Hollywood's Gay Prowess

The gayness of Hollywood is showing its prowess increasingly these days. Ever since William Haines, an actor of the 1920's, started the "Hollywood Gay Movement", it has been going strong. William Haynes gay ways were attempted to be stopped but he wouldn't budge. He was tried to be seen as having intrest in the opposite sex, a move behind which MGM Studios was, but he did not anyone to hinder him from allow his gay ways. His mannerism on set made him very noticeable. He did reach peaks of success during his acting career, his highest being his role in the movie Tell it to the Marines in 1927. His career came to a downfall when he was caught in the act with a male sailor. This brought him to be banned from the acting field. His studio disowned him and banned him from acting. The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, which was established in 1922, brought into force a code of "moral standards" under which all gay mannerisms and styles were banned.

Through the oncoming decades, actors like James Dean, Montgomery Clift and Rock Hudson kept the fight on. While being in the controversy spotlight, they set standards that have been followed for decades together after they passed away. Out of the lot, Rock Hudson was more concerned about his acting career and tried to cover up his gayness while not denying it but soon everyone could see right through the gimmicks. Likewise, Raymond Burr made efforts to do the same. He started saying that he was married thrice had had a child-claims which were clarified by his sister as false. He hoped that these rumours, which he circled, would stop people from looking at him as gay and also hide from the world his relationship with Robert Benevides.

Another victim of gay oppression in Hollywood was Anthony Perkins. He suffered from high homophobia. He tried to fight against by a marrige to the opposite sex but that did not work too. He eventually succumbed to AIDS. Tommy Kirk acted as if he had learnt nothing from the gay actors of previous generations. He came out and told as a result of which he lost his job with the movies.

Next was the British Gay Force to come into effect. To start it off, Sir Ian McKellen ranted on the radio against the national policy towards gay people. When being supported as a gay crusader, his knighting was condemned upon because the British Government was anti gay. After criticism from Derek Jarman, support for him was lobbied for him by the gay acting "powerhouse" in the UK. The "executives" of the powerhouse Sir John Gielgud, Dirk Bogarde and Nigel Hawthorne decided to play neutral.

Followed were increasingly open attitudes to gays in the industry. This has come to the level of three movies in the Academy Award race being about gays and gay issues. On TV too, Will and Grace promotes "gayism" on a whole new level. There have been gay kisses and love scenes all in the open. What more could the gay people in the industry ask for? How more open can the industry be to gays? What it be without the industry's first and early gay sufferers?