Damon Charles: 1st List of Gay/Lesbian/Bi Actors and Industry People, Both in Front and Behind the Camera
The list below is NOT in random order. Marlon Brando is first then all names after are in alphabetical order by last name. If you are looking for a particular person then you need to search for the page that has the correct last name.
In no way is this list meant to "OUT" anyone.
I have purposely NOT listed anyone of "speculation" like other sites may have ... only those where confirmation by either personal accounts, or public records prove the source of information on their sexuality.
Some are people I personally know and allowed me to put their name on this list, or have been publicly outed (with proof) by other sources, or have personally come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual themselves. While gay, lesbian, and bi, "gender impersonators" are on here, transsexuals are not.
Some of the people on this list may have lived or are living a heterosexual lifestyle. But at one time or another they have either admitted to being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and all have either outed themselves or have already been outed.
There are countless other people in the industry that we know are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. For whatever reason, they are "open" only to those working in THE INDUSTRY and choose to keep it a secret to the general public.
Sadly not everyone on this list is or was happy with their sexuality. Even when (true) rumors of people I personally knew and worked with surrounded them, like Merv Griffin, Rock Hudson, and Liberace (plus many others of today and the past), their self-loathing for who they were, made them feel the need to hide their sexuality, and in some instances bring legal actions to those who tried to out them.
You may not know some of the names or recognize the photos of the people on my list who worked in the past, but it is important to know the past in order to live in the present, and look forward to a happier future within ourselves. You need to know that you are in good company.
Hopefully someday, probably not in my lifetime (but I was wrong about same sex marriages, so hope I'm wrong here too), people will just be people, and lists like this will not be needed. Until that day comes, this list is dedicated to the closeted, possibly tormented talented youth that may need to see that there IS a good future (and happy life) ahead of them if they can accept themselves for who they are.
Some of the performers and behind-the-scene people are or were my friends, and I kept their secret until their deaths or they decided to come out themselves. Rock Hudson once told me that if anyone really knew or believed he was gay, he would die. When it was announced that he had AIDS he said, "Now everyone knows I'm gay, and I'm dying."
Those already in the entertainment industry know that it can still harbor homophobia, even though the industry claims otherwise. For any of these people on this list to have "come out on their own" was not so much an act of bravery, but more of being comfortable in their own skin. I thank each and every person that has personally allowed me to add them to this list, and I appreciate the positive responses I've received in person and on the Internet. I truly believe that every person on this list has or had the ability to save the life of at least one person who is or was struggling with their true identity.
Andrew Levinson, my spouse, has been a big help in making this list grow quicker and bigger. We celebrate our 50th year together July 24, 2021, continuing to work together on this list, trying to be a positive model for others.
It used to be that if you wanted to write me or make comments, you could do it on the IMDb Message Board at the bottom of the Damon Charles webpage. Unfortunately on February 17, 2017, IMDb discontinued this feature on all pages. Sadly, contacting me now is impossible as I am not on Facebook or any other social networks. I here give you full permission to feel free and put a link to this list on YOUR Facebook or other social media pages. Let's make this "List" soar with viewers. I do appreciate all the responses I did get in the past, and more than appreciate all the positive feedback I had been getting for having it up.
Thanks, Damon Charles
In no way is this list meant to "OUT" anyone.
I have purposely NOT listed anyone of "speculation" like other sites may have ... only those where confirmation by either personal accounts, or public records prove the source of information on their sexuality.
Some are people I personally know and allowed me to put their name on this list, or have been publicly outed (with proof) by other sources, or have personally come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual themselves. While gay, lesbian, and bi, "gender impersonators" are on here, transsexuals are not.
Some of the people on this list may have lived or are living a heterosexual lifestyle. But at one time or another they have either admitted to being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and all have either outed themselves or have already been outed.
There are countless other people in the industry that we know are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. For whatever reason, they are "open" only to those working in THE INDUSTRY and choose to keep it a secret to the general public.
Sadly not everyone on this list is or was happy with their sexuality. Even when (true) rumors of people I personally knew and worked with surrounded them, like Merv Griffin, Rock Hudson, and Liberace (plus many others of today and the past), their self-loathing for who they were, made them feel the need to hide their sexuality, and in some instances bring legal actions to those who tried to out them.
You may not know some of the names or recognize the photos of the people on my list who worked in the past, but it is important to know the past in order to live in the present, and look forward to a happier future within ourselves. You need to know that you are in good company.
Hopefully someday, probably not in my lifetime (but I was wrong about same sex marriages, so hope I'm wrong here too), people will just be people, and lists like this will not be needed. Until that day comes, this list is dedicated to the closeted, possibly tormented talented youth that may need to see that there IS a good future (and happy life) ahead of them if they can accept themselves for who they are.
Some of the performers and behind-the-scene people are or were my friends, and I kept their secret until their deaths or they decided to come out themselves. Rock Hudson once told me that if anyone really knew or believed he was gay, he would die. When it was announced that he had AIDS he said, "Now everyone knows I'm gay, and I'm dying."
Those already in the entertainment industry know that it can still harbor homophobia, even though the industry claims otherwise. For any of these people on this list to have "come out on their own" was not so much an act of bravery, but more of being comfortable in their own skin. I thank each and every person that has personally allowed me to add them to this list, and I appreciate the positive responses I've received in person and on the Internet. I truly believe that every person on this list has or had the ability to save the life of at least one person who is or was struggling with their true identity.
Andrew Levinson, my spouse, has been a big help in making this list grow quicker and bigger. We celebrate our 50th year together July 24, 2021, continuing to work together on this list, trying to be a positive model for others.
It used to be that if you wanted to write me or make comments, you could do it on the IMDb Message Board at the bottom of the Damon Charles webpage. Unfortunately on February 17, 2017, IMDb discontinued this feature on all pages. Sadly, contacting me now is impossible as I am not on Facebook or any other social networks. I here give you full permission to feel free and put a link to this list on YOUR Facebook or other social media pages. Let's make this "List" soar with viewers. I do appreciate all the responses I did get in the past, and more than appreciate all the positive feedback I had been getting for having it up.
Thanks, Damon Charles
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Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in 1949, a decision for which he was severely criticized when his star began to dim in the 1960s and he was excoriated for squandering his talents. No actor ever exerted such a profound influence on succeeding generations of actors as did Brando. More than 50 years after he first scorched the screen as Stanley Kowalski in the movie version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and a quarter-century after his last great performance as Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), all American actors are still being measured by the yardstick that was Brando. It was if the shadow of John Barrymore, the great American actor closest to Brando in terms of talent and stardom, dominated the acting field up until the 1970s. He did not, nor did any other actor so dominate the public's consciousness of what WAS an actor before or since Brando's 1951 on-screen portrayal of Stanley made him a cultural icon. Brando eclipsed the reputation of other great actors circa 1950, such as Paul Muni and Fredric March. Only the luster of Spencer Tracy's reputation hasn't dimmed when seen in the starlight thrown off by Brando. However, neither Tracy nor Olivier created an entire school of acting just by the force of his personality. Brando did.
Marlon Brando, Jr. was born on April 3, 1924, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., a calcium carbonate salesman, and his artistically inclined wife, the former Dorothy Julia Pennebaker. "Bud" Brando was one of three children. His ancestry included English, Irish, German, Dutch, French Huguenot, Welsh, and Scottish; his surname originated with a distant German immigrant ancestor named "Brandau." His oldest sister Jocelyn Brando was also an actress, taking after their mother, who engaged in amateur theatricals and mentored a then-unknown Henry Fonda, another Nebraska native, in her role as director of the Omaha Community Playhouse. Frannie, Brando's other sibling, was a visual artist. Both Brando sisters contrived to leave the Midwest for New York City, Jocelyn to study acting and Frannie to study art. Marlon managed to escape the vocational doldrums forecast for him by his cold, distant father and his disapproving schoolteachers by striking out for The Big Apple in 1943, following Jocelyn into the acting profession. Acting was the only thing he was good at, for which he received praise, so he was determined to make it his career - a high-school dropout, he had nothing else to fall back on, having been rejected by the military due to a knee injury he incurred playing football at Shattuck Military Academy, Brando Sr.'s alma mater. The school booted Marlon out as incorrigible before graduation.
Acting was a skill he honed as a child, the lonely son of alcoholic parents. With his father away on the road, and his mother frequently intoxicated to the point of stupefaction, the young Bud would play-act for her to draw her out of her stupor and to attract her attention and love. His mother was exceedingly neglectful, but he loved her, particularly for instilling in him a love of nature, a feeling which informed his character Paul in Last Tango in Paris (1972) ("Last Tango in Paris") when he is recalling his childhood for his young lover Jeanne. "I don't have many good memories," Paul confesses, and neither did Brando of his childhood. Sometimes he had to go down to the town jail to pick up his mother after she had spent the night in the drunk tank and bring her home, events that traumatized the young boy but may have been the grain that irritated the oyster of his talent, producing the pearls of his performances. Anthony Quinn, his Oscar-winning co-star in Viva Zapata! (1952) told Brando's first wife Anna Kashfi, "I admire Marlon's talent, but I don't envy the pain that created it."
Brando enrolled in Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop at New York's New School, and was mentored by Stella Adler, a member of a famous Yiddish Theatre acting family. Adler helped introduce to the New York stage the "emotional memory" technique of Russian theatrical actor, director and impresario Konstantin Stanislavski, whose motto was "Think of your own experiences and use them truthfully." The results of this meeting between an actor and the teacher preparing him for a life in the theater would mark a watershed in American acting and culture.
Brando made his debut on the boards of Broadway on October 19, 1944, in "I Remember Mama," a great success. As a young Broadway actor, Brando was invited by talent scouts from several different studios to screen-test for them, but he turned them down because he would not let himself be bound by the then-standard seven-year contract. Brando would make his film debut quite some time later in Fred Zinnemann's The Men (1950) for producer Stanley Kramer. Playing a paraplegic soldier, Brando brought new levels of realism to the screen, expanding on the verisimilitude brought to movies by Group Theatre alumni John Garfield, the predecessor closest to him in the raw power he projected on-screen. Ironically, it was Garfield whom producer Irene Mayer Selznick had chosen to play the lead in a new Tennessee Williams play she was about to produce, but negotiations broke down when Garfield demanded an ownership stake in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Burt Lancaster was next approached, but couldn't get out of a prior film commitment. Then director Elia Kazan suggested Brando, whom he had directed to great effect in Maxwell Anderson's play "Truckline Café," in which Brando co-starred with Karl Malden, who was to remain a close friend for the next 60 years.
During the production of "Truckline Café," Kazan had found that Brando's presence was so magnetic, he had to re-block the play to keep Marlon near other major characters' stage business, as the audience could not take its eyes off of him. For the scene where Brando's character re-enters the stage after killing his wife, Kazan placed him upstage-center, partially obscured by scenery, but where the audience could still see him as Karl Malden and others played out their scene within the café set. When he eventually entered the scene, crying, the effect was electric. A young Pauline Kael, arriving late to the play, had to avert her eyes when Brando made this entrance as she believed the young actor on stage was having a real-life conniption. She did not look back until her escort commented that the young man was a great actor.
The problem with casting Brando as Stanley was that he was much younger than the character as written by Williams. However, after a meeting between Brando and Williams, the playwright eagerly agreed that Brando would make an ideal Stanley. Williams believed that by casting a younger actor, the Neanderthalish Kowalski would evolve from being a vicious older man to someone whose unintentional cruelty can be attributed to his youthful ignorance. Brando ultimately was dissatisfied with his performance, though, saying he never was able to bring out the humor of the character, which was ironic as his characterization often drew laughs from the audience at the expense of Jessica Tandy's Blanche Dubois. During the out-of-town tryouts, Kazan realized that Brando's magnetism was attracting attention and audience sympathy away from Blanche to Stanley, which was not what the playwright intended. The audience's sympathy should be solely with Blanche, but many spectators were identifying with Stanley. Kazan queried Williams on the matter, broaching the idea of a slight rewrite to tip the scales back to more of a balance between Stanley and Blanche, but Williams demurred, smitten as he was by Brando, just like the preview audiences.
For his part, Brando believed that the audience sided with his Stanley because Jessica Tandy was too shrill. He thought Vivien Leigh, who played the part in the movie, was ideal, as she was not only a great beauty but she WAS Blanche Dubois, troubled as she was in her real life by mental illness and nymphomania. Brando's appearance as Stanley on stage and on screen revolutionized American acting by introducing "The Method" into American consciousness and culture. Method acting, rooted in Adler's study at the Moscow Art Theatre of Stanislavsky's theories that she subsequently introduced to the Group Theatre, was a more naturalistic style of performing, as it engendered a close identification of the actor with the character's emotions. Adler took first place among Brando's acting teachers, and socially she helped turn him from an unsophisticated Midwestern farm boy into a knowledgeable and cosmopolitan artist who one day would socialize with presidents.
Brando didn't like the term "The Method," which quickly became the prominent paradigm taught by such acting gurus as Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Brando denounced Strasberg in his autobiography "Songs My Mother Taught Me" (1994), saying that he was a talentless exploiter who claimed he had been Brando's mentor. The Actors Studio had been founded by Strasberg along with Kazan and Stella Adler's husband, Harold Clurman, all Group Theatre alumni, all political progressives deeply committed to the didactic function of the stage. Brando credits his knowledge of the craft to Adler and Kazan, while Kazan in his autobiography "A Life" claimed that Brando's genius thrived due to the thorough training Adler had given him. Adler's method emphasized that authenticity in acting is achieved by drawing on inner reality to expose deep emotional experience
Interestingly, Elia Kazan believed that Brando had ruined two generations of actors, his contemporaries and those who came after him, all wanting to emulate the great Brando by employing The Method. Kazan felt that Brando was never a Method actor, that he had been highly trained by Adler and did not rely on gut instincts for his performances, as was commonly believed. Many a young actor, mistaken about the true roots of Brando's genius, thought that all it took was to find a character's motivation, empathize with the character through sense and memory association, and regurgitate it all on stage to become the character. That's not how the superbly trained Brando did it; he could, for example, play accents, whereas your average American Method actor could not. There was a method to Brando's art, Kazan felt, but it was not The Method.
