William Haines
William Haines never actually came out, but he also didn’t exactly hide the fact that he was gay. For almost 50 years, Haines was in a relationship with Jimmie Shields.
“My happiness with Jimmy is more important than my career in your lousy motion pictures, Mr. Mayer,” Haines is documented to have said.
In William J. Mann’s Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines,Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Star, Mann writes that, in 1926- Haines met Shields. “I think Billy picked him up on the street,” said Arch Case, who became a friend in the 1950s. Mann discussed how Shields’ and Haines relationship was actually the first openly gay relationship in Hollywood.
Age: Dec. at 73 (1900-1973)
Birthplace: USA, Virginia
