Remember When Gore Vidal Said He Secretly Turned Charlton Hton’s ‘Ben-Hur’ Into a Thwarted Gay Romance?

charles heston gay

Gore Vidal always hted at a sexual element between the Jewish prce and his Roman betrayer, but the remake seems unterted explorg gay subtext

Contents:

HOW CHARLTON HTON PLAYED A GAY MAN WHOUT KNOWG ‘BEN-HUR’

* charles heston gay *

Charlton Hton, who played Judah Ben-Hur, reacted furly when he was spoken to about the homoerotic nnotatns.

He fed the revelatn as “ridiculo” Time magaze, and he lled the documentary’s producer to ny that Ben-Hur was a homosexual.

Tim: “Vidal’s claim that he slipped a scene implyg a homosexual relatnship between the two men sults Willy Wyler and, I have to say, irrat the hell out of me.

THE HIDN HOMOSEXUAL HISTORY OF "BEN-HUR"DO THE NEW REMAKE KEEP THE GAY SUBTEXT?{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}MOVIBY CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPHAUGT 17, 2016/5:34 PMBY CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPHAUGT 17, 2016 / 5:34 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"THE HIDN HOMOSEXUAL HISTORY OF \"BEN-HUR\"","DATEPUBLISHED":"2016-08-17T21:34:32.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2016-08-17T21:34:32.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPH","ARTICLESECTN":"MOVI"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IT'S HOLLYWOOD LEGEND THAT THE 1959 VERSN OF BEN-HUR—THAT WENT ONTO W A RERD 11 OSRS—HAD A GAY ROMANCE THAT MANY DIENCE MEMBERS NEVER PICKED UP {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE HIDN GAY RELATNSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO MA CHARACTERS WAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT THE 1995 DOCUMENTARY THE CELLULOID CLOSET WHEN GORE VIDAL REVEALED THAT HE WAS BROUGHT ON THE FILM AS A SCRIPT DOCTOR AND REWROTE SCEN TO "HT HEAVILY AT A PRR SEXUAL RELATNSHIP BETWEEN CHARLTON HTON’S TLE CHARACTER AND HIS CHILDHOOD IEND (AND LATER BETRAYER) MSALA (STEPHEN BOYD)," REPORTS THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AFTER VIDAL'S MENTS THE FILM'S STAR CHARLTON HTON WROTE TO THE LOS ANGEL TIM BLASTG HIM FOR TARNISHG A HOLLYWOOD CLASSIC WH HOMOSEXUALY—BUT HTON DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE RELATNSHIP BETWEEN BEN-HUR AND MSALA BEE NO ONE TOLD HIM BEFORE THE SHOOT. VIDAL DID NFIRM THAT "HE HAD DISCSED THE MATTER WH BOYD, WHO DULY FOLLOWED THE SCREENWRER’S LEAD FOR THE KEY SCENE WHICH THE BOYHOOD CHUMS MEET AGA AFTER MANY YEARS APART."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}EVEN DIRECTOR WILLIAM WYLER ME AROUND TO VIDAL'S REASONG FOR THE NEED OF A PAST ROMANCE BETWEEN THE TWO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}VIDAL EXPLAED THIS HIS LETTER TO THE L.A. TIM:{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE TOLD THE STORY OF HOW, FACED WH A HOPELS SCRIPT FOR BEN-HUR, I PERSUAD THE PRODUCER, SAM ZIMBALIST (THIS WAS AN MGM FILM AND THE WRER WORKED NOT WH THE DIRECTOR BUT THE PRODUCER; LATER THE DIRECTOR, THIS SE WILLIAM WYLER, WEIGHED ) THAT THE ONLY WAY ONE ULD JTIFY SEVERAL HOURS OF HATRED BETWEEN TWO LADS – AND ALL THOSE HORS – WAS TO TABLISH, WHOUT SAYG SO WORDS, AN AFFAIR BETWEEN THEM AS BOYS; THEN, WHEN RNED AT PICTURE’S START, THE ROMAN, PLAYED BY STEPHEN BOYD, WANTS TO PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF AND THE JEW, HTON, SPURNS HIM." {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"THIS IS THE SCENE THAT WAS SHOT AND THIS IS THE SCENE THAT VIEWERS OF THE CELLULOID CLOSET WATCHED, WH MY MENTARY. LOS ANGEL TIM FILM CRIC KENH TURAN WROTE THAT “SEEG AN APPROPRIATE CLIP MAK A STRONG SE FOR THE TTH OF VIDAL’S ASSERTN THAT BOYD WAS ON THE SCHEME WHILE HTON WAS NOT.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SO DO THE NEW BEN-HUR REMAKE KEEP THE GAY SUBTEXT TACT?{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IT WASN’T SOMETHG WE AVOID BUT WASN’T SOMETHG WE HAD,” SAID TOBY KEBBELL—WHO PLAYS MSALA THE LATT VERSN—AT THIS WEEK'S L.A. PREMIERE. “IN 1959, THE GAY NTEXT WAS VERY IMPORTANT. THEY NEED A VOICE. YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO HI THE DARK ABOUT SOMETHG YOU FEEL AND YOU’RE GROWN WH. THAT WAS THEIR OWN THG THEY WANTED TO PORTRAY AND WE DIDN’T NEED TO. IT’S A DIFFERENT TIME, THANKFULLY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF THAT WAS TE THAT FILM,” PRODUCER ROMA DOWNEY (Y, OM TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL) TOLD THE IRISH EXAMER. “HERE WE HAVE TWO BROTHERS. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. THEY’RE RAISED THE SAME HOEHOLD AND ’S SO TRAGIC TO SEE THEIR FAY JT RIPPED APART.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SOMEHOW WE THK VIDAL WOULD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BEN-HUR IS THEATERS AUGT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}H/T: THE IRISH {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Is Charlton Hton Gay? Come and learn what has been said lately about this and what's Charlton Hton sayg about this. * charles heston gay *