After A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), for which he received the first of his eight Academy Award nominations, Brando appeared in a string of Academy Award-nominated performances - in Viva Zapata! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953) and the summit of his early career, Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954). For his "Waterfront" portrayal of meat-headed longshoreman Terry Malloy, the washed-up pug who "coulda been a contender," Brando won his first Oscar. Along with his iconic performance as the rebel-without-a-cause Johnny in The Wild One (1953) ("What are you rebelling against?" Johnny is asked. "What have ya got?" is his reply), the first wave of his career was, according to Jon Voight, unprecedented in its audacious presentation of such a wide range of great acting. Director John Huston said his performance of Marc Antony was like seeing the door of a furnace opened in a dark room, and co-star John Gielgud, the premier Shakespearean actor of the 20th century, invited Brando to join his repertory company.
It was this period of 1951-54 that revolutionized American acting, spawning such imitators as James Dean - who modeled his acting and even his lifestyle on his hero Brando - the young Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. After Brando, every up-and-coming star with true acting talent and a brooding, alienated quality would be hailed as the "New Brando," such as Warren Beatty in Kazan's Splendor in the Grass (1961). "We are all Brando's children," Jack Nicholson pointed out in 1972. "He gave us our freedom." He was truly "The Godfather" of American acting - and he was just 30 years old. Though he had a couple of failures, like Désirée (1954) and The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), he was clearly miscast in them and hadn't sought out the parts so largely escaped blame.
In the second period of his career, 1955-62, Brando managed to uniquely establish himself as a great actor who also was a Top 10 movie star, although that star began to dim after the box-office high point of his early career, Sayonara (1957) (for which he received his fifth Best Actor Oscar nomination). Brando tried his hand at directing a film, the well-reviewed One-Eyed Jacks (1961) that he made for his own production company, Pennebaker Productions (after his mother's maiden name). Stanley Kubrick had been hired to direct the film, but after months of script rewrites in which Brando participated, Kubrick and Brando had a falling out and Kubrick was sacked. According to his widow Christiane Kubrick, Stanley believed that Brando had wanted to direct the film himself all along.
Tales proliferated about the profligacy of Brando the director, burning up a million and a half feet of expensive VistaVision film at 50 cents a foot, fully ten times the normal amount of raw stock expended during production of an equivalent motion picture. Brando took so long editing the film that he was never able to present the studio with a cut. Paramount took it away from him and tacked on a re-shot ending that Brando was dissatisfied with, as it made the Oedipal figure of Dad Longworth into a villain. In any normal film Dad would have been the heavy, but Brando believed that no one was innately evil, that it was a matter of an individual responding to, and being molded by, one's environment. It was not a black-and-white world, Brando felt, but a gray world in which once-decent people could do horrible things. This attitude explains his sympathetic portrayal of Nazi officer Christian Diestl in the film he made before shooting One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Edward Dmytryk's filming of Irwin Shaw's novel The Young Lions (1958). Shaw denounced Brando's performance, but audiences obviously disagreed, as the film was a major hit. It would be the last hit movie Brando would have for more than a decade.
One-Eyed Jacks (1961) generated respectable numbers at the box office, but the production costs were exorbitant - a then-staggering $6 million - which made it run a deficit. A film essentially is "made" in the editing room, and Brando found cutting to be a terribly boring process, which was why the studio eventually took the film away from him. Despite his proved talent in handling actors and a large production, Brando never again directed another film, though he would claim that all actors essentially direct themselves during the shooting of a picture.
Between the production and release of One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Brando appeared in Sidney Lumet's film version of Tennessee Williams' play "Orpheus Descending," The Fugitive Kind (1960) which teamed him with fellow Oscar winners Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward. Following in Elizabeth Taylor's trailblazing footsteps, Brando became the second performer to receive a $1-million salary for a motion picture, so high were the expectations for this re-teaming of Kowalski and his creator (in 1961 critic Hollis Alpert had published a book "Brando and the Shadow of Stanley Kowalski"). Critics and audiences waiting for another incendiary display from Brando in a Williams work were disappointed when the renamed The Fugitive Kind (1960) finally released. Though Tennessee was hot, with movie versions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) burning up the box office and receiving kudos from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, The Fugitive Kind (1960) was a failure. This was followed by the so-so box-office reception of One-Eyed Jacks (1961) in 1961 and then by a failure of a more monumental kind: Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), a remake of the famed 1935 film.
Brando signed on to Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) after turning down the lead in the David Lean classic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) because he didn't want to spend a year in the desert riding around on a camel. He received another $1-million salary, plus $200,000 in overages as the shoot went overtime and over budget. During principal photography, highly respected director Carol Reed (an eventual Academy Award winner) was fired, and his replacement, two-time Oscar winner Lewis Milestone, was shunted aside by Brando as Marlon basically took over the direction of the film himself. The long shoot became so notorious that President John F. Kennedy asked director Billy Wilder at a cocktail party not "when" but "if" the "Bounty" shoot would ever be over. The MGM remake of one of its classic Golden Age films garnered a Best Picture Oscar nomination and was one of the top grossing films of 1962, yet failed to go into the black due to its Brobdingnagian budget estimated at $20 million, which is equivalent to $120 million when adjusted for inflation.
Brando and Taylor, whose Cleopatra (1963) nearly bankrupted 20th Century-Fox due to its huge cost overruns (its final budget was more than twice that of Brando's Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)), were pilloried by the show business press for being the epitome of the pampered, self-indulgent stars who were ruining the industry. Seeking scapegoats, the Hollywood press conveniently ignored the financial pressures on the studios. The studios had been hurt by television and by the antitrust-mandated divestiture of their movie theater chains, causing a large outflow of production to Italy and other countries in the 1950s and 1960s in order to lower costs. The studio bosses, seeking to replicate such blockbuster hits as the remakes of The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), were the real culprits behind the losses generated by large-budgeted films that found it impossible to recoup their costs despite long lines at the box office.
While Elizabeth Taylor, receiving the unwanted gift of reams of publicity from her adulterous romance with Cleopatra (1963) co-star Richard Burton, remained hot until the tanking of her own Tennessee Williams-renamed debacle Boom! (1968), Brando from 1963 until the end of the decade appeared in one box-office failure after another as he worked out a contract he had signed with Universal Pictures. The industry had grown tired of Brando and his idiosyncrasies, though he continued to be offered prestige projects up through 1968.
Some of the films Brando made in the 1960s were noble failures, such as The Ugly American (1963), The Appaloosa (1966) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). For every "Reflections," though, there seemed to be two or three outright debacles, such as Bedtime Story (1964), Morituri (1965), The Chase (1966), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), Candy (1968), The Night of the Following Day (1969). By the time Brando began making the anti-colonialist picture Burn! (1969) in Colombia with Gillo Pontecorvo in the director's chair, he was box-office poison, despite having worked in the previous five years with such top directors as Arthur Penn, John Huston and the legendary Charles Chaplin, and with such top-drawer co-stars as David Niven, Yul Brynner, Sophia Loren and Taylor.
The rap on Brando in the 1960s was that a great talent had ruined his potential to be America's answer to Laurence Olivier, as his friend William Redfield limned the dilemma in his book "Letters from an Actor" (1967), a memoir about Redfield's appearance in Burton's 1964 theatrical production of "Hamlet." By failing to go back on stage and recharge his artistic batteries, something British actors such as Burton were not afraid to do, Brando had stifled his great talent, by refusing to tackle the classical repertoire and contemporary drama. Actors and critics had yearned for an American response to the high-acting style of the Brits, and while Method actors such as Rod Steiger tried to create an American style, they were hampered in their quest, as their king was lost in a wasteland of Hollywood movies that were beneath his talent. Many of his early supporters now turned on him, claiming he was a crass sellout.
Despite evidence in such films as The Appaloosa (1966) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) that Brando was in fact doing some of the best acting of his life, critics, perhaps with an eye on the box office, slammed him for failing to live up to, and nurture, his great gift. Brando's political activism, starting in the early 1960s with his championing of Native Americans' rights, followed by his participation in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's March on Washington in 1963, and followed by his appearance at a Black Panther rally in 1968, did not win him many admirers in the establishment. In fact, there was a de facto embargo on Brando films in the recently segregated (officially, at least) southeastern US in the 1960s. Southern exhibitors simply would not book his films, and producers took notice. After 1968, Brando would not work for three years.
Pauline Kael wrote of Brando that he was Fortune's fool. She drew a parallel with the latter career of John Barrymore, a similarly gifted thespian with talents as prodigious, who seemingly threw them away. Brando, like the late-career Barrymore, had become a great ham, evidenced by his turn as the faux Indian guru in the egregious Candy (1968), seemingly because the material was so beneath his talent. Most observers of Brando in the 1960s believed that he needed to be reunited with his old mentor Elia Kazan, a relationship that had soured due to Kazan's friendly testimony naming names before the notorious House un-American Activities Committee. Perhaps Brando believed this, too, as he originally accepted an offer to appear as the star of Kazan's film adaptation of his own novel, The Arrangement (1969). However, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Brando backed out of the film, telling Kazan that he could not appear in a Hollywood film after this tragedy. Also reportedly turning down a role opposite box-office king Paul Newman in a surefire script, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Brando decided to make Burn! (1969) with Pontecorvo. The film, a searing indictment of racism and colonialism, flopped at the box office but won the esteem of progressive critics and cultural arbiters such as Howard Zinn. He subsequently appeared in the British film The Nightcomers (1971), a prequel to "Turn of the Screw" and another critical and box office failure.
Kazan, after a life in film and the theater, said that, aside from Orson Welles, whose greatness lay in film making, he only met one actor who was a genius: Brando. Richard Burton, an intellectual with a keen eye for observation if not for his own film projects, said that he found Brando to be very bright, unlike the public perception of him as a Terry Malloy-type character that he himself inadvertently promoted through his boorish behavior. Brando's problem, Burton felt, was that he was unique, and that he had gotten too much fame too soon at too early an age. Cut off from being nurtured by normal contact with society, fame had distorted Brando's personality and his ability to cope with the world, as he had not had time to grow up outside the limelight.
Truman Capote, who eviscerated Brando in print in the mid-'50s and had as much to do with the public perception of the dyslexic Brando as a dumbbell, always said that the best actors were ignorant, and that an intelligent person could not be a good actor. However, Brando was highly intelligent, and possessed of a rare genius in a then-deprecated art, acting. The problem that an intelligent performer has in movies is that it is the director, and not the actor, who has the power in his chosen field. Greatness in the other arts is defined by how much control the artist is able to exert over his chosen medium, but in movie acting, the medium is controlled by a person outside the individual artist. It is an axiom of the cinema that a performance, as is a film, is "created" in the cutting room, thus further removing the actor from control over his art. Brando had tried his hand at directing, in controlling the whole artistic enterprise, but he could not abide the cutting room, where a film and the film's performances are made. This lack of control over his art was the root of Brando's discontent with acting, with movies, and, eventually, with the whole wide world that invested so much cachet in movie actors, as long as "they" were at the top of the box-office charts. Hollywood was a matter of "they" and not the work, and Brando became disgusted.
Charlton Heston, who participated in Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington with Brando, believes that Marlon was the great actor of his generation. However, noting a story that Brando had once refused a role in the early 1960s with the excuse "How can I act when people are starving in India?," Heston believes that it was this attitude, the inability to separate one's idealism from one's work, that prevented Brando from reaching his potential. As Rod Steiger once said, Brando had it all, great stardom and a great talent. He could have taken his audience on a trip to the stars, but he simply would not. Steiger, one of Brando's children even though a contemporary, could not understand it. When James Mason' was asked in 1971 who was the best American actor, he had replied that since Brando had let his career go belly-up, it had to be George C. Scott, by default.
Paramount thought that only Laurence Olivier would suffice, but Lord Olivier was ill. The young director believed there was only one actor who could play godfather to the group of Young Turk actors he had assembled for his film, The Godfather of method acting himself - Marlon Brando. Francis Ford Coppola won the fight for Brando, Brando won - and refused - his second Oscar, and Paramount won a pot of gold by producing the then top-grossing film of all-time, The Godfather (1972), a gangster movie most critics now judge one of the greatest American films of all time. Brando followed his iconic portrayal of Don Corleone with his Oscar-nominated turn in the high-grossing and highly scandalous Last Tango in Paris (1972) ("Last Tango in Paris"), the first film dealing explicitly with sexuality in which an actor of Brando's stature had participated. He was now again a top ten box office star and once again heralded as the greatest actor of his generation, an unprecedented comeback that put him on the cover of "Time" magazine and would make him the highest-paid actor in the history of motion pictures by the end of the decade. Little did the world know that Brando, who had struggled through many projects in good faith during the 1960s, delivering some of his best acting, only to be excoriated and ignored as the films did not do well at the box office, essentially was through with the movies.
After reaching the summit of his career, a rarefied atmosphere never reached before or since by any actor, Brando essentially walked away. He would give no more of himself after giving everything as he had done in Last Tango in Paris (1972)," a performance that embarrassed him, according to his autobiography. Brando had come as close to any actor to being the "auteur," or author, of a film, as the English-language scenes of "Tango" were created by encouraging Brando to improvise. The improvisations were written down and turned into a shooting script, and the scripted improvisations were shot the next day. Pauline Kael, the Brando of movie critics in that she was the most influential arbiter of cinematic quality of her generation and spawned a whole legion of Kael wannabes, said Brando's performance in Last Tango in Paris (1972) had revolutionized the art of film. Brando, who had to act to gain his mother's attention; Brando, who believed acting at best was nothing special as everyone in the world engaged in it every day of their lives to get what they wanted from other people; Brando, who believed acting at its worst was a childish charade and that movie stardom was a whorish fraud, would have agreed with Sam Peckinpah's summation of Pauline Kael: "Pauline's a brilliant critic but sometimes she's just cracking walnuts with her ass." He probably would have done so in a simulacrum of those words, too.
