Hollywood Gays (16 page)

A: Boze (whispering), the tale I heard was that—and this is
not
for
Cleo
or any other ladies’ ears; turn off the recorder, please.

Q: Okay. It’s off, for now.

A: (Regular tone.) I heard she left the Isle of Man for the Isle of Lesbos. Do you catch my drift?

Q: I caught it. She traded a boyfriend for a girlfriend?

A: No, the other way around! She swapped
her
for
him
.

Q: You had your islands reversed, but I know what you mean. Do you think, though, that was motivated by her becoming a public figure?

A: I have
no
idea what goes on in ladies’ heads or regions below. We all know what
men
do....

Q: Men in the public eye?

A: Yes. Now let’s end this rather dangerous topic, then you can switch on your machine.

Q: You know, very little is said about public figures’ responsibilities, only their rights—the right to privacy.

A: Oh, most of them willingly give
that
up! (Snickers.) If you want total privacy, stay anonymous.

Q: True enough. But public figures are role models, for better or worse. Usually for worse, when it’s a lie on screen and off.

A: (tone hardens.) Do you mean actresses like Judy Holliday?

Q: And actors like Judy Holliday.

A: Well, switch on your recorder and let’s have some more pertinent questions. I
don’t
have a lot of time. Is it on now?

Q: It’s on.

A: (tone softens to near syrup.) Now what was the next question, Boze?

Q: What do you think of Stephen Sondheim?

A: Well, he’s
very
musical. He’s done some wonderful tunes. I
love
“Send in the Clowns.”

Q: And Jerry Herman?

A: I think he’s easier to hum.
Wonderful
music. They’re both very talented men.

Q: If someone ever did a movie of your life, who would you want to play you?

A: Oh, I
wouldn’t!
How horrible. No one could play me, and I would
never
want my life filmed. (There were two posthumous, homophobic TV movies. Much later, in 2013, HBO’s
Behind the Candelabra
starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Scott Thorson was released as a feature outside of the United States.)

Q: Little Richard said if they filmed his life, he’d want Michael Jackson to play him.

A: Really. The same casting couldn’t apply in my situation.

Q: Why do you think Jackson is trying to feminize his appearance?

A: I don’t know. I think he wants to look better.

Q: But he was a good-looking black boy. Now he looks more and more like a white girl. A strange one.

A: That has nothing to do with me. What’s the
next
question?

Q: What’s your favorite room of the house or houses?

A: You know, I love and enjoy
every
room. And I have the best cooks in the world, but sometimes I take over. I rule the roast! (Laughs.) Not too often! If one eats like Miss Piggy, one won’t look like Twiggy.

.

Q: That’s cute. Do you have a weight problem?

A: Boze! That’s almost
rude
.

Q: It’s a question
Cleo
often asks.

A: Well, I’m sure most
ladies
wouldn’t answer. But being a gentleman, I’ll just say that...dieting
is
my weigh of life. “Weigh”—as in
weighing
yourself on the scales each morning.

Q: How clever. What do you think of plastic surgery?

A: I don’t condemn anyone who tries it. Why not look your best?

Q: Have you tried it?

A: Boze! I don’t need to. But if someday I do, I’ll definitely give it serious consideration. There’s nothing wrong with it.

Q: If you hadn’t become a pianist, what would you have been?

A: Oh, that
is
difficult. I love great art. I’ve always admired the great masters—the painters, especially in the Renaissance.

Q: Most of them were gay.

A: Really?

Q: The Renaissance was in large part a gay arts and philosophy movement that turned away from the church’s restrictions on art and thinking, to draw inspiration from Greco-Roman culture, which was far more tolerant and accepting of homosexuality and bisexuality.

A: Oh, by
far
. (Pause.) I mean that’s very
interesting
. They were very intelligent men.

Q: So you might have been a painter?

A: Not exactly, Boze, though there
are
a lot of house painters in the Midwest. (Chuckles) I’d have been an amateur painter, I’m afraid. I always knew where my real talents lay.

Q: You could have painted for fun. Many actors do.

A: Not for fun, for soul-release. You know, Boze, the word “amateur” has been degraded and misunderstood in our society.

Q: That can he said about a lot of words.

A: Yes. But “amateur” means, it’s from the Latin...
lover
. Somebody who
loves
what they do.
That’s
an amateur. Someone who does it for love, not money. So you see, an amateur painter is more pure in his motives than a painter who does it for money.

Q: Though presumably less talented. For the Renaissance artists, painting was a career and their way of life.

A: I just
love
their painting. What else did you want to ask
me?

Q: Were you very surprised when
Sincerely Yours
wasn’t a success?

A: The people, my fans, who saw it
loved
it. I think the timing wasn’t right. Timing is
so
important. For anything. But by the time they asked me to do another movie, I was too busy. As I say, I know where my real talents lie.

Q: People prefer to see you in person than on a giant screen?

A: Well, I love the concept of a close-up, but I’m not exactly an Adonis! (Giggles)

Q: Like Tyrone Power?

A: Wasn’t he nice-looking?

Q: And then some. What do you think of biographies that disclose the facts of his life?

