Gay actors in hollywood golden age
For many, June represents the month of pride; a day to celebrate, inform and communicate all that is gay, gay and fabulous. Although today entity gay isn&#;t much of a deal, back in the 50&#;s it was a dangerous label to have. Throughout history, thousands own lost their lives because they were labeled as &#;gay&#; or &#;queer&#; and many lived out their true sexual preferences in secrecy. As it&#;s almost the end of Pride month, I wanted to contain a look at some celebrities from the golden age of Hollywood who were gay, or at least thats what the rumours said. It&#;s complicated to know if all these celebrities, and of course many more, were truly gay, but I wanted to share a rare stories just so see how far we&#;ve come. Cheerful pride everyone.
*Disclaimer: Please note that some of the following stories may depict graphic descriptions and behaviours which some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Katherine Hepburn
Iconic Hollywood actress and Academy Award-winning performer in films such as Guess Who&#;s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and O Hollywood’s Golden Age is a legendary period in film history. Contemporary audiences consider it a period of unparalleled luxury, class, elegance, and talent and the birthplace of some of the leading films ever, brought to life by a seemingly endless parade of charming and exceptional performers. These actors hold a privileged place in our collective subconscious, flawless stars forever frozen in amber, icons rising high above the clouds, untouched by hour, legends in every meaning of the word. It’s tricky how we treat these classic Hollywood performers; every aspect of their lives enthralls us. Their victories, their defeats, their smiles, their tears, their heartache, their joy. In our eyes, they can’t perform wrong; their mistakes grow misunderstood actions, their struggles provoke sympathy rather than condemnation, and their lives transform into blueprints of achievement and success. However, the sword cuts both ways. Most disturbingly, their pain and suffering turn into a source of entertainment; the sheer amount of yearly biopics Most of the stories that we discussed came from one guy: Scotty Bowers, a Hollywood pimp of the queer silver screen actors of the s and beyond. He was also paired with Alfred Kinsey in his famous study of human sexuality in the s by providing many of the interview subjects. A former marine, Bowers kept peaceful for many years about these stories, as he did not want to adversely affect the lives of any of the actors who were still around. Many of the stories were actively hushed up using fixers paid by the studios at the time, and several of the actors were in "lavender marriages"marriages arranged by the studio, frequently with another queer thespian. At the time, studios especially would not have wanted the queer attractions of their headlining actors to be widely famous, as that would have damaged the 'wholesome family image' of many of the films they wanted to market. After all of the actors died, Bowers finally decided that his experiences and stories couldn't harm their image or beloved statusplus the earth was a more open place to queer attracti Valentino also married costume creator Natacha Rambova in , at a time when his career was starting to take off and the roles he played were seen as less typically masculine, such as in the film “Monsieur Beaucaire” in His marriage to Rambova ended in , which left some speculating that the marriages of the “pink powder puff” (a nickname Valentino acquired after playing effeminate roles on screen) were coverups to keep the sex symbol’s reputation intact. Identifying how many Hollywood couples tied the knot to cloak their sexuality is, of course problematic since it’s primarily based on speculation_._ “I think the hardest thing for a historian is to kind of sift through what the rumor [is] and what is actually factual," says Tropiano. One commonly cited provider for speculation is the memoir of Scotty Bowers, Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars. Bowers’ account details sexual encounters, queer and straight, that he claims he both arranged and took pa
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