After another three-year hiatus, Brando took on just one more major role for the next 20 years, as the bounty hunter after Jack Nicholson in Arthur Penn's The Missouri Breaks (1976), a western that succeeded neither with the critics or at the box office. Following The Godfather and Tango, Brando's performance was disappointing for some reviewers, who accused him of giving an erratic and inconsistent performance. In 1977, Brando made a rare appearance on television in the miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979), portraying George Lincoln Rockwell; he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance. In 1978, he narrated the English version of Raoni (1978), a French-Belgian documentary film directed by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux and Luiz Carlos Saldanha that focused on the life of Raoni Metuktire and issues surrounding the survival of the indigenous Indian tribes of north central Brazil.
Later in his career, Brando concentrated on extracting the maximum amount of capital for the least amount of work from producers, as when he got the Salkind brothers to pony up a then-record $3.7 million against 10% of the gross for 13 days work on Superman (1978). Factoring in inflation, the straight salary for "Superman" equals or exceeds the new record of $1 million a day Harrison Ford set with K-19: The Widowmaker (2002). He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand, and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, Superman II, but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage.
Before cashing his first paycheck for Superman (1978), Brando had picked up $2 million for his extended cameo in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) in a role, that of Col. Kurtz, that he authored on-camera through improvisation while Coppola shot take after take. It was Brando's last bravura star performance. He co-starred with George C. Scott and John Gielgud in The Formula (1980), but the film was another critical and financial failure. Years later though, he did receive an eighth and final Oscar nomination for his supporting role in A Dry White Season (1989) after coming out of a near-decade-long retirement. Contrary to those who claimed he now only was in it for the money, Brando donated his entire seven-figure salary to an anti-apartheid charity. He then did an amusing performance in the comedy The Freshman (1990), winning rave reviews. He portrayed Tomas de Torquemada in the historical drama 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), but his performance was denounced and the film was another box office failure. He made another comeback in the Johnny Depp romantic drama Don Juan DeMarco (1994), which co-starred Faye Dunaway as his wife. He then appeared in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), co-starring Val Kilmer, who he didn't get along with. The filming was an unpleasant experience for Brando, as well as another critical and box office failure.
Brando had first attracted media attention at the age of 24, when "Life" magazine ran a photo of himself and his sister Jocelyn, who were both then appearing on Broadway. The curiosity continued, and snowballed. Playing the paraplegic soldier of The Men (1950), Brando had gone to live at a Veterans Administration hospital with actual disabled veterans, and confined himself to a wheelchair for weeks. It was an acting method, research, that no one in Hollywood had ever heard of before, and that willingness to experience life.Actor,
In his 1976 biography, THE ONLY CONTENDER, Brando, who was married three times, openly admitted his homosexuality. He was quoted as saying, "Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences, and I am not ashamed."- Actress
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Saara Aalto was born on 2 May 1987 in Oulunsalo, Finland. She is an actress and cinematographer, known for Rölli and the Golden Key (2013), Saara Aalto: You Had My Heart (2013) and Angry Birds Seasons (2010). She has been married to Meri Sopanen since 2020.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saara_Aalto
Aalto later began a relationship with a female fan, Meri Sopanen, who worked as a personal trainer and life coach. They became engaged on their two-year anniversary in August 2016. Aalto now identifies as a lesbian. Aalto and Sopanen moved to London in January 2017. The couple married in April 2020.- Actress
- Writer
Actress,
New York Post, Page Six: “Saturday Night Live” star Kate McKinnon celebrated her Emmy win with her new girlfriend, Jackie Abbott.
http://pagesix.com/2017/09/18/kate-mckinnon-debuts-new-girlfriend-at-the-emmys/- Actor
- Soundtrack
John was a commercial artist when he substituted for a sick friend in an amateur production which was seen by the actress Sybil Thorndike who recognized his potential. After repertory work at Watford and Crewe he was invited to join London's Old Vic in 1936 by Tyrone Guthrie and appeared in 'Love's Labours Lost' and 'Twelfth Night'. In 1937 He was in the production of 'Hamlet' that was performed at Elsinore with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. He made his film debut in 1937 in The Conquest of the Air (1931) and in a early BBC television production of 'The Harmfulness of Tobacco'. At the outbreak of war he was attached to the British Embassy in Stockholm where he was in coding and decoding. In 1941 he was in California and about to return to England when he was offered a role in The Shanghai Gesture (1941) which was the prelude to a long film career that included Mrs. Miniver (1942), Jane Eyre (1943), Madame Bovary (1949), Gigi (1958), and Gambit (1966). In 1946 he made his Broadway debut in 'He Who Gets Slapped' which was followed by 'Montsarrat' (1948) and 'The Waltz of the Toreadors' (1957) among others. He was also prolific in television work appearing in episodes such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) ("First Class Honeymoon", 1962), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) ("The Birds and the Bees Affair", 1966), and Bewitched (1964) (as Leonardo da Vinci in "Samantha's da Vinci Dilemma", 1967).Actor- Actress
Jean Acker was born in 1893 on a farm in Trenton, NJ, and was named Harriet. Her father was part Cherokee and her mother was Irish, and they had separated when she was young. Jean attended school at St. Mary's Seminary in Springfield, NJ. Her acting career began in vaudeville and stock-company drama before she moved in front of the cameras.
In 1919 she came to California and negotiated a $200-a-week contract with a movie studio based on the strength of her relationship with her lover, the famed star Alla Nazimova. Within a few months she started another relationship with a younger, less established actress, Grace Darmond. In the midst of this love triangle she met the struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party, and they became friends. After a two-month courtship, he asked her to marry him and she accepted. On November 6, 1919, they married, and on their wedding night she locked him out. She wept, claiming she made a mistake and later departed to Grace Darmond's apartment. Valentino tried to reconcile with her but to no avail, and the marriage ended in divorce two years later when Valentino was a major star and Acker's star was waning.
Newspapers had a field day when Valentino was charged with bigamy, as he hadn't waited long enough to marry his second wife, talented set and costume designer Natacha Rambova. Acker sued for the legal right to call herself "Mrs. Rudolph Valentino," and Valentino remained angry at her for several years. However, they rekindled their friendship a few months before his death in 1926. She was one of the last people who saw him alive, and she attended his funeral with her mother. Soon after he died, she wrote and published a popular song about him, "We Will Meet at the End of the Trail."
She played bit parts in films, usually uncredited, until the early 1950s. She and her companion Chloe Carter owned a Beverly Hills building where Patricia Neal lived for several years. She died in 1978 at the age of 85. She and her companion Carter are now buried side by side in Holy Cross Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.Actress,
Brewster's Millions
IMDB Bio: In 1919, she came to California and negotiated a two-hundred-dollar-a-week contract with a movie studio based on the strength of her relationship with her lover, the famed star Alla Nazimova. Within a few months, she started another relationship with a younger, less established actress Grace Darmond. In the midst of this love triangle, she met the struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party, and they became friends. After a two-month courtship, he asked her to marry him and she accepted. On November 6, 1919, they married, and on their wedding night, she locked him out. She wept claiming she made a mistake and later departed to Grace Darmond's apartment.
Part of The Sewing Circle; Wikipedia for Alla Nazimova: It was Alla Nazimova who coined the phrase "sewing circle" as code to refer to lesbian or bisexual actresses of her day who concealed their true sexuality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alla_Nazimova- Writer
- Actor
Peter Ackroyd was born on 5 October 1949 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for The Limehouse Golem (2016), The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein and The Mystery of Charles Dickens (2000).IMDb Trivia
In the Independent of Sunday 2006 Pink List - a list of the most influential gay men and women - he came no. 11, up from no. 13.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ackroyd
Ackroyd had a long-term relationship with Brian Kuhn, an American dancer he met while at Yale. However, Kuhn was then diagnosed with AIDS, and died in 1994, after which Ackroyd moved back to London. In 1999, he suffered a heart attack and was placed in a medically induced coma for a week.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Leon was born in Kokomo, Indiana on May 23, 1963, and grew up on several different farms in the area. Moving frequently led Leon to develop a fantasy life at an early age, and he acted in high-school and community-theatre productions throughout Indiana.
He attended Indiana University at Kokomo. He landed his first paying show-biz gig during this time - an amateur-night appearance at The Club Showbar in Indianapolis led to a six-month nightclub act. A couple years shy of legal drinking age, Leon hid out in the dressing room between sets.
Leon moved to San Francisco in the late 1980s, studying his craft in earnest with Jean Shelton's Actors Lab, Cliff Osmond, Mark Monroe Studios, and Inner-life Acting Workshop. He appeared in several black-box theatre productions, and was cast in several features, such as "Housebound," "Metalman," "Orange Field" and "Roommates & Cafe" (a.k.a. "Coffee Mates"), and short films, including Christos Dimas' "Breath," which won "Best Short" honors at festivals around the globe, and "about dominance and submission," which won the Robert Bell Outstanding Achievement Award from SF State University.
His first break was playing "Devon" in "Some Prefer Cake," the comedy feature which was distributed theatrically in Great Britain, screened at over 25 film festivals worldwide, and is available on DVD from Wolfe Video.
Leon wrote, produced and starred in his one-man show "Last Sunday in June" at Theatre Rhinoceros. He also originated the lead role of "Chris" in Lou Reda's comedy smash "Happy Anniversary," which enjoyed an extended three-month run at Theatre Rhino before moving to Off-Broadway.
Leon continued to play a variety of roles in both film and theatre while in the Bay Area. He starred in the award-winning film thriller "Foucault WHO?," the feature "Birds of Lightning," the horror thriller feature "Final Remains" (a.k.a. "Mortuary"), and the shorts "The Currycomb" and "A Quiet Place."
On stage, he won raves and delighted audiences in 2002 with his portrayal of British raconteur Quentin Crisp in Jeffrey Hartgraves' hit comedy "Carved in Stone" at Eureka Theatre (which Leon also co-produced).
He enjoyed a long, successful association with New Conservatory Theatre Center, starring as "Brad" in the West Coast premiere of Jonathan Tollins' "The Last Sunday in June;" as the title character in "Message to Michael," as the Narrator in "Dream Boy," based on the novel by Jim Grimsley, and as half of the star-crossed couple of "Thief River." He played the villain in the comedy smash "Worse than Chocolate" at Theatre Rhinoceros, and worked with stage notables John Fisher & Ronnie Larsen in "A Few Gay Men."
In 2004, Leon moved to Los Angeles. That year, he made his LA stage debut as the down-and-out yet over-the-top poet "Harlequin" in "The Scheme of Things." The following year, he was invited to join Company of Angels Theatre, Los Angeles' longest-running repertory theatre, and made his debut in the Company's collection of short plays "Fresh Meat" in the one-act "Victims."
He continues to perform in independent and short films, as well as many USC student shorts, most recently starring as "Morton" in Arvin Bautista's thesis film "Deer Season" which screened in USC's 2007 "First Look" festival.
In 2006, he portrayed bumbling ex-boyfriend "Simon" in the world premiere of Rose Martula's stage comedy "Salsa Saved the Girls" at the Eclectic Co. Theatre.
In 2009 he co-produced and recreated his role of Quentin Crisp in an LA production of "Carved in Stone" that ran over 12 weeks and garnered rave reviews.
In 2011, Leon began the web TV series 'Old Dogs & New Tricks,' an ensemble comedy which he also created, wrote and co-executive produced. The series completed its first season and is in preproduction on Season 2.
In 2012, Leon was named #3 on web-series journal Placevine's "Top 10 Emerging Web Series Stars of 2012" for his web series 'Old Dogs & New Tricks'Actor- Director
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Adair was born on 25 November 1943 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was a director and cinematographer, known for The AIDS Show (1986), Absolutely Positive (1991) and In the 1st Degree. He died on 27 June 1996 in San Francisco, California, USA.Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Writer,
New York Times: Mr. Adair said. "When I wondered about religion, I made a film about it. When I realized I was gay, I made a film about it."
