# What celebrities are homosexual, but are often thought not to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927 "2005-03-23T20:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/81 "2005-03-24T21:15:18Z")
[A blogger’s secret love for Hall & Oats](http://www.goblinbox.com/blog/archives/000538.html) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/82 "2005-03-24T21:47:55Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Hall & Oates have never lived in Boston. They’re from Philadelphia. > > Daryl Hall (the blond one) and his girlfriend Sara Allen (the inspiration for the song _Sara Smile_) were together for 30 years, and had a son in 1984. News to me. Maybe I put too much trust in my ex. Okay, okay. I recant it. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/83 "2005-03-24T22:26:12Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I think the complete version includes “over 40, single, live with my mother & work in the musical theatre”. According to [this site](http://www.quotationreference.com/quotefinder.php?byax=1&strt=1&subj=Nathan+Lane), it’s > [@](#): > > “Look, I’m 40, I’m single, and I work in musical theater–you do the math!” (Nathan Lane, in response to a question on his sexuality, The New York Post, November 8th, 2000) I was surprised by Portia de Rossi and Richard Chamberlain. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/84 "2005-03-24T22:32:28Z")
I was surprised to learn that Emily Dickenson wasn’t the shut-in all the bios make her out to be, but a lesbian carrying on an affair with sister-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/85 "2005-03-24T22:33:19Z")
Wait - **Rula Lenska** is gay? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/86 "2005-03-24T23:04:29Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > According to [this site](http://www.quotationreference.com/quotefinder.php?byax=1&strt=1&subj=Nathan+Lane), it’s > > > [@](#): > > > > “Look, I’m 40, I’m single, and I work in musical theater–you do the math!” (Nathan Lane, in response to a question on his sexuality, The New York Post, November 8th, 2000) Yeah, well, I’m 41, I’ve never been married, I’ve done musical theater, and I’m straight. Check your axioms, Nathan! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/87 "2005-03-24T23:50:21Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > I was surprised by Portia de Rossi… I was SO depressed when I found out she was gay. All the damn time, if I’m attracted to a woman, odds are she’s a lesbian. Dammit. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/88 "2005-03-25T01:47:48Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > Freddie Mercury named his band “Queen” and had a huge hit based on operatic arias. People were _really_ surprised to find out he was gay?? I have always wondered about this myself. I can see not wanting to make assumptions, especially about rock musicians of the 1970s, but how could anyone actually be _surprised_? The only explanation I can think of is that it was a kind of “purloined letter” situation, where people assumed that no _real_ gay man would dare _seem_ so gay. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/89 "2005-03-25T02:04:41Z")
I blame it on clueless people. But seriouly, I was moderatly surprissed to realize that Richard Franklin, who plays Captain Mike Yates on Doctor Who, is gay. [http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/guide/unit.html](http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/guide/unit.html) ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/90 "2005-03-25T03:13:01Z")
Anderson Cooper surprised me, but I might have heard that one before. I don’t think I’d heard about James Dean though. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/91 "2005-03-25T04:27:04Z")
Tab Hunter was/is gay and is writing an autobio with emphasis on closeted celebrities of the Golden Era. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/92 "2005-03-25T04:28:52Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > I was surprised to learn that Emily Dickenson wasn’t the shut-in all the bios make her out to be, but a lesbian carrying on an affair with sister-in-law. Literary critic Harold Bloom wrote in 2004, > [@](#): > > There were three major instances of Dickinson’s actual erotic interests: the Reverend Charles Wadsworth, Samuel Bowles, and Judge Otis Lord. Wadsworth, to some degree, may have reciprocated; Bowles, because of his circumstances, did not. But after Judge Lord became a widower, he and Dickinson were in something close to a secret marriage. . . . I find nothing in the poems (or letters) to indicate that Dickinson’s bond (frequently strained) to her difficult sister-in-law Sue was sexual, whereas the erotic suffering so common to Dickinson’s poetry has much to do with the loss of (or failure to obtain) Wadsworth, Bowles, and Lord. ---
**Author:** ![Zhen\_ka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zhen\_ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zhen_ka)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/93 "2005-03-25T05:34:08Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > I’d heard rumors that John Mahoney was gay, but is it a “known” fact? Heck, I was more surprised to find out that he’s British! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/94 "2005-03-25T06:18:22Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > Anderson Cooper surprised me, but I might have heard that one before. Ohh, but those pretty blue eyes… sigh… I moseyed on over to the aforementioned Wikipedia site and was surprised by the sheer number of “undebated” gay and bi people in Hollywood (though now that I take a closer look, it seems a little skimpy after all). Heather Matarazzo? Who knew? (well, not many people, apparently, until she mentioned her girlfriend in the NYTimes). But David Geffen? I mean, he’s obviously, painfully gay, but doesn’t getting married to a woman provide some room for debate (or does suing her for battery cancel that out?)? Funnily enough, aren’t the Village People managers trying to make them seem less gay? I could’ve sworn I heard about it on a late night talk show, where I get all of my news these days, but I can’t recall which one. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/95 "2005-03-25T06:21:13Z")
I suspect that one of my favorite actors of all time might be gay, but if so, he’s very good at keeping a secret: **Kevin Spacey** The man’s a genius. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/96 "2005-03-25T06:49:14Z")
Another vote for Portia de Rossi. Damn shame for the heterosexual male to lose her. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/97 "2005-03-25T07:13:45Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > I suspect that one of my favorite actors of all time might be gay, but if so, he’s very good at keeping a secret: **Kevin Spacey** Except for that cover story in the October 1997 issue of _Esquire_ magazine, titled [Kevin Spacey Has a Secret](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmesq/is_199710/ai_kepm180321). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/98 "2005-03-25T07:33:18Z")
RE Daryl Hall- I vaguely remember him on TV discussing going through a time of active bi-ness, but not actually being involved with John Oates. The Emily Dickinson mention reminds me- later in her life, Elizabeth Borden apparently kept house with a woman friend. Oh, I’m sorry- you know her better as ‘Lizzie’. And now you know- the rest of the story. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/99 "2005-03-25T07:40:00Z")
Actually, her full name at birth was Lizzie Andrew Borden, not Elizabeth. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/100 "2005-03-25T08:44:41Z")
I’ve been a huge Kevin Spacey fan since Usual Suspects, but dude can’t sing. He’s a great actor, no doubt. His friends tell him “Of course your singing is divine”, and so do the people that also make money from him. But, it’s not quite true. His Bobby Darin Movie featured him “singing” a few tunes that weren’t that hard for any actor to cover. I love him as an actor, but as a singer, he’s not fit to carry the jock of Frank, Dean, Bing, or Mel. Number of actors with succesfull music side projects: 0. He needs to stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927.md?page=6)