Gay History: Merv Griff’s Bodyguard of Li | timalrman

Contents:

• GAY HISTORY: MERV GRIFF’S BODYGUARD OF LI
• MERV GRIFF REPORTEDLY LED SECRET GAY LIFE SPE A WIFE & SON - MAN CLAIMED ENTERTAER FELL LOVE WH HIM
• PRIDE TV: THE QUIET GAY HEROES OF SIXTIES SITCOMS
• VILLAGE VOICE: ‘SHERMAN HEMSLEY WAS A GAY! DEAL WH IT!’
• MERV GRIFF WAS GAY AND EVERYONE IS FREAKG OUT
• 11 HISTORIL FIGUR YOU DIDN’T KNOW WERE GAY
• HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: MERV GRIFF WAS GAY
• WHO WAS MERV GRIFF, WAS HE GAY, WHAT WAS HIS NET WORTH, HOW DID HE DIE?
• WHERE IS MERV GRIFF TODAY? NET WORTH, WIFE, GAY. STILL ALIVE?

GAY HISTORY: MERV GRIFF’S BODYGUARD OF LI

”But how tremendoly sad is that a man of Merv’s renown, of his gregar nature and social xtery, would feel pelled to endure such a stealthy double life even as the gay muny’s clout, and s levels of acceptance and equaly, rose steadily om the ash of a powerful msage Griff might have sent had he squired his male panns around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good iend and platonic public pal. Image the amount of good Merv uld have done as a well-rpected, hugely succsful, beloved and uncloseted gay man embodyg a posive image.

MERV GRIFF REPORTEDLY LED SECRET GAY LIFE SPE A WIFE & SON - MAN CLAIMED ENTERTAER FELL LOVE WH HIM

Around the office, Merv’s beg gay was unrstood but rarely discsed (and certaly never wh him). We knew nothg of his relatnships bee he guard his privacy fiercely, and we didn’t ’s secret gay life was wily known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wir Ameri. Then aga, Merv rved his niche the entertament world at a time when beg gay wasn’t OK, when disclosure was unthkable and the allegatn alone uld ep-six one’s you’re Griff, why would you thk a judgmental culture would be any more tolerant as you grew to middle and old age?

Even the pal of entertament -- a bs where homosexualy isn’t exactly a rare phenomenon -- ’s still spoken of hhed ton or, more often, not at all.

PRIDE TV: THE QUIET GAY HEROES OF SIXTIES SITCOMS

" | Photo: Getty ImagGRIFFIN'S SEXUALITY AND DEATHMerv Griff was reportedly gay, and his sexualy was a well-known secret Hollywood. His fear of g out was ascribed to the possible effect on his reer when people did not accept homosexualy Hollywood. Sger Luther Vandross, wrer San Sontag and film director Ismail Merchant had all been acrd the privilege of “ng” by the prs, however open a secret their homosexualy had been while they were alive.

Nil nisi bonum appears to be the le for edors, and notg that a ceased famo person was gay certaly seems to unt as speakg evil. Still, the lawsus brought out to the open, if briefly, what had long been known Hollywood: namely, that the divorced father of one, and highly visible public rt of Eva Gabor, was also gay. The New York gay magaze Outweek troduced the practice of outg closeted public figur, mostly policians and show bs celebri who were unwillg to enlist the e of fightg AIDS.

When proment publisher Mallm Forb died Febary 1990, the exposure of his homosexual si was not long g.

VILLAGE VOICE: ‘SHERMAN HEMSLEY WAS A GAY! DEAL WH IT!’

The March 18, 1990, ver of OutWeek showed a photo of Mallm Forb on his motorcycle, wh the bold headle: “The Secret Gay Life of Mallm Forb.

MERV GRIFF WAS GAY AND EVERYONE IS FREAKG OUT

” The article, by Michelangelo Signorile, begs wh Forb’ funeral, notg the prence among the mourners of many proment homophob — Richard Nixon, William F. First, he noted that, “All too often history is distorted, ” and the fact that one of the most fluential men Ameri was gay should be rerd. ” The third reason Signorile gave was that this story illumated a choice ma by many gay people.

In rearchg the story Signorile tried to terview a gay man who had been close to Forb and his fay, someone who uld have shed light on “the real ner workgs of Forb’ md. Currently livg a closeted existence wh regard to his own fay and bs, he said, “My choice speakg to you is between myself and the greater gay muny. The day before Merv Griff’s funeral, the Hollywood Reporter, one of the dtry “bibl” read by everyone showbiz, ran a ont-page story by regular wrer Ray Richmond that began, “Merv Griff was gay.

” Richmond, who had worked for Griff the 1980s, went on to note that “Merv’s secret gay life was wily known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wir Ameri.

11 HISTORIL FIGUR YOU DIDN’T KNOW WERE GAY

Then aga, Merv rved his niche the entertament world at a time when beg gay wasn’t OK, when disclosure was unthkable and the allegatn alone uld ep-six one’s reer. Even the pal of entertament — a bs where homosexualy isn’t exactly a rare phenomenon — ’s still spoken of hhed ton or, more often, not at all. ”In the se of homosexualy, we beg wh a topic that already puts a stra on the l of journalism.

Former New York Tim lumnist Roger Wilks, the first black wrer appoted to the paper’s edorial board, said that durg his two years as the urban affairs lumnist the late 1970s, only three of his lumns were killed — and two of them were on gay topics. Durg the outg furor of the early 1990s, gay journalist Randy Shilts, while not supportg outg, did scribe the system clearly:.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: MERV GRIFF WAS GAY

Many of the ems are patently false and tend only to ver up the celebry’s homosexualy.

Edors who would never reveal that a public figure was gay have no problem wh routely sayg that same person is straight.

WHO WAS MERV GRIFF, WAS HE GAY, WHAT WAS HIS NET WORTH, HOW DID HE DIE?

The gossip wrers, many of them lbian or gay, who speculated about when Mallm Forb would marry Elizabeth Taylor, or when Merv Griff would marry Eva Gabor, knew what they were dog.

WHERE IS MERV GRIFF TODAY? NET WORTH, WIFE, GAY. STILL ALIVE?

When sger Luther Vandross died 2005, the media obuari polely ignored the wispread speculatn that he was gay.

The real problem is that the news media, which has no problem reuntg the endls het romanc of stars (real or alleged), is squeamish about even askg a star whether or not they are gay — how is this journalism? In Vandross’s suatn (as well as the posthumo media -gayg s of San Sontag and Ismail Merchant), the verage bends over backwards, strag any sense of credibily, to avoid any fact-fdg about the subject qutn that might reveal they were gay, even if the person was openly gay their social circl, but not to their fan base. In the age of Wikipedia, ’s a given that anyone terted enough to Google Merv would quickly get the gist of the story, if not the gory tails, or even the ls savory tails, such as those reunted by Michelangelo Signorile his 1993 book, “Queer Ameri, ” which an unnamed Hollywood “Mogul” is scribed as firg men om his pany for beg openly gay.