voice to the voiceless.”
“He left an indelible mark on the
LGBT community and will be sorely missed,” he said. “My thoughts
and prayers are with Mark's family and those he touched with his
life. I'm lucky to have known Mark and witness the amazing impact
his work had on the community.”