A: I’m of a very mixed mind about that, Boze, since you ask. Very mixed. I don’t think we want to go into that here. Okay, then.
Yes
. You are right. Men and women
much
prefer to see me live.

Q: People prefer to see you live. Do you think that’s partly because when you’re yourself on a stage you can dress and act in a manner that has to be far more subdued for the screen?

A: Let me think...I suppose so. I always want to give my fans the best of myself. I love to shop, and I love to
share
that with my fans. They get a vicarious thrill out of seeing my belongings. I couldn’t deny them that.

Q: No, one shouldn’t deny....

A: I beg your pardon?

Q: You have all kinds of fans.

A:
Yes.
(Purrs.)

Q: Including gay ones—this isn’t for
Cleo
, by the way. You were a pioneer in some ways. Do you find you get less bigoted reactions from critics now than before?

A: Critics are
paid
to be critical. If they were
amateurs
, we might all be better off. They want to make it a life’s work....But they’re not all bad, and I have no problem with them. I think most of them like me. I don’t know. I never get to read reviews. I do know somebody once said that I’m “critic-proof.” The critics have nothing to do with my shows. If they like my shows, I’m delighted. But it’s the audiences who buy the tickets, and they can never get enough of me. The proof is in the box office (chuckles).

Q: I thought it was in the pudding.

A: You know what, Boze? I rule the roast, but I’m also king of the box office! So they always
tell
me. (Sighs happily.)

Q: Well, you do live like royalty. What about when someone says your shows play to people’s love for kitsch?

A: I’m Polish-Italian, I don’t speak German.
Next
question?

Q: What do you think of Johnny Mathis, who came out of the closet a few years ago?

A: His voice? I don’t think diabetics can listen to him for long. You said he…?

Q: Yes: “came out of the closet.” Which takes guts, doesn’t it?

A: Isn’t it a little
redundant
, in his case? Please do
not
print these questions and answers about Johnny Mathis. I don’t want an interview where I talk about others and give my
opinions
....

Q: I can strike it.
Cleo
need never know. Do you prefer it when others—non-critics—give their opinions about you?

A: No! Not at all. I don’t want to talk about them, or them about me. I want to talk about
me
.
That’s
what people want.

Q: You seem to be an expert on what people want.

A: I should be. I’ve been at it quite a while! (Chuckles.)

Q: Not all people want the same thing. (No reply.) Did you know Rock Hudson was a big fan of yours?

A: Really? He’s a darling man. (Aside.) Let’s
not
talk about his health (in 1985 Hudson was revealed to have AIDS).

Q: You once knew him socially, didn’t you?

A: Did he say I did?

Q: Oh, yes.

A: Well...one of the
wonderful
things about show business is the people one gets to meet. Ordinary people
and
movie stars, everybody you have
time
to meet or would want to. It’s a real
joy
.

Q: Is there a special someone in your life now, Lee?

A: I
never
give up hope—I’m always looking.
When
I have time. (Coolly.) Did Tom Clark tell you to ask about Rock and Mathis and all this?

Q: No. Why?

A: I wouldn’t put it past him. And he’s
not
Rock’s lover—anymore.

Q: Would you be willing to be interviewed for a gay magazine?

A: What?
Why?

Q: Coming out didn’t hurt Mathis’ career, and he dresses less...flamboyantly (than Liberace).

A: (Acidly.) Is he a closet Reagan supporter? I think he’s been around even longer than I have.

Q: Ronald Reagan? (Ironically, and unsurprisingly, Liberace was a Republican.)

A:
Mathis.
(Exhales audibly.) What’s the
point
of this? “Coming out” is for younger people who want to stay in the headlines all the time! I don’t need or like headlines, and I don’t
need
to.... You really have upset me.

Q: Of course it’s a personal choice, but—

A:
Oh!
I hear the doorbell. And the butler’s not around. I have to
go
. (Shifting tones.) It
really
has been a pleasure, Boze—mostly. (Shifting back.) Just make
sure
it’s legally safe, do you understand me?

Q: I understand and it
is
legally safe. A lot safer than it
could
be. You better answer your door.... It is ringing, isn’t it?

A:
Thank
you.

Q: Thank
you.

BRAD DAVIS

(1949-1991)

Brad Davis was best known for starring in
Midnight Express
(1978), which he half-jokingly felt had “done more harm to Turkey’s image and tourist industry than all the movies before put together.” He was also known for starring as the lusty
Querelle
(1982), director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final film; the openly gay German had declared that Davis’s white sailor pants were so tight, they revealed what religion he wasn’t. On TV, Davis portrayed one of his own heroes in
Robert Kennedy and His Times
.

He received more publicity than ever after dying of AIDS in 1991 at age 41. In the movie capital, his passing garnered more newsprint coverage than any AIDS death since Rock Hudson and Liberace. The main angle was fear. Davis had known he was HIV-positive since 1985, the year he’d appeared in Larry Kramer’s AIDS-themed play
The Normal Heart
in New York. He’d kept the information secret, and although a dues-paying member of three actors’ unions, he had paid his own bills and insurance out of fear that his medical status would otherwise be discovered and his career ended.