Clifton Webb: Being Queer During the Golden Age

 

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to pop on the blog and tell the story of a pioneering gay icon of Hollywood's Golden Age.  While it's hard to find sources that can confirm he was openly gay during the height of his stardom in the 40s and 50s, it has been said time and time again that his sexuality was an open secret in the industry. Queer or not, Webb portrayed soft-spoken characters, stepping outside of the hyper-masculine gender roles of the time. 

I want to start by sharing how much I adore Clifton Webb. I discovered him in one of my favorite noirs: Laura. He plays the gossip columnist best friend to Gene Tierney's Laura. If you have never seen this film, I couldn't recommend it more. Webb's character is flamboyant and could certainly be viewed as queer in the context of his performance. His portrayal of Waldo in the film feels so genuine. 

Though Webb played a gossip columnist on the silver screen, he couldn't prevent conversations of his sexuality from constantly being had in real-life media. He was linked romantically to James Dean, though there is no proof of this to be found. He never married and was never seen out on dates. Everyone associated him with his love for his mother who was his date to parties and movie premieres. 

Often awarded the honor of best dressed in Hollywood, Webb seemed to be held to many stereotypes. His sexuality is assumed because of the way he acted, dressed, looked, and talked. He was not afraid to act outside of the strictly-enforced gender roles of the 40s and 50s. 

However, we do have some proof that Webb was not exactly straight. He was known to hit on young men at parties. His coworker and my enemy (we'll get to this someday soon), Robert Wagner, stated that he knew Clifton was gay but he never hit on him. Scotty Bowers, the author of Full Service, a book I have a lot of issues with, said he arranged gay tricks for Webb, though I don't believe much of what Bowers wrote. More signs point to Webb as queer than they do anything else.

Webb did what he could in the era he lived in. When he passed away in the 60s, the Stonewall Riots were still years away. Being openly gay was not exactly an option. Regardless of staying closeted, knowing that his sexuality was something people during the Golden Age knew about, and seemingly accepted, paved the way for the future of LGBT actors in Hollywood.

Clifton Webb is buried in my favorite cemetery, Hollywood Forever. It's rumored that his resting place is haunted. I'm not sure I've ever felt that, but I like the idea of him hanging around those going to pay their respects to him.