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/30/us/peter-adair-53-director-dies-made-films-with-gay-themes.html- Erick Adame is known for Kaleidoscope (2023) and NY1: Mornings on 1 - A New Chapter (2021).Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12789641/Erick-Adame-adult-webcam-leaked.html
'For years, dating all the way back to my teenage years, I had low self-esteem and was ashamed of who I am because I’m gay. - Dallas Adams was born on 17 February 1947. He was an actor, known for The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), Doctor Who (1963) and Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). He died on 29 August 1991.Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Adams
According to the audio memoirs of John Nathan-Turner, in the early 1980s, Adams was the largest gay palimony lawsuit winner in English legal history, and his casting in Doctor Who had been criticised by homophobic elements in the British tabloid press. - Evan Adams is from Tla'amin Nation, near the town of Powell River, BC, Canada. He stars in the Emmy-winning TV-movie "Lost in the Barrens" (1990) and its nominated sequel "Curse of the Viking Grave" (1993). Besides numerous episodics like "The Beachcombers" and "Black Stallion", he also appears in the feature film "Toby McTeague" (1986) and his on-stage highlights include the role of Edmund in Women in View's "Lear", Creature Nataways in the Arts Club Theatre's "Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing", and Jamie in Headlines Theatre's "Mamu." Evan stars as Thomas Builds-The-Fire in "Smoke Signals" (1998), written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre. "Smoke Signals" won the coveted Audience Award for best film and the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. He also won Best Actor awards from the American Indian Film Festival, and from First Americans in the Arts, and a 1999 Independent Spirit Award for 'Best Debut Performance'. He continues to work on intermittent, high-profile projects, but is also a medical doctor in Vancouver, Canada.Actor,
NNDB: Born: 15-Nov-1966
Birthplace: Sliammon Reserve, British Columbia, Canada
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: American Aborigine
Sexual orientation: Gay
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: Canada
Executive summary: Smoke Signals
Presently a practicing obstetrician.
http://www.nndb.com/people/077/000355009/ - Maude Adams was born Maude Ewing Kiskadden on November 11, 1872 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She performed on stage from the age of an infant until her retirement from the stage at age 60. Maude Adams starred in over twenty-five plays on Broadway between 1888 and 1916. Her most famous role was "Peter" in J.M Barrie's "Peter Pan" in 1905. Her final appearances on stage were in summer stock theater in 1931, and 1935. Unlike other actors of her day, Maude Adams did not make the move to the silent screen and her only appearance on film is a screen test she made in 1938 for Hollywood director, David O. Selznick. The screen test, in its entirety, After her stage career, Maude Adams patented several stage lighting devices and taught drama in the 1930's and 1940's at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Maude Adams passed away on July 17, 1953 at Tannersville, New YorkActress,
After Ellen: Spring Byington Romanced: Marjorie "Ma Kettle" Main, Maude Adams. http://www.afterellen.com/the-gay-women-of-old-hollywood/08/2010/
Part of The Sewing Circle; Wikipedia for Alla Nazimova: It was Alla Nazimova who coined the phrase "sewing circle" as code to refer to lesbian or bisexual actresses of her day who concealed their true sexuality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alla_Nazimova - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Nick Adams, best known to audiences as Johnny Yuma of the TV series The Rebel (1959), played leads and supporting parts in many films of the 1950s, often cast in the same "troubled young man" mold as his good friend, James Dean. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Twilight of Honor (1963). He died in 1968 due to an overdose of drugs he was taking for a nervous disorder.Actor,
The Rebel
Wikipedia: According to American Film (1986), "Nick Adams, who was ... gay, was the butt of anti-gay humor in Pillow Talk. In a recent book, William Dakota, who worked as Adams's fan-mail secretary for some time, confirms that Adams was homosexual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Adams_%28actor%29- Nick Adams is best known for Fire Island, The Other Two, and An Englishman in New York. He is an accomplished veteran of the Broadway stage and has starred as Felicia in the Tony winning original cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Whizzer in Lincoln Center Theatre's national company of Falsettos, and Fiyero in Wicked.Actor,
It Could Be Worse
Wikipedia: In 2010, Adams, who is gay, was a part of a PSA for the It Gets Better campaign with cast members from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Adams_%28theatre_actor%29 - Actor
- Writer
- Director
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Adams
In April 2018, Adams married his boyfriend Phil Crusham.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Ryland Adams is known for #SketchTrending (2015), 3 Times a Charm (2011) and Utubular (2013). He has been married to Shane Dawson since 3 January 2023.Game Rant
https://gamerant.com/shane-dawson-ryland-adams-married/
American YouTuber Shane Lee Yaw, better known as Shane Dawson, revealed to the world that he recently got married to his long-time boyfriend, Ryland Adams. The gay couple has been dating since 2016 and got engaged in March 2019 after Dawson proposed to Adams.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
English composer Richard Addinsell was born in 1904. After finishing his law studies at Oxford, he took a short course in music at the Royal College of Music in London and studied from 1929 to 1932 in Berlin and Vienna. From 1933 to 1935 he lived in the USA writing scores for the Hollywood studios.Composer,
Wikipedia: Addinsell retired from public life in the 1960s, gradually becoming estranged from his close friends. He was, for many years, the companion of the fashion designer Victor Stiebel, who died in 1976. In 1999 it was revealed that the royalties for Warsaw Concerto had belonged to the parents of author Jilly Cooper, whose brother advanced the theory that Addinsell – for many years their neighbor – gave it to them as thanks for being discreet about his relationship with Stiebel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Addinsell- Director
- Additional Crew
Justus Addiss was born on 23 June 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director, known for From Here to Eternity (1953), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964). He died on 26 October 1979 in Hollywood, California, USA.Director,
The Odyssey of Flight 33- Actress
- Additional Crew
Mojisola Adebayo was born on 16 March 1968 in South London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Silent Witness (1996), Fair City (1989) and The Bill (1984).Research Online
https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/5854/
Mojisola Adebayo and Valerie Mason-John are two distinctive voices in contemporary writing and performance - representing Afro-Queer diasporic heritage through the specific experience of being black, British and lesbian.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Ali Adler was born on 30 May 1967 in California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Supergirl (2015), No Ordinary Family (2010) and Chuck (2007).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Adler
From 2001 to 2011, Adler was in a relationship with actress Sara Gilbert.
In 2013, Adler began dating producer and writer Liz Brixius. The couple got engaged in November 2014. They broke up in May 2017.- Jonathan Adler was born in 1966 in the USA. He has been married to Simon Doonan since 18 September 2008.IMDb Bio:
He has been married to Simon Doonan since September 18, 2008. - Actor
- Writer
- Costume Designer
Joop Admiraal was born on 26 September 1937 in Ophemert, Gelderland, Netherlands. He was an actor and writer, known for Pride and Prejudice (1961), Rikkel Nikkel de avonturen van een robot (1961) and U bent mijn moeder (1984). He died on 25 March 2006 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.Actor,
Wikipedia for Ramses Shaffy: In the 1960s, Shaffy had a relationship with Dutch actor Joop Admiraal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramses_Shaffy- Etel Adnan was born on 24 February 1925 in Beirut, French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon [now Lebanon]. She was a writer, known for Etel Adnan: Exoristes lexeis (2008), P.S. Beirut, Chapter One (2008) and Axis of Light (2011). She died on 14 November 2021 in Paris, France.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etel_Adnan
In her later years, Adnan began to openly identify as lesbian. - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
James Adomian was born on 31 January 1980 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), Trunk'd (2014) and California's Lost Gold (2012).Actor,
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Additional Crew
Adrian Adolph Greenburg, born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, March 3, 1903, to Gilbert and Helena (Pollack) Greenburg. He began his professional career while still attending the New York School for Fine and Applied Arts by contributing to the costumes for "George White's Scandals" in 1921. He is credited for that production by his created name of Gilbert Adrian, a combination of his father's first name and his own. He transferred to NYSFAA's Paris campus in 1922 and while there was hired by Irving Berlin. In the fall of 1922 he returned to New York and began work on Berlin's 1922-1923 edition of "The Music Box Revue". Adrian continued to work on the Berlin reviews as well as other theatrical and film projects.
His big film break was designing costumes for Mae Murray in her first M.G.M. film, The Merry Widow (1925). He was then hired by Natacha Rambova to design for the independent films of her husband, Rudolph Valentino. In mid-1925, after designing costumes for the prologue of "The Gold Rush" at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Adrian was hired by Cecil B. DeMille to become head of the wardrobe department at his new studio. When DeMille moved to M.G.M. in 1928, Adrian moved there also. When his DeMille contract expired, Adrian signed with M.G.M. and remained with that studio until 1942.
He opened his own very successful couture business and continued to do some films until such time as his business expanded, with a salon in New York as well as Beverly Hills. His fashions were sold in department stores around the U.S. and he was the recipient of the 1944 Coty Award for Fashion. He also received a Lord & Taylor award for his work on Marie Antoinette (1938) in 1938 and a special award from Parsons, the successor to NYSFAA. His last film was Lovely to Look At (1952). He retired from the fashion industry in 1952 after a heart attack. He relocated to Brazil with his wife (since 1938) actress Janet Gaynor and their son, Robin. He returned to the U.S. to do "Grand Hotel", a musical with Viveca Lindfors and Paul Muni and his last career credit was the costume design for the Broadway musical "Camelot". He was working on this production when he died of a heart attack on September 13, 1959. Adrian never received an Oscar.Costume Designer,
The Wizard Of Oz- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Evgeny Afineevsky is an Oscar and Emmy-nominated director, whose current documentary, CRIES FROM SYRIA, was an Official Selection at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Afineevsky won Best Director and earned nomination for Best Documentary from the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. He and his film earned IPA Satellite Awards nominations for Best Documentary and Best Song in a Documentary for PRAYERS FOR THIS WORLD, performed by Cher. The Awards Circuit Community Awards nominated his movie as Best Documentary Feature for 2017. He won International Documentary Association's Courage Under Fire Award, earned a PGA Award nomination, won a Humanitas Prize and Cinema for Peace Awards as Most Valuable Documentary of the Year, won 32nd Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, Documentaries Without Borders Film Festival and 51st Houston WorldFest Film Festival, as well as the Overseas Press Club's Peter Jennings Award. Recently Afineevsky and his movie CRIES FROM SYRIA earned 4 Emmy nominations. In creating CRIES FROM SYRIA, Afineevsky spent months on the ground in Syria, using his cameras to craft a comprehensive account of the brutal five-year civil war. He edited hundreds of hours of footage from Syrian activists and citizen journalists, as well as testimony from child protestors, leaders of the revolution, human-rights defenders, ordinary citizens, and high-ranking army generals who defected to tell this important story. Afineevsky built his filmmaking career on providing a first-hand account of conflict, even if it means putting his own life in danger. He earned an Oscar and Emmy nomination in 2016 for WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, which details the 2013 student uprising that transformed into a violent revolution. The film also looked at the shady negotiations between Ukraine's corrupt former president, Viktor Yanukovich, and Russian president Vladimir Putin that kept Ukraine from joining the European Union. Afineevsky's tenacity in his storytelling ultimately attracted the unwanted attention of Russian intelligence agents, who continue to track him and his work. WINTER ON FIRE was an Official Selection of the Venice and Telluride International film festivals. He won the People's Choice Award for the Best Documentary from the Toronto International Film Festival and received Television Academy Honors Award. His documentary work dates back to his life in Russia as a teenager, where he won First Prize for Best Documentary at the Black Sea International Film Festival. He's since continued to demonstrate a commitment documenting important stories of change, but he also has worked in a wide spectrum of genres. From 1994-2000, he produced more than 30 musicals in Israel, including BAT (DIE FLEDERMAUS), GYPSY BARON, VIENNESE BLOOD, NIGHT IN VENICE, SILVA PRINCESS OF CHARDAS, MOZART KONZERTE (with the Prague National Opera Orchestra), among many others. He also directed the Israeli TV series DAYS OF LOVE in 1999. His work in feature films include producing a modern-day adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic novel CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (2002), which stars Crispin Glover, Vanessa Redgrave, John Hurt, and Margot Kidder; OPEN HEART (2002); AND DEATH GAME (2001), starring Billy Drago and Joe Lara. All three films went on to win accolades from the Houston WorldFest. He wrote and directed the 2009 family comedy starring Lainie Kazan, OY VEY! MY SON IS GAY!! (2009), for which he won more than 23 international film awards. He also wrote and directed DIVORCE: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE KIDS' EYES (2014), which provides an educational look at the different situations the children of divorced parents deal with. Afineevsky resides in Los Angeles and is a member of the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Directors Guild of America and Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeny_Afineevsky
Afineevsky is openly homosexual.- Art Director
- Production Designer
- Art Department
James J. Agazzi was born on 23 October 1940 in Joliet, Illinois, USA. He was an art director and production designer, known for Hart to Hart (1979), Moonlighting (1985) and A Window That Opens (2001). He was married to David Brewer. He died on 15 September 2019 in California, USA.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Producer
Ray Aghayan was born on 28 July 1928 in Tehran, Iran. He was a costume designer and producer, known for Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Funny Lady (1975) and Gaily, Gaily (1969). He died on 10 October 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Costume Designer,
Dr. Dolittle- Co-Host/Self,
Wikipedia 1 Girl 5 Gays: The rotating panel of gay men included Michael Yerxa, Jean-Paul Bevilacqua, Juan Manuel Gonzalez Calcaneo, Jonathan Morton-Schuster, Matt Barker, Dean McArthur, Matt Santos, Philip Tetro, Ian Lynch, Andrew Edwards, Jake Mossop, Thomas Trafford, Ishmael Furoz, Jonathan Nathaniel, Gerry King, Simon Lysnes, Max Claude, Alex Brown, Jason Yantha, Dillon Scheenaard, Alex Illest, JP Larocque, Rafay Agha, Gabriel Rojas, Jae MT, Kiel Hughes, Gaelan Love, Michael Lehman, Shawn Hitchins, Taylor James, Thomas Haskell, Chris Corsini, David Robert, Maurie Sherman, Ralph Rosario, Brad Blaylock, Ryan Carter, Ibrahim Hasan, Scott Do, Matthew Agius, Micha Baltman, Anthony Berarco, Matt Sims, Perez Hilton, James Bar, Jeffrey Bowers, Brett Ashley, Chase Hutchinson, Jonathan D. Lovitz, Mitchell Boucher, Mike Germanotta, Jamie Gillingham and Taurel Lorenz. A smaller number of episodes featured a panel of lesbians, including Brittany Leigh, Christina Mac, Brittany Emmons, Courtney Jean Milner, Valerie Bosso and Nicole DeLargie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Girl_5_Gays - Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was born on 15 November 1971 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022), Riverdale (2017) and Carrie (2013).The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/arts/sabrina-riverdale-roberto-aguirre-sacasa.html
Born in Washington, D.C., to Nicaraguan parents, Aguirre-Sacasa knew he was gay early on- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Andrew Ahn was born on 10 March 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Spa Night (2016), Andy (2010) and Dol (First Birthday) (2011).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Ahn
In 2012, Ahn wrote, directed, edited and produced a short film entitled Dol (First Birthday), which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. ... Ahn has stated that he made the film to come out to his parents as gay.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Clayton Holmes Grissom was born on November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Faye Aiken Parker and Vernon Grissom. When Clay was a teenager, he had a love for teaching and helping young children and later on studied to became a school teacher. When he was about 23 years old, a longtime friend persuaded him to audition for American Idol. When he was 25 years old he released his debut album, "Measure of a Man." (singles from his debut album include: "Invisible," "This Is The Night" and "The Way") His debut album sold over 600,000 copies in the USA in its first week of release. It has sold almost 2.5 million in the US as of 4/16/04.Singer,
American Idol- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ailey was born in the rural town of Rogers, Texas, USA. His childhood memories and experiences often informed his choreography; the most notable of his works was "Blues Suite", "Cry" (choreographed for Judith Jamison), and "Revelations", a ballet based on Ailey's observations and experiences in Black Baptist churches that was set to traditional Negro Spirituals. "Revelations" has the distinction of being one of the most performed ballets in the world. Beginning his dance career in 1953 with Lester Horton's dance company, Ailey assumed the artistic direction of Horton's company after Horton's death in 1953. In 1958, Ailey's seven member dance company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, made its debut at the 92nd Street YMHA in New York City. Keeping a unique perspective about dance, he did not use his dance company merely as a vehicle to showcase his own choreography; he developed the Ailey American Dance Theater into a repertory company that provided art and entertainment while institutionalizing modern dances, helping preserve and develop old and new works by a variety of choreographers. Before his death in 1989, he had choreographed seventy-nine ballets, received New York's Handel Medallion, the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for lifetime contributions to modern dance, and in 1988, the Kennedy Center honored him for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. Additionally, Ailey's company was sent on several world tours by the U. S. State Department performing in the Soviet Union, France, Denmark, Finland, Morocco, and throughout South America to enthusiastic audiences and critics. After his death in 1989, his protege and former principal dancer Judith Jamison became artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater furthering the Ailey dance tradition and artistic mission that is applauded and acknowledged throughout the world.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Ailey
Though gay, [Ailey] kept his romantic affairs in the closet.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
John Ainsworth was born in the USA. He is a producer and director, known for Blake's 7: The Classic Adventures (2013), Randy (2016) and The Risen (2018). He has been married to Shawn Ryan since 13 May 2006.IMDb Mini Bio
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1783272/bio
John has been married to Shawn Ryan since May 13, 2006.- WIkipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Airey
She lives with her civil partner Jacqueline Lawrence (Founder and Chair of The Elma Trust, a non-profit organisation) and their two children in West London and Oxford. - Actress
- Producer
- Director
Anna Akana was born on 18 August 1989 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Jupiter's Legacy (2021), Let It Snow (2019) and Ant-Man (2015).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Akana
In October 2018, [Akana] came out as bisexual.- Director
- Editor
- Additional Crew
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Akers
Akers is openly gay. His long-term partner is Sandon Berg. They have been together since the late 1990s.- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Desiree Akhavan was born on 27 December 1984 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and actress, known for Appropriate Behavior (2014), The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) and The Bisexual (2018).Producer/Director/Writer,
The Guardian: Perhaps what sets Akhavan apart from even Dunham is that she is not only bisexual, but Iranian. In the words of her college professor she is "the gay, Iranian Lena Dunham".