In most peplums, the homoerotic subtext is visual, which is more obv but also more easily disrd, ” Corneli explas to ICON. ”But gay dienc’ tert Roman movi go beyond nuendo or sexualized athetics.

They create muni that gays feel they uld belong to. The acerbic wrer Gore Vidal once said that there was, his opn, “no such thg as a homosexual or a heterosexual person”. “There are only homo or heterosexual acts.

IS CHARLTON HTON GAY?

Our celebratn of post-war gay, bisexual, and straight movie stars wearg next to nothg at all. * charles heston gay *

For the release of the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, which revealed the gay subtexts a number of famo Hollywood movi, the celebrated playwright, sayist and thor of ntroversial 1948 novel The Cy and the Pillar revealed he rewrote scen the early part of the 1959 biblil epic Ben-Hur to ht heavily at a prr sexual relatnship between Charlton Hton’s tle character and his childhood iend (and later betrayer) Msala (Stephen Boyd) revelatn ed a storm the letters pag of the Los Angel Tim 1996, wh Hton accg Vidal of exaggeratg his part wrg the screenplay and nigratg the good name of the film’s director, William Wyler. In his reply to the Tim, Vidal revealed there was good reason for the film’s star to have been unaware of the Ben-Hur/Msala relatnship’s gay subtext, as no one had dared tell him about before the shoot. Asked if the new versn would addrs Vidal’s readg of the relatnship between Ben-Hur and Msala, Kebbell told the UK Prs Associatn: “It wasn’t somethg we avoid but wasn’t somethg we had, ” then add: “In 1959, the gay ntext was very important.

”So here we have one key st member suggtg there is no need for a gay readg bee the battle for equaly has been won 2016. At a time when Glaad has repeatedly lled on Hollywood to improve the visibily of posive gay characters major movi – pecially given the promence of LGBT leads on the small screen h TV shows such as Orange is the New Black – would surely have ma more sense to explore Vidal’s readg. It's Hollywood legend that the 1959 versn of Ben-Hur—that went onto w a rerd 11 Osrs—had a gay romance that many dience members never picked up hidn gay relatnship between the two ma characters was brought to light the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet when Gore Vidal revealed that he was brought on the film as a script doctor and rewrote scen to "ht heavily at a prr sexual relatnship between Charlton Hton’s tle character and his childhood iend (and later betrayer) Msala (Stephen Boyd), " reports The Vidal's ments the film's star Charlton Hton wrote to the Los Angel Tim blastg him for tarnishg a Hollywood classic wh homosexualy—but Hton didn't know about the relatnship between Ben-Hur and Msala bee no one told him before the shoot.

