This authority with which a man unknown to both can speak on a marriage which ended nearly seven decades ago is exemplary of a common theory, shared by myself, on Minnelli’s potential closetedness.
Levy speaks candidly, perhaps harshly, and with an air of authority, of Minnelli and Garland. History remembers the careers of men whose image has been shaped by their coming out, Freddie Mercury and Elton John to name just two immortalised recently in cinematic biographies. This reinvention, delving into the flamboyancy he is so fondly remembered for, may also have catalysed his reinvention into the image of an acceptable straight man. Minnelli is known to have reinvented himself from humble beginnings, the son of a ‘tent theater’ musical director and touring performer, into a ‘snobbish’ preconceived image of what it was to be an artist. Barrington March 14, 2019Įither Minnelli was bisexual all along, discovered or changed within himself over the course of his life and career, or the saddest option of all: that a director, artist, and human being adored across Hollywood lived the majority of his life hidden. Gene Kelly with director Vincente Minnelli on the set of An American in Paris (1951) /CUwdrvPN45- Conrad J. As much as we can understand Minnelli did not ‘choose’ to become gay, we must know he did not choose to alter his inherent sexuality to be with the women he was. Despite this interview only being little under a decade old, the latter statement feels centuries more antiquated.
Levy characterises Minnelli as having ‘a troubled sexuality’ in an interview with Advocate, as well as stating he believes Minnelli ‘chose to become bisexual’. There seems to be a vast quantity of evidence pointing to the fact that Minnelli was openly gay in New York, before a move to Hollywood forced him back into the closet.
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While his own autobiography, I Remember It Well, manages skillfully to avoid the topic at all, other authors have taken it upon themselves to lift the veil.Īlongside Griffin, legendary film critic Emanuel Levy delved into the director’s complex legacy with the first full length Minnelli biography in 2009. Minnelli was wildly flamboyant and adored the stylistic side of dramatics, and his closest confidants purportedly ‘never doubted his true identity’. Whether Kelly and Minnelli had an affair or not, the theories have emerged from multiple sources. With rumours that Kelly had feelings for a male stand-in, this theory seems to have legs of its own. Emerging in other extracts in Griffin’s book are the recounts that Garland was ‘paranoid’ about Minnelli’s bond with Garland’s coworker, the eternally handsome and charming Gene Kelly. One major player in the rumour mill was the aforementioned first wife, Garland. Robert Alton /wmYMbRhXi4- Dancer on Film February 28, 2019 Judy Garland performing "Mack the Black" in THE PIRATE (1948) dir. So where did this legacy come from to begin with, and how has it survived so tenaciously in the years since his death? In Mark Griffin’s words in A Hundred or More Hidden Things: ‘Despite the fact that Minnelli was married to Judy Garland and three other women…it was generally assumed that he was a closeted gay man who, due to the societal conditioning of his era, felt compelled to marry and procreate.’ In others, the assertions are widely disregarded and disputed. Minnelli is widely recognised in certain circles without debate as a gay man. Four times married, with two children, he has a striking and deeply contented second legacy, one debatably as a closeted gay man. Vincente Minnelli is widely known for directing spectacular theatrical and cinematic musicals, comedies, and melodramas, as well as fathering Liza Minnelli with the equally talented Judy Garland, who he met onset for Strike Up The Band (1940) and fell in love with onset for Meet Me in St. He is remembered as one of the great filmmakers of the 1940s, but his key biographers believe he was also an early example of a gay or bisexual man working in a less than accepting environment.
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By Leah Martindale, Third Year, Film & TV
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