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/apr/29/desiree-adkavan-new-lena-dunham-girls- Fisayo Akinade was born December 28th 1987 in Liverpool, England. He trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. As well as his theatre work he is also known for Heartstopper(2022), Atlanta (2022), The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019), Cucumber/Banana (2015) and The Girl with all the Gifts (2016)Channel4.com
https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-cucumber-and-bananas-freddie-fox-and-fisayo-akinade
I joined Grindr for a bit to see what it was about. That was an eye-opening experience! I'm gay so I didn’t really need to do the research in terms of going out in Canal Street and all that sort of thing. We had a few nights out there, but not that much. - Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Edward Albee was born on 12 March 1928 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was a writer, known for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), A Delicate Balance (1973) and Qui a peur de Virginia Woolf? d'Edward Albee (2011). He died on 16 September 2016 in Montauk, New York, USA.Writer,
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?- Director
- Producer
- Writer
2020 Spirit Award nominee, Anna Margarita Albelo is an out, Cuban-American writer, director and producer working in film, television, and digital content. Based in Los Angeles, Anna is developing a feature film with Issa Rae and Deniese Davis' Color Creative. Her 2014 award winning feature, "Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf?" was released theatrically in France and her 2008 short film, "The Turkey" screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2008. She also served as a juror for the Cannes Film festival Queer Palm Award in 2014 and as an ambassador for the Queer Palm in 2019. As a producer, Anna produced "Wild Nights with Emily" by Madeleine Olnek starring Molly Shannon in 2018 (Nominated for the John Cassavetes Award, Spirit Award 2020), as well as, an 8-part series for Anthony Bourdain/The Perfect Dish Asia/CNN, Summer, 2017. Anna spent the first 15 years of her career in Paris, France and was a regular collaborator for French network, Canal Plus, writing and directing several broadcast documentaries and shorts on LGBT culture, also appearing as a recurring correspondent for the series, "L'Oeil de Links." Her body of work, screened in over 150 international festivals, blends narrative, documentary, and comedic elements into a unique story-telling style that has become her trademark. LA Weekly calls her work, "Riveting" and IndieWire spotlighted her as a "Filmmaker to watch!"Producer/Director/Actress,
glaad: I like to call it an, "auto-fiction" because I don't always have a lot of hot women running after me, unfortunately! But I did want to use elements from my life to create a character I never see in film: a Latina, lesbian, filmmaker, freshly turned 40, committed to LGBT culture and feminism. I wanted to tell a universal story about love, desire, and self-sabotage and have a lesbian character be our protagonist.
http://www.glaad.org/blog/filmmaker-anna-margarita-albelo-talks-glaad-about-whos-afraid-vagina-wolf- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
An American, award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of young-adult fiction. She is most well known for the novel, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda", about a 17 year old closeted gay teen being blackmailed by classmate with emails involving him being gay. Which was soon after turned into a teen romcom called Love, Simon.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_Albertalli
In August 2020, Albertalli came out as bisexual.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Mike Albo is known for Take Me to Your Mother (2013), The Smoking Gun TV (2003) and What's in Store with Mike Albo (2010).Writer,
Wikipedia: His love advice column in Out Magazine, “What’s Your Problem?” appeared from 1998-2000. He also wrote horoscopes for Word.com (Horoscopes by Randy Lavender), from 1998-2000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Albo- Michael Aldred is known for Discwizz (1964), Ready Steady Go, Volume 1 (1983) and Ready, Steady, Go! (1963).Producer/Self,
Wikipedia: Aldred was gay - and according to a number of writers, had brief affairs with Dave Davies of The Kinks and Andrew Oldham, manager of The Rolling Stones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Aldred - Actor
- Soundtrack
Ben Aldridge was born on 12 November 1985 in Exeter, Devon, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Knock at the Cabin (2023), Spoiler Alert (2022) and The Long Call (2021).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Aldridge_(actor)
On 27 June 2020, Aldridge came out as a member of LGBT community on his Instagram.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Brandon Alexander III was born on 15 December 1983 in Grapevine, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for First Period (2013), Kids Eating Paste (2009) and Sideline Secrets (2006).Producer/Writer/Actor,
First Period- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
- Actor
Born in 1920, Mr. Alexander was raised by his devoted father and attended Central High School in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and Tony Randall (then Leonard Rosenberg) along with several other exceptionally talented classmates, performed on their own weekly radio show in 1937-8. Multi-talented, Mr. Alexander acts, sings, dances, paints, and is a world-renowned photographer. On Broadway, in his twenties and thirties, he starred as "Chip" opposite Nancy Walker in the original production of Leonard Bernstein's,"On The Town;" versus Clifton Webb in Noel Coward's, "Present Laughter;" with Rosalind Russell in "Wonderful Town;" and again with Miss Russell and life-long friend, Peggy Cass, in both the stage and movie versions of "Auntie Mame." He has maintained a photography studio for many years and was the official photographer for the New York City Ballet. In 1961, he collaborated with his friend and "Mame" author, Patrick Dennis, on the mock autobiography of the worst actress in the world, Miss Belle Poitrine, called, "Little Me," and in 1964, he repeated that success with Mr. Dennis (this time with Peggy Cass in the mix) on the very funny mock autobiography, "First Lady." He is a long-time resident of Saratoga Springs, New York.Actor,
The Littlest Angel- J. Alexander was born in South Bronx, New York, USA. He is known for America's Next Top Model (2003), Katy Keene (2020) and Cuts (2005).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Alexander_(model)
Alexander is openly gay. - Self,
The Pure Eccentrics: San Francisco (2007): "Pure Eccentrics" is a visual and oral history which profiles 5 colorful characters - all gay men with an affinity for historic architecture, a flair for living life to it's fullest, and a multitude of great stories about their escapades in 1970's San Francisco. Each contributes to the preservation of San Francisco's architectural and stylistic legacy in a different and vital way.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1198214/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_7 - Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Olly Alexander was born on 15 July 1990 in Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for God Help the Girl (2014), Bright Star (2009) and The Dish & the Spoon (2011).Soundtrack/Writer/Actor,
Wikipedia: Alexander is in a relationship with Clean Bandit's violinist Neil Milan Amin-Smith. In one of their first interviews together at the Wireless Festival July 2015, Alexander explained that they like to be open in talking about their relationship, saying "It's important for people to see that you can be happy as a couple, and a young gay couple... I think I would have loved to have seen one (growing up)".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olly_Alexander- Actor
- Soundtrack
The tragically brief life of fresh-faced, boyishly handsome Ross Alexander, who seemed to have everything going for him, plays these days like a bad Hollywood movie. Alexander was a charming, highly engaging young actor whose pleasant voice and breezy personality aided greatly in his transition from Broadway teen player to young adult Warner Bros. film actor. His peers would include such Warner stalwarts as Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Errol Flynn. Off-camera, however, Ross, a closeted homosexual, became an acutely self-destructive young man whose career instability and domestic tragedy would take its toll. The tormented Ross ended his own life at age 29.
Ross Alexander was born Alexander Ross Smith in Brooklyn, New York, to Maud Adelle (Cohen) and Alexander Ross Smith, a leather merchant. Raised in Rochester, New York, he pursued both drama and athletics in high school (soccer, swimming) and sidelined in little theater productions in town. In between he took his first Broadway bow as a young teen in Blanche Yurka's long-running comedy success "Enter Madame." He eventually moved back to New York City following schooling and began to build up his stage resume in stock companies. On Broadway he showed a modicum of promise in such plays as "The Ladder" (1926) and "Let Us Be Gay" (1929). The latter play introduced Ross to producer John Golden and marked an immoderate two-year association which would include the plays "After Tomorrow" (1930) and "That's Gratitude" (1930). Paramount apparently saw Ross' potential and started him off in pictures with The Wiser Sex (1932), but nothing happened. Continuing on Broadway with "The Stork Is Dead" (1932), "Honeymoon" (1932), "The Party's Over" (1933) and "No Questions Asked" (1934), he was re-noticed for films, this time by Warner Bros.
Warners signed him to appear in its popular backstage Depression-era musicals and collegiate capers. Alexander's fresh look and carefree, slightly cynical demeanor made him an instant favorite and he soon began humming with popular second leads in such musicals as Flirtation Walk (1934). On the dramatic side he was chosen to play Demetrius in the all-star A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), and in Errol Flynn's Captain Blood (1935) he played Jeremy Pitt, Blood's friend and navigator. Trouble started brewing, however, behind the scenes. Ross was being perceived by Warners as a second-ranked Dick Powell. As the studio began featuring him in Powell's castoffs and other uninspiring B-grade movies, they decided it was too taxing to both groom him for matinée idol status and conceal his homosexuality at the same time.
A probable marriage of convenience to budding starlet Aleta Friele, who appeared on Broadway using the name Aleta Freel, ended disastrously with the 28-year-old actress taking her own life with a rifle in their Hollywood Hills home. The actor was deeply shaken by this tragic event. He tried to cover his tracks yet again, however, by marrying beautiful actress Anne Nagel, whom he met while on the set of Hot Money, (1936),China Clipper (1936) and Here Comes Carter (1936). It didn't help quash his spiraling depression.
Finally Warners lost all patience and interest after having to cover up a potentially career-threatening gay-sex scandal, and Ross' promising career went down the tubes. To add insult to injury, he incurred major debt. On January 2, 1937, less than five months after his marriage to Nagel and shortly after the first anniversary of his first wife's death, Aleta Friele who also committed suicide, Alexander shot himself with a pistol in a barn behind his Encino ranch home. His last movie, the moderately received Ready, Willing and Able (1937) with Ruby Keeler, was released posthumously. Despite the fact he was the co-lead in the film, he was billed fifth, thus emphasizing the point that he had already lost most of his clout.IMDB Bio of Ross Alexander: Off-camera, however, Ross, a closeted homosexual, became an acutely self-destructive young man whose career instability and domestic tragedy would take its toll. The tormented Ross ended his own life at age 29.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0018717/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm- Writer
- Director
Marc Acito is known for George Takei's Allegiance (2016), Mad/woman (2022) and Why I'll Never Make It (2017).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Acito
Acito lives in New York City with his husband Floyd Sklaver.- Michael Alig was born in South Bend, Indiana. He was a founding member of the notorious Club Kids, a group of young club goers led by Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Alig learned from mentors, including St. James, while rising in popularity and prominence in the national underground club scene. Alig was also influential in the early promotion of DJ Keoki, Jenny Talia, Freez, Richie Rich, and many other Club Kid personalities. The Club Kids' outrageous behavior resulted in their appearing on the news and the television talk show circuit.