”So do the new Ben-Hur remake keep the gay subtext tact?

DEATH OF SCREEN IN WHO OPPOSED GAY EQUALY

“In 1959, the gay ntext was very important. Hton may not have known a very important thg about the most famo character he played: That Ben-Hur was gay, and had at some pot been romantilly volved wh Msala (the iend-turned-betrayer).

Apparently, Hton was not okay wh homosexualy at all. Vidal revealed that this had been the implied assertn the bathhoe scene between Ben-Hur and Msala many years later his documentary, The Celluloid Closet, about portrayals of homosexualy Hollywood. This is spe all the evince that clearly shows that the famo pater uld ed have been gay.

Charlton Hton has never ma any public statement about this, so all mors about if Charlton Hton is gay rema pletely unfound and unproven.

REMEMBER WHEN GORE VIDAL SAID HE SECRETLY TURNED CHARLTON HTON’S ‘BEN-HUR’ INTO A THWARTED GAY ROMANCE?

However, you n still fd people that say Charlton Hton is gay, but their ments have no nsistency or accuracy of any kd. In any se, celebri too often refe to talk about their private liv, so we never know if they are gay or straight. We'll be more than happy if you share wh any h news about the qutn - Is Charlton Hton gay?

Ameri didn’t tst you wh gays the ary. Although Hton talked about and praised the “brilliantly talented homosexuals” he worked wh durg his reer, he was often acced of beg homophobic, pecially later his life. In a 1997 speech at the Free Congrs Foundatn’s 20th Anniversary Gala, Hton was cricised by gay rights groups, cludg GLAAD, for rogatory remarks ma toward the gay muny.

GORE VIDAL’S SPAT WH CHARLTON HTON OVER GAY ‘BEN-HUR’ SUBTEXT

In the speech, Hton monstrated both tolerance and discrimatn agast gays almost equal measure. “Many homosexuals are hugely talented artists and executiv… also ar iends, ” he said.

“As long as gay and lbian Amerins are as productive, law-abidg and private as the rt of , I thk Ameri ow them absolute tolerance. “But on the other hand, I fd my blood prsure risg when Clton’s cultural shock troops participate homosexual-rights fund-raisers but boytt gun-rights fund-raisers, and then claim ’s time to place homosexual men tents wh Boy Suts, and suggt that sperm donor babi born to lbian relatnships are somehow better served and more loved.

Contrastg his anti-gay statements over the years, Hton is notable for playg several gay posive characters film, cludg Michelangelo The Agony and the Ecstasy, and his most crilly acclaimed film, Ben Hur, penned by openly gay in Gore Vidal.

HOW CHARLTON HTON PLAYED A GAY MAN WHOUT KNOWG 'BEN-HUR'

Hton, however, claimed publicly that none of the characters he habed were tend to have gay subtext. But there was a fascatg si note to the 1959 productn that some movie fans might not remember: Des after the movie premiered, Ben-Hur screenwrer and all-around man of letters Gore Vidal claimed that he’d serted a gay romantic subtext to the scen between Judah Ben-Hur and his childhood iend turned enemy, Msala (played by Stephen Boyd), whout Hton’s knowledge.

IS CHARLTON HTON GAY

” However, there is one person who adamantly nied that Ben-Hur had any gay subtext. “Vidal’s claim that he slipped a scene implyg a homosexual relatnship between the two men sults Willy Wyler and, I have to say, irrat the hell out of me, ” Hton wrote a 1996 letter to the LA Tim, followg the but of The Celluloid Closet on HBO.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* CHARLES HESTON GAY

Is charlton hton gay? - Answers.

TOP