Since this is a movie site, first and foremost, I want to say a loud THANK YOU to honor those brave souls in the oft-timid and regressive entertainment industry who are "out." In order to make this post manageable though I've restricted this to movie people... so my apologies to cancer-beating powerhouse rock chicks, folk/rock stars who survived Gay Hell, TV talk show comediennes and their Arrested Development girlfriends, and graying CNN super-stars, as well as many many theater celebrities ("Don't you just love theatah people?"). After the names of the GLBT talent I've listed a recent movie plus an earlier key work in their career and/or reason for their fame in case you are drawing a blank.
This post is dedicated (with nudge and wink) to Clarice Starling, Ellie Arroway, Iris Steensma and the woman who gave them all life.
Anywayyyyyyy. The Film Experience salutes:
Pedro Almodovar (director ofTalk To Her, All About My Mother)
Jane Anderson (writer/director of Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio and Normal)
Alexis Arquette (The Trip, Wigstock, brother to Rosanna and Patricia)
Jackie Beat (Adam & Steve, Grief, drag super-stardom)
Sandra Bernhard (Searching for Bobby D, The King of Comedy and a lot of TV & concert work)
Saffron Burrows (Troy, Enigma, Miss Julie)
Simon Callow (Phantom of the Opera, A Room with a View)
Craig Chester (Adam & Steve, Swoon)
Alan Cumming (X2, a ton of supporting roles, and Cabaret on Broadway)
Stephen Daldry (director of The Hours, Billy Elliott)
Rupert Everett (Separate Lies, My Best Friends Wedding, Dance With a Stranger))
Harvey Fierstein (Duplex, Torch Song Trilogy & Broadway superstardom)
Steven Fry (Hitchhikers Guide, Wilde, novelist, frequent host of the BAFTAs)
Malcolm Gets (Adam & Steve, TVs Caroline in the City)
Sara Gilbert (Riding in Cars with Boys, TVs Roseanne)
Jason Gould (Boys Life 3, son of Barbra Streisand)
John Greyson (director of Proteus, Lilies)
Todd Haynes (writer/director of Far From Heaven, Safe)
James Ivory (director of The White Countess, Howards End)
Nathan Lane (The Producers, The Birdcage & Broadway superstardom)
Jane Lynch (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Best in Show)
Cherry Jones (The Village, Cradle Will Rock, & Broadway superstardom)
Miranda July (writer, director, star of Me You and Everyone We Know)
Sir Ian McKellen (Asylum, Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters)
John Cameron Mitchell (writer, director, star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
Sarah Paulson (Serenity, Down With Love, plus Broadway and TV work)
Anthony Rapp (Rent, Adventures in Babysitting, plus Broadway work)
Bryan Singer (director of X-Men, X2, The Usual Suspects)
Lily Tomlin (I Heart Huckabees, Nashville, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe)
Christine Vachon (producer of Mrs Harris, Far From Heaven, Boys Don't Cry)
John Waters (writer and director of A Dirty Shame, Hairspray, Pink Flamingos)
Gus Van Sant (director of Last Days, Good Will Hunting, My Own Private Idaho)
Let me know if I forgot anyone (living and working). And while we're on the freedom and respect for all train, here is yet another reason to love Julianne Moore (as if another reason were needed). God bless!
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20 comments:
Things I didn't know before reading this: Jane Lynch, Cherry Jones, Sarah Paulson, Anthony Rapp.
Also, isn't Jodie Foster out to pretty much everyone who knows her anyway? I always thought the only people she wasn't telling were the media (and, by extension, us).
Oh and also, duh, Happy Coming Out Day! Seriously, y'all, it's so much better once you do.
In lieu of Hallmark coming up with a greeting card in celebration (just guessing they haven't), Happy Day!
College credit cards - what?!
Rob
Nice shout out to Jodie... and Ellen, Portia, and especially my darling Rufus.
Also, love the Juli clip, but she's just wearing TOO much lipstick there... something tells me she wasn't in charge of her own makeup.