Alig's most notorious parties were held at The Limelight, owned by Peter Gatien. The Limelight was closed by the police, but subsequently reopened several times during the 1990s. In September 2003, it reopened under the name "Avalon".
The events of Alig's years as a club promoter up to his arrest were examined in the 1998 documentary, Party Monster (1998), and recreated in a 2003 film of the same name (see Party Monster (2003)), starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig and Seth Green as St. James. The events are also covered in St. James's memoir, 'Disco Bloodbath'.
Alig was eligible for parole in November 2006, but was denied. He was again denied parole in July 2008 and had his conditional release date in March 2010. His release was held up after Alig received another ticket for prescription drug use. Alig was eventually released on parole in May 2014.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Alig
During his teenage years, Alig reported that he was often bullied because of his homosexuality. - Additional Crew
Cody Allan is known for 2009 CMT Music Awards (2009).People: CMT Star Cody Alan Comes Out as Gay: 'You Can Find the Kind of Love, Peace and Happiness in This Life You Deserve'.
http://people.com/country/cmt-cody-alan-comes-out-as-gay/- Actor
- Producer
Chad Allen was born on 5 June 1974 in Cerritos, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993), TerrorVision (1986) and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986).Actor,
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
At just 27 years old, award-winning actor, producer, singer, and television personality Kalen Allen has catapulted into the mainstream media, reaching millions of people worldwide across his social media platforms and through his online content.
Discovered in 2018 by renowned comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, Kalen first made a name for himself through his hilarious "Kalen Reacts" videos, giving colorful and witty commentary on culinary concoctions found on the internet. One of these videos caught Ellen's attention, and after inviting Kalen to appear on her talk show, she knew she had found something special, and offered him an opportunity to collaborate and produce content for her digital platforms. For the next four years, Kalen held a regular guest spot on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," often taking his infectious personality to high-profile events, such as the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards as Ellen's correspondent. He also starred in and produced his own weekly digital series, "OMKalen," offering fans his one-of-a-kind commentary on the week's hot topics and trending stories.
Additionally, Kalen's talents captured the attention of the Food Network, where he has appeared as a judge on their breakout discovery+ baking competition series, "Cakealikes," "Supermarket Stakeout," and as a host for the season finale of "Buddy vs Duff." Kalen continues to play an integral role in the Food Network family, with more projects and appearances to be announced later this year.
On the digital front, Kalen's videos have garnered billions of views across all platforms and continue to grow by the day. His original content creations have earned him many award nominations and wins, including a Model D Award win for Best Host in a Web Series or Channel in 2018, and another win for Best Celebrity Integration in a Web Series or Channel in 2019. He was also nominated for Best YouTube Comedian at the 2019 Shorty Awards, as well as an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards. Additionally, Kalen was recently honored with the Social Influencer Award at Better Brothers Los Angeles 2019 Truth Awards.
Kalen's lively and infectious personality has lent itself to his natural acting talents, where he has made a large handful of appearances in scripted television and film. Kalen made his feature film acting debut in Seth Rogen's "An American Pickle" for HBO Max. Additional acting credits for Kalen include Amazon Prime Video's rom-com holiday film, "With Love," and season three of HBO's critically acclaimed "A Black Lady Sketch Show," opposite Robin Thede, Shangela and Durand Bernarr.
While Kalen continues to entertain on screen, he is also a talented singer/songwriter, having made his original musical debut with the release of his Top 10 holiday album, "For Christmas Sake!" in 2020, featuring tracks with MJ Rodriguez ("Pose") and Alex Newell ("Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist").
Originally from Kansas City, MO, Kalen attended Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a BoA in Film. Kalen has a very prominent place in his heart for charity, and actively supports The Point Foundation, The Trevor Project, GLSEN, GLAAD, and Better Brothers LA.
Kalen currently resides in New York City, where he is hard at work on his master's degree in Journalism at New York University.
###Gay Times
https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/kalen-allen-is-on-a-mission-to-represent-queer-kids-fighting-to-be-seen/
As an openly gay black man, Kalen’s sexuality and journey to success is what drives him to be visible for others – for those young queer people that, like him, didn’t see themselves represented on screen or online.- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Peter Allen was born on 10 February 1944 in Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Arthur (1981), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and Muriel's Wedding (1994). He was married to Liza Minnelli. He died on 18 June 1992 in San Diego, California, USA.Soundtrack,
Muriel's Wedding- Emmy Award winner Ted Allen is host of the hit prime-time competition series Chopped (2007) on the Food Network, and a frequent contributor to Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate (2009). He was a judge on the first four seasons of Bravo's Top Chef (2006) and Food Network's Iron Chef America: The Series (2004) and was the food and wine specialist on the groundbreaking Bravo series Queer Eye (2003). He is the author of "The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes" (Clarkson-Potter), a collection of vibrant, all-natural dishes, and will publish a second cookbook for Clarkson in spring 2012. He also co-wrote the New York Times Best Seller "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better".
Since 1997, Ted has been a contributing editor to Esquire magazine, where he writes about food, wine, style and everything else the American man needs to know. He was a finalist for a National Magazine Award for his Esquire feature on the little-known phenomenon of male breast cancer. Ted also writes for such publications as Bon Appetit, Epicurious and Food Network Magazine. Before joining Esquire, Ted was a senior editor and restaurant critic at Chicago magazine. Ted holds an M.A. in journalism from New York University, with an advanced certificate in the school's Science and Environmental Reporting Program, and a B.A. in psychology from Purdue University. He lives in Brooklyn with his longtime partner, Barry Rice.TV Host,
Chopped - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tom Allen was born on 14 June 1983 in Bromley, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Starter for 10 (2006), Sensitive Skin (2005) and Tamara Drewe (2010).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Allen_(comedian)
Allen is gay. He lived with his parents from his birth until May 2021.- Eric Allman is known for Star Trek (1971) and The Code (2001).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Allman
Allman, who is openly gay, lives in Berkeley, California, with Marshall Kirk McKusick, who had been his partner for more than 30 years before they married in October, 2013. - Allman has had leading roles in the Matt Riddlehoover's recent titles, West Hollywood Motel and Scenes from a Gay Marriage -- both of which played to rave reviews on the film festival circuit. Allman is reprising his role as "Joe" in the sequel, More Scenes from a Gay Marriage, due out later this year. Allman has rounded out his 2014 co-starring in the feature film, Les Wolf, and the upcoming short film, King Simon, from director Richard Norman.
In the TV world, Allman has appeared in several country music videos and docu-series on the Travel Channel and Disney Channel. He made his biggest small-screen splash as a key player in season two of the Sundance Channel's reality series, Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: Nashville -- the highest-rated original series in the network's history.Actor,
IMDB Bio:Jared now lives in Lawrenceville, Ga., having relocated to the Atlanta area in 2012. When he's not working, Jared enjoys reading and playing video games and watching "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He's also working on his latest labor of love, penning his first book "Kinda Good at Everything: Growing up Southern, Mormon, and Gay." - Actress
- Writer
- Director
Stephanie Allynne was born on 19 September 1985 in Claremont, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for In a World... (2013), One Mississippi (2015) and Twin Peaks (2017). She has been married to Tig Notaro since 24 October 2015. They have two children.Actress,
IMDB Bio: She has been married to Tig Notaro since October 24, 2015. They have two children.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2782402/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
One of the highest appraised contemporary cinematographers. He was born in Spain but moved to Cuba by age 18 to join his exiled anti-Franco father. In Havana, he founded a cineclub and wrote film reviews. Then, he went on to study in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale. He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York. After the 1959 Cuban revolution, he returned and made several documentaries for the Castro-regime. But after two of his shorts (Gente en la playa (1960) and La Tumba Francesca) had been banned, he moved to Paris. There he became the favourite cameraman of Éric Rohmer and François Truffaut. In 1978, he started his impressive Hollywood-career. In his later years, he co-directed two documentaries about the human rights situation in Cuba: Improper Conduct (1984) (about the persecution of gay people) and Nadie escuchaba (1987). He shot several prestigious commercials for Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein. Nestor Almendros died of cancer.Cinematographer,
Kramer vs. Kramer- Writer
- Director
- Producer
The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study filmmaking because he didn't have the money to afford it. Besides, the filmmaking schools were closed in early 70s by Franco's government. Instead, he found a job in the Spanish phone company and saved his salary to buy a Super 8 camera. From 1972 to 1978, he devoted himself to make short films with the help of of his friends. The "premieres" of those early films were famous in the rapidly growing world of the Spanish counter-culture. In few years, Almodóvar became a star of "La Movida", the pop cultural movement of late 70s Madrid. His first feature film, Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980), was made in 16 mm and blown-up to 35 mm for public release. In 1987, he and his brother Agustín Almodóvar established their own production company: El Deseo, S. A. The "Almodóvar phenomenon" has reached all over the world, making his films very popular in many countries.Writer,
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown- Actor
- Composer
- Director
Following his parents' divorce, the legendary Synth-pop/New Wave artist Marc Almond was accepted into a general art design course at Southport College, where he studied performance art. During his time at art college he did a series of performance theater pieces: the Andy Warhol inspired piece "Zazou", "Glamour in Squalor" and "Twilights and Lowlifes". Marc's love for Siouxsie and the Banshees influenced him to leave college with a 2.1 honors degree and form Soft Cell in 1979. The band skyrocketed to fame in the early 1980s with their hit "Tainted Love".Soundtrack/Music Department/Actor/Self,
New Wave Duo: Soft Cell
Wikipedia: Almond has stated that he dislikes being pigeon-holed as "a 'gay' artist", claiming that such a label "enables people to marginalize your work and reduce its importance, implying that it won't be of any interest to anyone who isn't gay". In 2010, Almond said that he has "a fulfilling work life and a comfortable private life". He has been with the same partner for over 20 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Almond- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ferras Alqaisi was born in 1982 in Gillespie, Illinois, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for S.M.A.R.T. Chase (2017), The Princess Switch 3 (2021) and Saturday Night Live (1975).Logo
https://www.logotv.com/news/gin39b/aftereltoncoms-top-50-gay-male-musicians
With his smooth, sweet voice and his incredible songwriting ability, Ferras is certainly a talent to watch. And what does openly gay Ferras look for in a mate? “A sense of humor. And a great ass”.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Born to a Colombian mother and an American father in New York City in 1987, Brian and his family moved to the sticks of Tennessee when he was just 4. He was raised in this rural environment, often visiting extended family in Colombia and Spain (his maternal grandfather was Spanish). Brian left home at 17 to do his high school senior year at North Carolina School of the Arts. From there, he went to University of Southern California where he received his BFA in acting, and has lived in Los Angeles since. He's been making films since childhood, as well as acting for as long as he can remember.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jordan_Alvarez
Brian identifies as gay.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Flavio Alves is a Brazilian film writer, director, and producer. He was granted political asylum in the United States in 1998 with the help of the Immigrants and Refugee Rights Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. Shortly thereafter, he attended Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science. After graduating, Alves worked as an assistant to then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and to then-New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
In 2007, Flavio returned to school to study film production at New York University, where he received the Technisphere Award for Outstanding Achievement. Since then he has directed several films, including The Secret Friend (2010) and Tom in America (2014). His debut film, The Garden Left Behind (2019), premiered at SXSW, where it won the Audience Award. The Garden Left Behind is an IFP Narrative Lab project and has recently received the support from GLAAD, NALIP, Trans Filmmakers Project, and PFLAG. Flavio is the recipient of grants from numerous organizations, including the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and Jerome Foundation.
In 2016, Alves pioneered the use of eBay as a crowdfunding platform by selling thousands of donated items online to help to finance his film. In 2018, Flavio was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to the Artist Academy fellowship, which is a program designed to support the next generation of filmmakers from a variety of backgrounds as they develop their careers. He is also a fellow with the Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative directing program. Flavio Alves is the founder of Queens Pictures LLC, a New York-based film production company..Producer/Director/Writer,
Wikipedia: Flavio lives in Forest Hills, New York with his same-sex partner Randall Martusis. In April 2010, Alves became a US citizen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavio_Alves- Actor
- Producer
John Amaechi was born on 26 November 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for La Mission (2009), Fund Black Tech (2022) and A Question of Sport (1970).IMDb Trivia
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1568539/bio/
[Amaechi] was also the first NBA player to come out as a gay after his retirement in 2007. Since then, he has become a gay rights activists.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Dan Amboyer born December 28, 1985 is an American actor, Amboyer was born in Detroit, to Claudia and Dr. Donald Amboyer. He attended The Roeper School and arts high school Interlochen Arts Academy. Amboyer subsequently continued his studies at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, where he was offered early admittance following his junior year of high school. After graduation, he relocated to New York City and began performing in television and theatre. Amboyer has made guest appearances on the television series Younger (TV series), CBS' Untitled John Cusack Pilot, Unforgettable, Law & Order, Body of Proof, Inside Amy Schumer, and Person of Interest.Actor,
The Daily Mail: Hitched! Younger actor Dan Amboyer confirms he's gay as he ties the knot with longtime boyfriend Eric Berger.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4959456/Dan-Amboyer-confirms-s-gay-marrying-boyfriend.html- Writer
- Director
- Composer
Is the son of a Spanish mother and a Chilean father. His family moved back to Spain when he was 1 year old, and he grew up and studied in Madrid. He wrote, produced and directed his first short film La cabeza at the age of 19, and he was 23 when he directed his feature debut Thesis (1996). His film Open Your Eyes (1997) was a huge success in Spain and was distributed worldwide. It was remade in Hollywood by Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky (2001), starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz (also the star of the original version) and Cameron Diaz. The Others (2001) is Amenábar's first English language film.Producer/Director/Writer/Composer/Editor/Actor/Self,
El Periodico: Alejandro Amenábar, que no se caracteriza precisamente por demostrar a menudo su condición de homosexual, ha asegurado que Madrid, ciudad en la que reside y que le ha otorgado la Medalla de oro, le ha aportado muchísima alegría y libertad para dejarle vivir su condición sexual haciendo la vida que quiere.
http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/gente-y-tv/amenabar-madrid-dado-libertad-para-vivir-condicion-sexual-1788841- David Ames was born on 10 August 1983. He is an actor, known for Holby City (1999), Doctor Who: The Adventure Games - The Gunpowder Plot (2011) and Doctor Who (2005).Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ames_(actor)
Ames is gay. - Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Hardy Amies was born on 17 July 1909 in Maida Vale, London, England, UK. He was a costume designer, known for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Two for the Road (1967) and Maytime in Mayfair (1949). He died on 5 March 2003 in Langford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.Costume and Wardrobe Department,
2001: A Space Odyssey- Self,
ET Online: Years & Years' Olly Alexander and Clean Bandit's Neil Amin-Smith Kiss Onstage and Give Us All Relationship Envy. Amin-Smith was telling Gay Times: “Olly and I are romantic with each other, we have to because we don’t see each other very much so when we are reunited it’s always quite intense.
http://www.etonline.com/news/171463_years_years_olly_alexander_and_clean_bandit_neil_amin_smith_kiss_onstage/ - Make-Up Department
- Actor
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sutan Amrull was born in Baldwin Park, California on the 14th June 1974. At the age of three, the family moved to Indonesia where his father is originally from and lived there until the age of nine when they moved back to the US.
