Career
He was known for creating and editing DRUM magazine, an early gay-interest periodical, and for his leadership role with the Philadelphia-based homophile organization, the Janus Society. He lived in a home that overlooked Hollywood with his friends and had two Saint Bernards named Bert and Ernie. Polak killed himself in Los Angeles in 1980.
A box of Polak"s papers is held by the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.