 Starring: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon
Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Year Of Release: 1995
Plot: Based on Vito Russo’s seminal book, The Celluloid Closet looks at the history of homosexuality in film. The documentary follows the story through from the swishing jokey character of the silent era, through the sissies of the 30s, the villains of the 40s and 50s, on to the emergence of openly gay character in the 60s, and the emergence of gay cinema in the 80s. Featuring interviews with everyone to Tom Hanks to Whoopi Goldberg, the film reveals a hidden history. |
The Celluloid Closet is a fascinating film. If you have any interest in the history of homosexuality in cinema, it’s well worth getting hold of a copy (or you can read our two part Movie-A-Day look at the subject by
CLICKING HERE). However one of the things that most intrigues me about the film, is the controversy that arose when it was first released in 1995. Lily Tomlin narrates the film, and it was said at the time that she’d agreed to officially come out as a lesbian to help launch the film. When this didn’t happen, there was a lot of talk about whether she’d backed out, or if the rumours of her coming out were made up.
The truth was that while Lily wasn’t running around shouting ‘I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it’, the fact she’d been in a relationship with a woman since the early 70s was an open secret, and she’d never agreed to make a big statement about her sexuality when she made The Celluloid Closet (she did later talk more openly about it in a 2001 interview). The rumours arose more because many people knew she was gay, and because she’d narrated the film they’d presumed she was going to use it as a platform to make a public statement about her life, rather htan because she actually was.
However, it does beg the question, in this day and age, why do so few American screen actors come out? While some TV actors, such as T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris are out, the industry is generally still so closeted that Sean Hayes, aka Jack from Will & Grace, has refused to publicly come out – in full-on non-denial denial fashion – in case he gets stereotyped (news flash Sean, it’s too late for that).
Most other US screen actors who’ve come out have only done so after their fame has started sliding. Richard Chamberlain and Tab Hunter revealed they were gay to help sell their autobiography. David Hyde Pierce’s sexuality slipped out a few years after Frasier ended, while the likes of Lily Tomlin and Jodie Foster (who’s still only ever sort of semi-come out) only started mentioning it when it was clear they were so established it wouldn’t make any difference to their career.
Even so, these people are the exception rather than the rule. Although it was a few years ago, even Rock Hudson never officially came out, despite the fact it was publicly announced he was dying of AIDS. It was Tales Of The City author Armistead Maupin who actually outed him. Likewise Liberace went to his grave insisting he was still waiting for the right girl.
Oddly though, on the American stage it’s different. It’s not uncommon at the Tony Awards for winners to thank their life partners. The likes of Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson have had no problem telling people who they are, but few of these people have made the transition to leading roles on the big or small screen.
So why is this? Well, the main reason seems to be that the people behind the scenes in Hollywood are terrified of giving openly gay people leading roles. Hollywood is an incredibly risk averse place, where most decisions are made more because people don’t want to get something wrong rather than because they really want to get it right. There are fears that parts of the audience will automatically reject an openly gay star, hurting the box office chances of any film they appear in. There’s also a perception that many people won’t be able to fully accept someone they know is gay in real life playing a heterosexual leading man on screen.
This may sound daft, but it’s perhaps a more legitimate fear than you might think. The star system is partially built on identification with the actor, with the star’s acting roles and public image building up a picture of the person for people to connect with. It’s not about who these people really are, but what they represent. In simple terms it’s the idea that with a male actor, men want to be them and women want to sleep with them. As a result, when you watch a Tom Cruise film, you’re not just viewing him in that specific role, you view it through the veil of who Cruise is, his previous film roles and what he represents. The perception is that people knowing an actor is gay throws a spanner in the works and makes it more difficult to accept them playing a leading role as a heterosexual, as the knowledge of the reality of their private life would make the process of identification more difficult.
Although we’re probably now at a stage where society would be prepared to look past that, Hollywood is still terrified of it and won’t even try. Indeed, the few actors who have come out at the point where they looked like they were about to make it big, have found themselves virtually banished from the mainstream. For example Rupert Everett has said he was surprised by how many doors slammed shut when he came out. Even people who were gay themselves were afraid to take a chance on him. Like I said, Hollywood is risk-averse, and so when executives are doing the numbers, the safe bet is to go for the straight actor in the lead role – or at least someone prepared to pretend they’re straight – rather than cast the gay actor, in case it backfires. And it seems no one wants to be the first to try and break the stalemate.