Amrull became interested in the drag scene at the age of sixteen by attending various Los Angeles nightclubs with his friends, becoming most inspired by the goth and punk subcultures that would eventually encapsulate his future drag persona. Amrull attended university for two years, firstly as an art student and then later pursuing a career in make-up artistry.
In 2011, Amrull was crowned the winner of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2009). His drag persona, Raja Gemini is seen as one of the series most popular contestants as well as being highly regarded for their fashion and catwalk abilities. Amrull is also known as one of the main make-up artists featured on America's Next Top Model (2003), serving on the show from cycles four through to twelve. As a make-up artist, his list of celebrity clientele include Tyra Banks,Iman, Dita Von Teese, RuPaul and Pamela Anderson.
Since 2014, he has presented a weekly YouTube series on WowPresents' channel, RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Photo Ruview with fellow contestant, David Petruschin/Raven. He also guest starred as himself on The Simpsons (1989) episode, Werking Mom (2018) alongside RuPaul in 2018.
As well as his strong television work, Amrull has pursued various avenues in music. He released his first single as Raja entitled 'Diamond Crowned Queen', which peaked at number thirty-five on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. A second single followed in 2012 and a third in 2013. In 2014, Raja performed a lip sync duet with Manila Luzon/Manila Luzon at the Drag Race Battle of the Seasons. Amrull has also appeared in the video for Blondie's 2017 single, 'Fun'.
Amrull has appeared in Diesel's 'Make Love Not Walls' campaign as well as a campaign for Urban Decay with drag queens Alaska Thunderfuck, Jiggly Caliente/Jiggly Caliente and Katya Zamolodchikova/Katya. In June 2019, Amrull appeared on the cover of New York Magazine as one of 37 other drag queens.
In December 2017, Amrull married Ryan Turner.Female Impersonator/Makeup Artist,
America's Next Top Model- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Amstell was born on 29 November 1979 and was raised in Gants Hill, London. The lively and determined chap made his first television appearance in 1993 when he appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show GamesMaster (1992-1998), which he unfortunately lost, but this did not falter him on his climb to fame, he went on appear on 'Good Morning with Anne and Nick (1992-1996)' doing an impression of Dame Edna Everage, and a 1994 episode of Family Catchphrase. In the latter, he described himself as a budding magician and showed one of his tricks to the presenter, Andrew O'Connor. Amstell and his family won a television and a video recorder.
Amstell started performing on the comedy circuit when he was just 13 and later caught the eye of television executives by becoming the youngest finalist of the BBC New Comedy Awards in 1998. His first professional television appearance was the same year, as a presenter on the UK children's channel Nickelodeon. He would later go on to co-host Popworld, with his quirky style of interviewing, he stirred controversy when discussing personal items with guests on the show.
Simon would later go on to become the second host of the comedic panel show 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996-2015)' replacing Mark Lamarr.Writer/Actor,
Grandma's House- Actress
- Producer
- Casting Director
Spanish actress Elena Anaya impressed the critics with her performance in Sex and Lucía (2001).
Elena was born in Palencia, Spain, on July 17th, 1975. An active child, she excelled in karate and mountain climbing. By the time she was 17 Elena knew that she wanted to channel her energy into being an actress and enrolled in a drama course being given in her local town by actor Manuel Moron. More determined than ever, she then opted out of school, choosing instead to audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Madrid.
Moron mentioned Elena's exceptional talent to his agent, Katrina Bayonas, who was looking for a young girl to star in the film, "Africa". Elena auditioned and the role was hers.
Elena was obliged to leave the Royal Academy when Fernando Leon de Aranoa called her to work in his comedy, "Familia". But, aware of the importance of studying, Elena her formation at the Juan Carlos Corazza school of acting.
Following her feature debut in the 1996 drama "África"(Alfonso Ungría) Anaya continued to impress with supporting roles in such features as "Lagrimas negras" (Fernando Bauluz y Ricardo Franco, 1998) "Finisterre" (Xavier Villaverde, 1998), "Las Huellas borradas" (Enrique Gabriel, 1999) and the romantic drama "El Invierno de las Anjanas"(Pedro Telechea). In 2000, director Julio Medem cast her as the seductive baby sitter, Belen, in the erotic drama "Lucia y el sexo" (2001). The explosive mixture of innocence and provocation earned her a Goya (Spanish Academy Award) nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also received the Spanish Actors Union Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year she was featured in the comedy "Sin noticias de Dios" (Agustín Díaz Yanes 2001) with Penelope Cruz and Victoria Abril.
As her star continued to rise thanks to roles in "Dos Tipos duros" (Juan Martínez Moreno 2003) and Pedro Almodóvar's "Talk to Her", it was only a matter of time before she caught the attention of international directors and she was offered the role of Dracula's most possessive bride in 2004's "Van Helsing" (Stephen Sommers). Then, in 2004, came the action comedy "Dead Fish" (Charley Stadler) with Gary Oldman, in 2005 the thriller "Fragile" (Jaume Balagueró), and the period adventure "Capitán Alatriste "(Agustín Díaz Yanes). In 2007 she starred in "Miguel & William" (Inés París) and "Savage Grace" (Tom Kalin) with Julianne Moore.
In 2008 she was introduced to French audiences in "L'instinct de Mort" (Jean-François Richet) with Vincent Cassel and Gerard Depardieu. She then travelled to Cairo to work in the romantic drama "Cairo Time" (Ruba Nadda). Agustín Díaz Yanes called her again for his film "I only want to walk" and she then starred in Gaby Ibanez's thriller "Hierro".
2009 brought Elena and Julio Medem together again to make "Room in Rome". The role of Alba earned her Best Actress nominations for both the Spanish Actors Guild and the Goya Awards. She then returned to France to shoot Fred Cavaye's "A Bout Portant".
In 2010 Pedro Almodovar offered her the leading role of Vera in his new film "The Skin I live in" with Antonio Banderas. This role won her the 2011 Best Actress Goya (Spanish Academy Award).
In 2012 she received the honorary Málaga Sur Award at the yearly Film festival in Málaga.
This same year took Elena to Argentina to make "Pensé que iba haber fiesta". In 2013 she starred as Lupe in "Todos están muertos", directed by Beatriz Sanchis. This role won her six Best Actress nominations, the only actress to be nominated for all the awards in the 2015 Spanish Award season. She received the Spanish SAG Best Actress Award.
In 2013 Elena also starred in the Scottish film "Swung". In 2014 she shot Chilean director Matias Bize's "La memoria del Agua" and has recently finished filming Imanol Uribe's "Lejos del mar".
2015 started for Elena with a cameo role in Brad Furman's "The Infiltrator" working alongside Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo.Actress,
Wikipedia: Partner Beatriz Sanchís (2008–present)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Anaya- Sheldon Andelson was born on 5 March 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He died on 29 December 1987 in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA.Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Andelson
[Andelson] was the first openly gay University of California Regent. In describing Andelson, the Los Angeles Times called him a "Democratic Party heavyweight, once regarded as the nation's most influential gay political figure." - Producer
- Visual Effects
- Additional Crew
Darla K. Anderson is an American film producer who is known for producing several Pixar films including A Bug's Life, Cars, Mater and the Ghostlight, Monsters, Inc. Toy Story 3 and Coco. She won awards for the films she produced, particularly Toy Story 3 and Coco. She is married to Kori Rae, a fellow Pixar employee.Producer,
Monsters, Inc.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Gillian Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Rosemary Alyce (Lane), a computer analyst, and Homer Edward Anderson III, who owned a film post-production company. Gillian started her career as a member of an amateur actor group while at high school. In 1987, her love of the theatre took her to the National Theatre of Great Britain Summer Acting Programme held at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. For several weeks she studied under such NT greats as Peter Chelsom, Bardy Thomas, and Michael Joyce. Afterwards, Anderson returned to the Goodman Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois where she finished her education. Her big break came with The X-Files (1993) as Dana Scully. There, she met her future husband (Clyde Klotz), marrying on January 1st 1994. One month later, Gillian was pregnant. Her daughter, Piper Anderson-Klotz, was born on the 25th September 1994. Her film career started with the movie The Turning (1992) in 1997 and, the following year, she starred in Playing by Heart (1998) with Sean Connery, Ellen Burstyn, Angelina Jolie and Dennis Quaid.Actress,
N.Y. Daily News: Gillian Anderson of ‘The X-Files’ reveals she's had several lesbian relationships.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/gillian-anderson-x-files-reveals-romantic-relationships-women-article-1.1038879- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Lindsay was born in Bangalore, India but educated in England at Cheltenham College and Wadham College, Oxford where he was a classical scholar. He then spent 3 years war time service in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. His career in the theatre started at the Royal Court in the late 1950's where he was responsible for the premiere productions of The Long and the Short and the Tall, Sergeant Musgrave's Dance, Billy Liar and The Bed Before Yesterday. His collaboration with David Storey began with the film This Sporting Life followed by the plays In Celebration, Home, The Changing Room, Early Days and his last, in 1992, Stages He also contributed to the Times, Observer and New Statesman newspapers.Director- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mitchell Anderson was born on 21 August 1961 in Jamestown, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Jaws: The Revenge (1987), After Forever (2018) and The Karen Carpenter Story (1989).Actor,
Doogie Howser-M.D.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Christian was born in Los Angeles and raised in Hollywood. His mother, Lita, was an announcer for radio station KMPC, at the time a music and entertainment station. Though only a child, she took him to numerous movie premieres she covered in her broadcasts. During that time he met many celebrities, including Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, June Allison, Art Linkletter, Johnny Grant, Jose Iturbi. Celeste Holm, Cowboy Lash LaRue, and the Criswell.
By age 5, he signed a contract with the Marcella Bell Talent Agency in West Hollywood and appeared in various children's live television programs and in radio commercials.
In 1960, his mother married Raymond D. Bowman, a jazz impresario and noted music critic who taught and encouraged Christian to write. When a teenager, his step-father opened an art gallery in Beverly Hills where Christian was inspired by the artists who showed there. Among them was Innocenzo Daraio, Mae Babitz, Leonora Cetone Starr, Clark Allen, and Flavio Cabral. At age 12 he met legendary dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis, who shared her career and encouraged his love of the arts.
In 1969 Christian enlisted in the United States Air Force where he was trained as an illustrator and graphic designer. He created orientations and briefings with the 62nd Military Airlift Wing (MAC), where he was also a member of the base Honor Guard. He later produced military training films with the Aerospace Audiovisual Service (MAC) and worked with one of the first units to produce films on video tape, rather than film stock. He received an Honorable Discharge for his service.
By 1973 he moved to San Francisco where he freelanced as a graphic designer, creating numerous posters, brochures, print ads and collateral materials over the years.
He spent two years in Springfield, Ohio where he was an active member with the Springfield Civic Theater. During the 1980 season, he performed in two plays; Agatha Christie's "Mousetrap" in the part of "Christopher Wren" and in the lead role as "Charles Condomine" in Noel Coward's "Blythe Spirit." Both productions required him to speak with an English accent.
He worked for noted film and stage producer Jay Julien in New York in the Spring of 1984, where he met several major film personalities. This further inspired his love of film. He returned to San Francisco and was employed by the deYoung Museum of Art and gave docent tours at the War Memorial Opera House.
During the 1990s he returned to college to obtain his degree in Multimedia and was then employed by two major advertising agencies in San Diego. His work as a fashion and landscape photographer was seen in several magazines, including "Palm Springs Life" and "Racquet Tech." He spent a season in 1999 working with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in the operations department.
He directed his first feature-length film "Defcon 2012" in 2008, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. He composed the lyrics to the song "The Ghosts of San Francisco" (with music by John Thomas Bullock), which was sung by Motown recording artist Chris Clark for the feature film "When the World Came to San Francisco" which Christian wrote and directed. The film premiered at the Koret Theater at the deYoung Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco in 2015. The music video for the song won the "Mixed Genre Jazz Film Award" at the "New York Jazz Film Festival" in November 2016. The following year, his music video "Manhattan Montage", with music by jazz guitarist Pat Thomi and photography by Miriam Danar, won "Top Music Video" at the "New York Jazz Film Festival" the following year.
