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Craig Hill, Judy Garland, John Paul
Davis
Queer Places:
8954 Norma Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Hollywood Forever
Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
John Carlyle (January 5, 1931 - May 27, 2003) was an American actor.
Show-biz memoirs are tricky to write, often tiresome to read, and frequently
hard to believe. But minor actor John Carlyle had an unusual perspective, a
good way with a story, self-deprecating humor, seeming candor, and encounters
with some of the most celebrated stars of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Thus, his
Under the Rainbow, An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland, Rock Hudson & My Life
in Hollywood makes fascinating reading. It's a coming out story, a chronicle
of the closeted gay life of the era, and a tale of his tumultuous friendship
and romance with Judy Garland.
He was born Carlyle Fairfax Posey into a patrician Baltimore family that
traced its ancestry back to Daniel Boone. His beautiful, aristocratic mother
died in childbirth. He was raised by a distant but supportive father,
stepmother, colorful relatives, and assorted servants. Educated in tony
private schools, he found himself attracted to other boys. Early on, he was
obsessed with theatre and movies. His favorite stars were Garland and Joan
Fontaine, two very different performers and people. While attending St. Paul's
School for Boys, he became "possessed" by Fontaine's performance in Rebecca
(1940), writing to her, asking her to sponsor its drama club, which she
graciously did. Over the years, they corresponded, then met, and socialized.
He was a guest at her Carmel Highlands home. An erudite woman with many
interests beyond acting, she would frustrate him by refusing to discuss her
career, saying that they could talk about anything else. His relationship with
Garland was more tortured, like the lady herself. He was an usher at New
York's Palace Theatre during Garland's legendary 19-week engagement in 1950.
At the closing-night party, his good looks momentarily captured her attention.
Four years later, gay agent Henry Willson
(who had discovered and named Rock
Hudson, among other handsome young men) got him a small part in Garland's
comeback film, A Star Is Born, directed by openly gay
George Cukor. During the shoot, he met
Garland, who made it clear she found him attractive. Unfortunately, his scenes
were cut.
Carlyle worked regularly on television, on stage in and around Los Angeles,
and toured in summer stock. In one production, he appeared with
Tom Drake, to whom Garland sang "The
Boy Next Door" in Meet Me In St. Louis. He and Drake would have a
one-night-stand, which is ironic, given his later relationship with Garland.
Through Willson, he met handsome actor
Craig Hill, with whom Marlene
Dietrich once had a fling. Over Willson's objections, the two began an
affair and moved in together. Willson lost interest in them, and their careers
suffered. But Carlyle met and befriended the mercurial, heavy-drinking Rock
Hudson, who complained about having to live in a closet to secure his success.
Carlyle became friends with another aspiring actor,
Robert Osborne, later the affable
and informative host on Turner Classic Movies and author of a warm
introduction to Under the Rainbow. In 1962, Osborne introduced him to
Mark Herron, to whom Carlyle lost the
lead in The Sleeping Prince at a Los Angeles theatre a decade earlier. Herron
was involved with Garland and would marry her. Through him, Carlyle met his
idol. After Garland divorced Herron, Carlyle became her lover. Garland's life
was rapidly spinning out of control. Her television series had been cancelled
and she was growing more unreliable as a performer, although her hold on the
public's affection remained firm. But their alcohol- and drug-fueled
relationship was unhealthy, and her mood swings proved too much for him. Her
death in 1969 left him bereft.
A modest income from a trust fund and small
legacies allowed Carlyle to avoid too many non-acting jobs, and to travel to
Europe several times. He bought income property on Norma Place in West
Hollywood. Neighbors included writer Dorothy Parker, actress Nina Foch,
eccentric character actress Estelle Winwood (a longtime companion of
Tallulah
Bankhead), actor Carleton Carpenter, and others. He also recounts meetings
with Noel Coward,
Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr, and observed actor
Jack Larson
coping with lover Montgomery Clift's alcohol abuse. Carlyle's telling his
father about his homosexuality is poignant. His father, a heavy drinker,
replied, "I'm shocked but not surprised," and remained supportive of his son,
expressing concerns only about his latent, atypical stab at heterosexuality
with Garland.
Alcoholism ran in the family, and Carlyle reluctantly realized he had the
disease. Longtime partner of 28 years, John Paul Davis, introduced him to Alcoholics
Anonymous. The couple remained booze-free for a while before Carlyle became a
controlled drinker, carefully limiting his intake to avoid getting drunk.
My published books:
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