Happy Coming Out Day to you, too! I didn't know about Sara Gilbert and Jane Lynch... And you forgot director Adam Shankman (he with the bad movies - "Bringing Down The House", "The Pacifier") etc.
And speaking of Jodie - is it true that Sean Hayes and David Hyde Pierce (I know, they're TV...) aren't out, either?
it's true that Sean Hayes is not out, yes. He claims it's for his career (and lord knows he is often cast as the hetero leading man [/snort])
I've heard both out and not-out about David Hyde Pierce though like Jodie it is common knowledge.
oh and fun tidbit:
Cherry Jones & Sarah Paulson are actually a couple. They came to the Tonys together...and Cherry, ever the honest activist thanked her in her acceptance speech.
Didn't know about Cherry Jones. She co-starred in a recent Mel Gibson movie though, so I suppose Mel didn't know either, ey?
Some of those others I also didn't know, but I'm glad I do.
I can't think of any others, but I'll let you know if I do.
(Adam Shankman's directing the remake of Hairspray)
-Glenn
Excellent post Nathaniel! Way to represent!
i vaguely remember david hyde pierce once saying "my life is an open book...just don't expect me to read it to you".
let's not forget adam elliot, winner of best animated short ('harvie krumpet') who thanked his boyfriend onstage at the oscars. now that's out.
Daivd Hyde Pierce, Victor Garber, and John Mahoney are pretty much out.
Ahh, Victor Garber. TV's gayest badass. Love him.
victor garber is gay?
victor garber is gay?
And I also didn't know about John Hahoney. I know he was in The Broken Hearts Club, but is he actually gay?
-Glenn
I also just remembered: Roger Bart
And, also, I'm reading an article in the NYPost about gay oriented films and they mention Craig Lucas, the writer and director of The Dying Gaul (also a playwright).
That article also said Peter Sarsgaard was Oscar-nominated for Kinsey... hmmm, odd.
-Glenn
I didn't think Roger Bart was gay.. (in response to an above comment) I didn't know Jodie Foster or Sean Hayes were gay, either. There's one person I know who's missing...he's in The Birdcage and Urbania. I can't remember his name but I think he's gay, too.
Yay for National Coming Out Day!
Oh yeah! I was reading that James Dean was a closeted gay who maintained a heterosexual marriage for obvious reasons considering the era in which he was alive and famous. It's known that he had several long-term relationships with men. Is this true?
i don't know about roger bart.
Jodie has always refused to discuss it openly. Bu then (to her credit) she is like this with everything personal so it's possibly not a 'i'm scared for people to know i'm a lesbian' thing and therefore i think gay fans let it slide.
Sean is just another story altogether. so annoying. I mean, hell, even Megan Mulally will talk about her bisexuality. what gives with him?
i don't know much about Dean's actual preference but it is true that he had male lovers (but so did Marlon Brando... and nobody really considers him gay) --they were both part of the NY theater scene prior to their film stardom and that's where all the stories come from.
when it comes to classic male movie stars there's also tons of denied stories about Cary Grant (who lived with Randolph Scott, another dreamy Hollywood guy) and Danny Kaye and Laurence Olivier were rumored to be lovers as well.
but this post was about living stars who are actually out ;) so sorry for the tangent.
"There's one person I know who's missing...he's in The Birdcage and Urbania. I can't remember his name but I think he's gay, too."
Dan Futterman. Who wrote the CAPOTE script, if I'm not mistaken. I'd always assumed he was gay and out, but I can't speak with any authority on that. He's adorable, either way.
B.D. Wong was another I'd always assumed was gay and out, but I can't remember reading anything definitive. IMDb needs to keep a list or something.
yes BD wong is out and an activist. But he's more of a TV guy which is why he isn't on the list.
Dan Futterman is straight, though very gay-friendly (and he does not shy away from gay roles).
Roger Bart is straight, too (though I can certainly understand why he might be thought to be otherwise).
Another two for the out list - Bill Condon and Rob Marshall (Condon especially has always been out - I don't know if Marshall's technically out, but I know he's not "in" either).
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