Christian is married and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he continues as a screenwriter, filmmaker, professional photographer, music composer and lyricist. He is a member of ASCAP.Writer,
Tea and Destiny- Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Anderson_(BBC_personality)
In 2018, Anderson came out as gay to his teammates after playing a game of football, as part of a film for BBC's The One Show, highlighting the pressures of homophobia in the sport. - Additional Crew
- Producer
- Writer
Terry Anderson was born on 11 April 1959 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Night Listener (2006), The Young Graduates (1971) and Cindy and Donna (1970).Producer/Writer,
IMDB Trivia: Armistead Maupin's former long-term romantic partner; their relationship was fictionalized in multiple story lines of Maupin's Barbary Lane books and The Night Listener, as well as their corresponding mini-series and feature films.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027501/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_2- Rainer Andersson is known for Pillertrillaren (1994) and Bert (1994).Actor,
The Daily Mail:
The couple that shop together: Victor Garber steps out with partner Rainer Andreesen after recently confirming their long term relationship.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2283432/The-couple-shop-Victor-Garber-enjoys-afternoon-boyfriend-Rainer-Andreesen-recently-confirms-longterm-relationship.html - Producer
- Actor
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Andrade
He briefly dated Lance Bass, a former member of the band 'N Sync in the summer of 2007- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Casper is an accomplished actor, writer, film director and producer.
In 2020, he was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Sprit Awards for producing "Wild Nights with Emily", Madeleine Olnek's comedic biopic about Emily Dickinson starring Molly Shannon. Also in 2020, Casper premiered his 10th feature film as a producer, when the Swedish relationship drama "Are We Lost Forever", directed by David Färdmar, had its world premiere at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Prior to this Casper produced and directed eight multi-award winning features in the US (five of which he also wrote): "Slutty Summer" (2004), "A Four Letter Word" (2007), "Between Love & Goodbye" (2008), "The Big Gay Musical" (2009), "Violet Tendencies" (2010), "Going Down in LA-LA Land" (2011), "Kiss Me Kill Me" (2015) and "Flatbush Luck" (2016). in Sweden he wrote and directed the drama "Ett Sista Farväl" ("A Last Farewell") in 2013. The short film went on to play over 130 film festivals worldwide and picking up 18 awards.
As an actor, Casper most recently appeared on Swedish TV in the film "Beck - ett nytt liv", and series "Dolt under ytan" and "Harmonica". In the US he has guest-starred on TV shows like "Hawaii Five-0," "Deadbeat" and"Swedish Dicks." Co-starring credits include "The Blacklist" and "Lethal Weapon." His many film roles include the Academy Award winning "Little Children". On stage, Casper has played as Hamlet in "Hamlet" in New York City and Romeo in "Romeo & Juliet" in Paris.
Casper is a dual citizen of the United States and Sweden, splitting his time between Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles. He studied acting and directing at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York.
Casper has been selected as one of the 100 most influential and newsworthy people by Out Magazine.Actor,
The Big Gay Musical- Rainer Andreesen was born on 18 April 1963 in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor, known for Salvage (2015) and Pretty Boys (2002). He has been married to Victor Garber since 10 October 2015.IMDb Mini Bio
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5680334/bio/
[Rainer Andreesen] has been married to Victor Garber since October 10, 2015. - Actor
- Soundtrack
British character actor Harry Andrews had the sort of massive granite face and square jaw that would stamp that career, but he set himself apart with brilliant stage and screen work. He had graduated from Wrekin College in Shropshire and then moved on to the stage, appearing with Liverpool Repertory in 1933 and focusing on Shakespearean roles. He was befriended by stage star John Gielgud who invited him to New York and Broadway as part of the cast of "Hamlet" in 1935. On the return to London, Andrews did a run of plays in the West End. Then Gielgud invited him into his own stage company. Soon after he was asked into the Old Vic Company by its director Laurence Olivier. His roles were becoming increasingly substantial, authoritative parts to match his sharp and forceful, through-the-teeth delivery of lines. Next he did not pass up the opportunity to join the Stratford Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he spent a decade honing himself into an established, fine, versatile actor, described by the controversial London theater critic Kenneth Tynan as "the backbone of British theater."
He came to the small screen before the large, having debuted in British experimental television in 1939, followed over a decade later with his debut on the ever expanding and fecund American playhouse TV in 1952. His big screen debut came the next year in a character part which would accent his career-from ancient to modern-the disciplined military man in Paratrooper (1953). From there the roles came his way - three or four per year - well into 1979, when TV took up most of his time. His movie making was spent either before American or British cameras. And the military roles were always masterly done, whether a roughed out sergeant or a more dignified officer. Though his most famous noncom may be Sergeant Major Tom Pugh alongside John Mills in J. Lee Thompson's classic adventure Ice Cold in Alex (1958), his achievement as Sergeant Major Bert Wilson, the near psychotic martinet, opposite Sean Connery and Ian Bannen, in The Hill (1965) was an over-the-top tour de force. That same year he was back in costume - having played many an ancient and medieval noble role through the 1950s - in something different - playing the great Renaissance architect Donato Bramante against Charlton Heston as rival Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Not a big part, nevertheless Andrews gave the role a subdued and matter-of-fact strength that well fit the ambitious architect of the fiery Pope Julius II (played with great verve by Rex Harrison). While Andrews was also excellent with a tongue-in-cheek style for comedic roles, as in the send up, The Ruling Class (1972), he excelled against type as a flamboyant homosexual in the black comedy Entertaining Mr Sloane (1970). He had said something like: "I don't want to be a star -- I want to be a good actor in good parts" - but his presence always made him standout. It was ironic that he had difficulty in memorizing lines. Sometime later co-star Alan Bates thought him very courageous for his obvious triumph over this impediment. Bates further remarked that Andrews' great sense of humor and no-nonsense personable character made him a favorite with younger actors as a continuous well of encouragement and learning experiences. Though his parts were smaller as he grew older, he filled each of his roles, big or small - over 100 of them - with a giant's footsteps.Actor,
Death on the Nile- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ms. Andrews and her sisters, Patty and Laverne, were one of the most successful women's singing groups, with 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100 million copies. The sisters began performing in the early 1930's when the Depression wiped out their father's business. In 1937, the trio of sisters scored their first big hit with 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen'. In addition to 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, ' their best-known songs included 'Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree' and 'Rum and Coca Cola'. The trio officially broke up after the death of Laverne in 1967, but temporarily interrupted their feud to star in the 1974 Broadway musical "Over Here!". Ms. Andrews began a solo career in 1979. Her album and its title, were released in 1990, 'Maxene: An Andrews Sister'. Her last performance was on Sunday, October 8th, 1995, in the show 'Swing Time Canteen', at New York City's Blue Angel Theater.Singer/Actress,
One Third of The Andrews Sisters
Part of The Sewing Circle; Wikipedia for Alla Nazimova: It was Alla Nazimova who coined the phrase "sewing circle" as code to refer to lesbian or bisexual actresses of her day who concealed their true sexuality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alla_Nazimova- Robert Andrews was born on 20 February 1895 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Fascinating Youth (1926), The Warrens of Virginia (1924) and Rubber Heels (1927). He died in 1976 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK.
Born: Reginald Frank Andrews
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Andrews_(actor)
He is perhaps best known as the long-term companion of Ivor Novello. - Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreyko
Andreyko lives in Los Angeles. He is openly gay.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Michael Angelakos was born on 19 May 1987 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. He is a composer, known for The 5th Wave (2016), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) and Going the Distance (2010). He was previously married to Kristina Batres-Mucci.Singer,
Band: Passion Pit
Daily Mail: Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos, 28, comes out as gay and admits he 'wanted so badly to be straight' for his wife.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3312131/Passion-Pit-frontman-Michael-Angelakos-28-comes-gay-admits-wanted-badly-straight-wife.html- Ernest Angley was born on 9 August 1921 in Gastonia, North Carolina, USA. He was married to Esther Lee Sikes. He died on 7 May 2021 in Akron, Ohio, USA.Akron Beacon Journal
https://web.archive.org/web/20190128030431mp_/https://www.ohio.com/news/20190119/rev-ernest-angley-admitted-sexual-encounter
In 1996, internationally known televangelist Ernest Angley admitted to his assistant minister that he had had sexual relations with a man who was employed by their church, Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls. - Director
- Writer
- Editor
Kenneth Anger grew up in Hollywood and started out as a child actor, but his interest in filmmaking was evident at an early age: he made his first film, Who Has Been Rocking My Dreamboat (1941) , at age 14.
Anger developed into one of the pioneers of the American underground film movement. His gritty, violent, often homosexual-themed films were too strong for American audiences of the time, and many of his productions were filmed in Europe, mainly France.
However, Anger is best known for authoring the landmark "Hollywood Babylon" book series, which detailed a far seamier side of the Hollywood film industry than most people were aware.Writer/Director,
Hollywood Babylon- Patrick Angus was born on 3 December 1953 in North Hollywood, California, USA. He died on 13 May 1992 in the USA.Medium
https://medium.com/@Charlie_OBrien/patrick-angus-talented-artist-whose-life-was-cut-too-short-65b0fa9a36e5
In 1974, Angus received a scholarship to the Santa Barbara Art Institute. It was there that he discovered ’72 Drawings by David Hockney’. The book was life-changing for young gay Patrick Angus. He was enthralled by Hockney’s work, which showed gay men celebrated, and the gay lifestyle glamourized. - Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Celebrity comedian ANT was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, comedian , host, producer and writer. In July 1993, he legally changed his name to ANT from Anthony Steven Kalloniatis. The correct orthography is ANT, spelled in all caps.
Born to Greek immigrant parents (Lee and Maria - whom he talks about frequently in his stand-up routines), Ant was raised strict Greek Orthodox. As he entered adulthood he ventured away from strict Orthodoxy and studied many other religions including Taoism, Hinduism and even Scientology. ANT believes that he is just a spiritual being looking for answers.
ANT attended Londonderry High School and the University of New Hampshire where he was affectionately known as "what's your name again?" Inebriated at a bar one night, he got up on stage at a local talent contest and performed a crude stand-up routine for the first time. He lost. But a seed was planted and he knew comedy was his calling. College didn't seem to suit his growing fascination with stand-up comedy, and in 1986 he dropped out of college after only attending a single semester.
In 1993 he moved to Los Angeles and began performing comedy full time. It didn't take long for the networks to take notice of him and in 1994, starred in the Fox Television pilot, "Howe High." From there he went on to a co-starring role as Barry Wallenstein on the WB series, "Unhappily Ever After," (Created by Ron Leavitt of Married with Children).
Throughout his career, ANT has appeared on many series and specials including the remake of To Tell The Truth where he replaced Paula Poundstone as a regular celebrity panelist. Other shows include; Tosh.0, America's Next Top Model, The Insider, Kathy Griffin: My life on the D list, The Jamie Foxx Show, For your love, Son of a beach, Gene Simmons: Family Jewels, Sweet Valley High, Queer as Folk, Weekends at the DL, Nightstand, The Dennis Miller Show, But Can They Sing, Steve Harvey's Big Time, The Tyra Banks show, Comics Unleashed and many others.
His big opportunity came with NBC's Last Comic Standing. A weekly reality show featuring stand-up comedians competing to be crowned the funniest comic in America. Over 10,000 comedians tried out. ANT advanced all the way to the semi-finals in Las Vegas but did not make it into the house. The second season, he made it into the house and was 6th runner up out of hundreds of thousands of comedians. Then NBC ordered a third season of LCS, and the format was changed slightly. Season one would do battle against season two in LCS: The Battle of the Best. With ANT's hilarious help season (2) easily bested season one and went on to win every head to head challenge and ultimately the competition.
He used that forward momentum parlaying it into a hosting job on the VH1 series, Celebrity Fit Club. He has been the host of the hit series for 6 of its 7 unprecedented seasons (no other VH1 series has gone on to 7 seasons). That year he also released his hit live performance DVD entitled, "ANT: America's Ready".
In 1997, ANT moved out of his comfort zone, becoming a celebrity participant on the VH1 series, CelebraCadabra (magic with the stars). There he revealed a deep rooted fear of clowns. He was eliminated 2nd when dressed as a grocery store candy aisle; he was mauled by a rambunctious group of 2nd graders all vying for something sweet. After his departure from the series, the ratings tumbled and VH1 brought ANT back in subsequent episodes to appease angry fans.
Over his career, ANT has appeared on numerous occasions on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (9 times), The Howard Stern Radio show, and garnered his own series on MTV Network's Logo Channel which bears his name: The U.S of ANT.
In features, he can be seen in Twin Falls, Idaho, I am Comic, Circuit, Angels Baby!, Another Gay Movie, National Lampoon's Totally Baked, The Underground Comedy Movie (with Michael Clarke Duncan), and Sister Mary.
He has 3 siblings, Andrea, Althea and Frank. In January of 2007 he signed on to be a Spokesman for the diet company Nutrisystem after losing 43 pounds on their program. ANT is developing several projects for television and he continues to tour with his stand-up comedy around the country. His blog, "The ANT colony" attracts millions of visitors each year and has enlightened millions more with it's unique mixture of spirituality and humor.Actor,
Twin Falls Idaho- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Steve moved to Los Angeles, where he made his film debut in the teen-aged slasher flick, Sweet Sixteen (1983), opposite Bo Hopkins. The following year, he broke all of the girls hearts in the popular Cannon-produced film, The Last American Virgin (1982), alongside Lawrence Monoson. Roles in The Goonies (1985) and Survival Quest (1988), then led to what should have been his big break, when he co-starred with Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis in the Academy Award-winning film, The Accused (1988), as a fraternity undergraduate involved in a bar room rape incident. He then appeared in Sandra Bernhard's screen version of her hit one-woman Broadway show, Without You I'm Nothing (1990), plus roles in the films Drive (1991), It's My Party (1996) and the romantic comedy-drama, 'Til There Was You (1997).
Steve has also dabbled in writing and producing, starring opposite Bo Hopkins once again and an all-star cast in the independent film, Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992). Steve adapted the screenplay Gloria (1999), starring Sharon Stone and George C. Scott from the 1980 version by John Cassavetes.Actor,
The Goonies