Out Spotlight XII- Valentine's Edition

Quick, can you name the top box office draw of 1930? No? Well, probably the reason for that is because it's William Haines, the first out gay actor who bucked the Hollywood system and he is largely forgotten today. Haines appeared in films such as Brown of Harvard, The Midnight Express, and Sally, Irene, and Mary. Haines was one of the few actors to successfully transition from silent films to talkies. His forte was as a comic actor, usually playing an affable rogue who takes nothing seriously until there is a tragedy that wises him up. Then he gets the girl.

William Haines' problem was that he was an open homosexual. Since 1926, Haines had lived openly as a couple with Jimmy Shields, who was his stand-in for one of his films. Studios kept Haines' sexual orientation from the press, but Haines was known to make comments that alluded to it and also brought Shields with him to premieres. In 1933, Haines was arrested when he picked up a sailor in LA. MGM head Louis B. Mayer gave him an ultimatum, make a "lavender marriage" and give up Shields, or Haines was out. Haines chose Shields and they were ultimately together for 50 years. Mayer terminated Haines' contract and he acted in a few films after that, but could not keep his career going.

In 1930, Shields and Haines had bought an antique store and both were interested in interior design. When Haines' career foundered, the men turned to this occupation full-time. Their business was a huge success and they found themselves with many Hollywood folks as clients. They are credited with single-handedly creating the California Style. The men moved to Malibu after they were accused by a neighbor of propositioning his son and beaten. Many famous folks came to the couple's aid and urged them to report the attack to the police, including Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Kay Francis, Charles Boyer, and Marion Davies. The men did not report the incident and settled into Malibu, and they are largely credited with making Malibu fashionable.

The couple lived together and Haines never returned to films, despite his friend Gloria Swanson extending him a personal invitation to be in the film Sunset Boulevard in 1950. Joan Crawford described them as, "the happiest married couple in Hollywood." And they remained so until Haines' death from lung cancer in 1973. Six months later, Shields, probably suffering from Alzheimer's, put on Haines' pajamas, took an overdose of pills, and got into their bed to die. His suicide note read, "It's no good without Billy." They are buried side by side.

The interior design business that Haines and Shields built continues to this day. Check out their amazing interiors at their website- http://www.williamhaines.com/. For more on William Haines, check out this book- Wisecracker, The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star, by William J. Mann, written in 1998.

Billy and Jimmy Forever!















William Haines in 1928. Haines once said, "Design is an opinion, not a profession."









Haines and Shields in later years. The only photo I could find of them as a couple!