This isn’t just idle speculation on my part. Over the years I’ve interviewed quite a few openly gay American actors and I always ask them about their experience in Hollywood. While some are more diplomatic than others, nearly all have said they felt being open about their sexuality has held them back. Others have said they’ve been on the verge of being offered major roles, until the subject came up of whether they’d be prepared to stay in the closet. As soon as they said they wouldn’t, the role went to somebody else.
The result is that there are probably quite a few gay a-list stars out there, but they’re firmly in the closet, with studio PR machines spinning to keep it that way. Although they might not go as far as they did in the 50s – when Hollywood arranged sham marriages for its gay stars in order to keep the rumours at bay – the secrets are still closely hidden. Over the years I’ve heard numerous rumours about the sexuality of various stars from those who would probably know (including PR people who’ve said part of their brief was to ensure no questions were asked about whether a particular star was gay), but there’s been nothing reportable.
These a-list stars are apparently terrified that coming out would destroy their career, and to be honest, they’re right to be uncertain. There’s no one in the US on the top rung of the entertainment tree who’s come out and stayed there. It’s also true that as getting to the top seems to involve managers and agents striking fear into people’s hearts about the importance of staying in the closet, it’s perhaps not surprising they’ve come to absolutely believe it and don’t even want to peek out.
Interestingly though, some suggest the a-list may now be straighter than it’s ever been. The reason for this is that a couple of decades ago, rumours were controllable and could be shut down, whereas now many believe it would be that much more difficult to keep a lid on the speculation if an a-list actor was secretly gay (it’s also true that fewer actors are prepared to stay resolutely in the closet). If true, it would mean gay actors aren’t getting a chance in Hollywood, just in case the truth ever came out.
Interestingly though, I was once given a few tips by a Hollywood insider about how to tell who’s gay and who isn’t in tinsel town. Their theory, born out of several decades working on all sorts of films, was that a mainstream star who agrees to play gay in a movie, will be straight in real life, as a gay star would be advised against it, in case it set off a cascade of rumours that eventually outed them. It’s very noticeable that most major stars who’ve played gay have been demonstrably straight in their private lives.
Also straight are most of the people where rumours float around about their sexuality. The reason for this is because many believe there is value to the possibility of being gay (both to cash in on the pink pound and add an air of mystery), as long as it’s only ever presented as an unsubstantiated rumour with no truth to it. Many people believe that rumours about Tom Cruise’s sexuality were initially started by his own PR people in the late 80s, as it was thought they added to his allure across all sexes and sexualities. His reputation for trying to slam down and sue anyone who said he was gay only came years later, when the rumours looked like they were getting out of control.
Finally, the third part of this insider’s theory was that if you see endless newspaper stories about a particular male star who’s seen on the arm of a never-ending string of different woman, it may be because they’re actually gay. Although it could just be because they are indeed always out with a different women, there’s also a decent chance the stories have been placed by their PR staff, with paparazzi called up to ensure there’s a photo that gives off the right image (the theory is that genuine straight stars can be discreet about their liaisons, while gay actors need to be seen dating women to head off any speculation). It’s almost taking things to the extreme, so that any rumours about a star being gay will fail to get traction, as an image has already been created of them as a super-straight ladies' man. And there’s little doubt there are a lot of women who’d be prepared to be that evening’s beard if it’ll get their picture in the paper.
I can’t say for certain whether these theories are backed up by fact, but when you start looking at how certain stars are sold to us, there does seem to be some logic to it.
The question remains as to whether the world is ready for its first openly gay a-list Hollywood star. I would say that yes we are, although I’d be surprised if we saw one anytime soon, just because in a town where millions of dollars ride on every decision, it’s difficult to see the Tinsel Town executives opening the barriers and taking the risk, when they could just cast a straight or closeted actor instead. It will probably only happen if a genuinely a-list star comes out of the closet, which would hopefully prove to Hollywood that most people don’t care any longer and audiences will still go and watch a gay actor in mainstream leading roles.
It’s interesting that for many years, in Britain it’s almost been a backwards situation, where there are so many openly gay actors that no one pays attention anymore, and it’s easy not to know if someone if gay or straight, even if someone’s been out for years, but it’s certainly not that way in the US.
TIM ISAAC
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