Michael (1924): Carl Theodor Dreyer's Inic Gay Silent Film, Starrg Walter Slezak | Emanuel Levy

HOLLYWOOD’S FIRST GAY MARRIAGE

One of the biggt challeng facg silent film historians today is this, “Whout sound, jt how are you supposed to tell if your favore silent era film star was gay?” Whout sound, there’s no tell-tale lisp; no guttural bulldog growl mblg om an otherwise mure, dove-whe throat. The qutn of silent era sexualy has ed […] * gay actor silent films *

Hollywood’s First Gay Marriage.

The story of William Ha is remembered, if ’s remembered at all, as the story of the first openly gay Hollywood star.

SILENT FILMS, RATED BY GAYNS

* gay actor silent films *

And through all he was, proudly, one-half of Hollywood’s first openly gay marriage. That Ha was livg openly wh another man, thereby stroyg any possibily that he might not be gay, ially did absolutely nothg to impact Ha’ populary around town or at his home stud.

For years, everyone at MGM had known that William Ha was gay and livg wh a man he loved. Members of the Hollywood gay scene of the time believe that Billy had taken the h for Jimmy, who had been arrted a bar or a park, where he was known to cise. We know that many other stars Hollywood had gay relatnships, but most prented themselv as straight when told to.

Billy’s old iend Archie Leach, for stance, is acknowledged now by many bgraphers to have lived as a gay man before he me to Hollywood and to have ntued relatnships wh men after he beme Cary Grant. Homosexualy the Silent Cema.