Keri Pickett knew her uncle Roy Blakey was a photographer. But a box tied with rope revealed a part of his career she had not known: HE, his 1972 book of male nudes.
It was another doorway into the life of a deeply private man whose photographs had reached gay audiences far beyond his family. Now Pickett’s documentary Uncle Roy brings that life, and their relationship, to the screen.
Born in Oklahoma in 1930, Blakey dreamed of performing on ice. He traveled internationally with Holiday on Ice before becoming a photographer in New York. Performers, famous faces and men became subjects of his camera, while his collection of theatrical skating memorabilia grew across decades.
His photographs of men were an important part of that creative life. The images gave male beauty and desire a place in art and publishing, reaching readers who could find recognition in the work.
Pickett followed her uncle to New York to pursue photography herself. Their connection grew into an adult friendship and, eventually, a shared photography studio in Minneapolis. As she learned more about his work, she also came to understand the scale of the history he had preserved.
There were two substantial legacies to protect: his photography and his skating collection. The latter contained around 44,000 items, including programs, photographs, posters and costumes. That number describes the skating collection, rather than a count of his photographs of men.
When Blakey developed dementia, Pickett became his caregiver. The documentary follows the increasingly urgent task of preserving his work alongside the intimate responsibility of caring for someone she loved.
Blakey died in 2024, aged 94. His story continues through the film, which is currently traveling the festival circuit.
A new OUTTAKE VOICES interview with Pickett was published October 6. Uncle Roy screens at Pittsburgh’s Reel Q LGBTQ+ Film Festival on October 9 at 6:30 p.m., in Carnegie Mellon University’s McConomy Auditorium.
The photographs offer a record of beauty, performance and gay life. The relationship behind the film offers something equally moving: a niece taking care of the uncle who inspired her, and making sure other people would have the chance to know him.
Learn more at the official Uncle Roy website and see the Reel Q screening schedule.
📷 Courtesy of Keri Pickett / Uncle Roy; archival photography by Roy Blakey.
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