Queer Places:
Gilbert Hotel, 1550 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA
Valhalla Memorial Park, 10621 Victory Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606, United States
Johnny Arthur, born John Lennox Arthur Long (May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) on May 20, 1883, in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, was an American stage,
vaudeville, and motion picture actor whose career spanned over five decades across silent cinema, early talkies, radio, and theatre.
Born to John William Long and Matilda Hertzog Long, Arthur launched his performance career as a teenager. Before transitioning to motion pictures, he spent twenty-five years sharpening his craft across vaudeville stages and English music halls.
Arthur made his feature screen debut in the 1923 film The Unknown Purple. During the silent film era, his mild and versatile screen presence allowed him to portray unconventional roles, including the romantic lead opposite Lon Chaney in the 1925 horror-comedy The Monster. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, Arthur transitioned into a recognizable comedic character actor. During the pre-Code era of Hollywood (1929–1934), he specialized in playing flamboyant, effeminate, or overtly "pansy" archetypes—stereotypical depictions that served as rare, explicit representations of queer coded or homosexual identities in mainstream American cinema at the time. Prominent examples of these early sound roles included performances in The Desert Song (1929), She Couldn't Say No (1930), Penrod and Sam (1931), and The Ghost Walks (1934).
Following the strict enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code on July 1, 1934, Hollywood censors banned the direct or explicit portrayal of homosexuality onscreen. Consequently, Arthur was forced to adapt his comedic persona, shifting from openly "pansy" caricatures to more subdued, timid, worried, or overly fussy character types. He maintained steady work throughout the 1930s and 1940s in both low-budget genre films—such as Ellis Island and Danger on the Air—and high-profile features including Crime and Punishment and Road to Singapore. Today, Arthur is particularly remembered for his recurring roles in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedy shorts, playing Spanky's father in Anniversary Trouble (1934) and Darla Hood's father in Night 'N' Gales (1937) and Feed 'Em and Weep (1938). He also appeared as Japanese caricatures in World War II propaganda features, including Roach's That Nazty Nuisance (1942) and Republic Pictures' serial The Masked Marvel (1943).
Despite his decades of industry contributions, Arthur experienced severe health issues and financial hardship in his later years, largely due to his unsparing generosity toward out-of-work colleagues. Industry trade reports, including Variety, noted that he spent much of his personal savings purchasing meals for hungry actors and supporting friends in dire circumstances, leaving himself virtually destitute. By the mid-1940s, his acting offers had dwindled, forcing him to work on the kitchen staff and reside at the Gilbert Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In December 1946, the sixty-three-year-old actor suffered a medical crisis and was found comatose in his room by a hotel colleague. His hospitalization at Cedars of Lebanon and a subsequent public plea by gossip columnist Louella Parsons brought attention to his plight, leading radio producer Larry Finley to sign Arthur to a 52-week contract for the syndicated series Diary of Fate.
Arthur continued acting through the late 1940s and early 1950s, returning to the stage in the Norman Krasna and Groucho Marx play April Fool and taking minor bit parts in film and radio. His final screen appearance was in the 1951 drama I Want You. Johnny Arthur died on December 31, 1951, at the age of 68 at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He was interred at the expense of the Motion Picture Fund in an unmarked grave at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, where he rested quietly for sixty years until November 2012, when fans and historical organizations raised the necessary funds to erect a headstone in his honor.
References:
 Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 Paperback – October 29, 2002 by William J. Mann |
Other references:
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