Queer Places:
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038, United States
Richard Willis (October 15, 1876 - April 8, 1945) was born on October 15, 1876, in London, England. Over the course of his life, he established himself
as a versatile force in early American cinema, working as a publicist, agent, general manager, screenwriter, scenario editor, actor, and poet.
By 1912, Willis was living in Los Angeles and serving as scenario editor for the Nestor Motion Picture Company. When Nestor merged into Universal, he transitioned to become Universal's scenario editor, a role he held until leaving in 1913. That same year, he partnered with W. A. "Gus" Inglis to found Willis & Inglis, an agency that pioneered talent representation and publicity within the burgeoning West Coast film industry. The firm claimed to be the first agency on the West Coast to negotiate business directly between producers and artists, as well as the first to conduct personal publicity for film actors in the region. Their impressive client roster included legendary performers like Mary Pickford, John Gilbert, Charles Ray, Norma Talmadge, and Lon Chaney Sr., along with acclaimed directors D. W. Griffith, Henry King, Frank Borzage, and William Desmond Taylor.
Between 1914 and 1917, Willis contributed columns and trade articles to major industry publications such as the New York Clipper, Photoplay, Movie Pictorial, and Motion Picture Magazine, often writing under pen names such as Dick Willis, Dick Melbourne, or Wil. In 1917, Willis & Inglis expanded by purchasing the former Kalem Studio on Fleming Street in Los Angeles, where they produced comedy shorts starring Fay Tincher before leasing the property to producer Jesse D. Hampton. By 1920, the studio was taken over by Charles Ray Productions, with Willis serving as Vice President and General Manager. Beyond studio management, Willis was active in professional guilds, holding positions as treasurer for both the Photoplay Authors League and the Screen Writers Guild.
Alongside his executive career, Willis maintained significant links to early Hollywood's Queer history. He was a close personal confidant of silent film idol J. Warren Kerrigan, one of cinema's earliest gay screen stars who lived openly with his lifelong partner, actor James Vincent. In an era when studio publicity manufactured heterosexual romances for leading men to maintain box-office appeal, Willis used his platform as a journalist and publicist to subvert these tropes. Writing in Photoplay, Willis addressed the gossip surrounding Kerrigan, boldly stating that he knew the star "as he really is" and dismissing studio-invented narratives about his "loving the girls" as "silly and foolish." Through his work as a publicist and writer, Willis navigated and subtly shielded the private lives of queer artists working within the early studio system.
Richard Willis passed away in Los Angeles on April 8, 1945, at the age of 68. He was laid to rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, situated at the center of the film community he helped build.
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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