Dec 19, 2024 | Hollywood's Golden Age was a time of glittering glamour and tightly controlled images. Stars were meticulously crafted into icons of perfection, often at the cost of their personal truths. For many actors, living authentically was not an option. To preserve their careers, they had to mask parts of themselves, particularly when it came to their sexuality.
Mar 5, 2016 • What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work as an interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines, details the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom. | Views on YouTube: 1,894,386
