Robert La Tourneaux: Difference between revisions
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The openly gay La Tourneaux's initially blamed being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "''Boys'' was the kiss of death for me.”<ref name=BB /> In the 1978 anthology ''Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations'', La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "[[Charles Laughton]] played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe."<ref name= BB/> |
The openly gay La Tourneaux's initially blamed being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "''Boys'' was the kiss of death for me.”<ref name=BB /> In the 1978 anthology ''Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations'', La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "[[Charles Laughton]] played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe."<ref name= BB/> |
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In 1978, La Tourneaux starred in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a [[New York City]] theater showing [[gay]] [[pornography]] films. In 1983, he was arrested for assault and was incarcerated at the [[Rikers Island]] prison.<ref name=BB /> During this time period, La Tourneaux contracted [[AIDS]], and he received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of a live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died on June 3, 1986.<ref>{{cite news | author=Michael Riedel | title=Boys to Men Successes and Sorrows | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1996/06/23/1996-06-23_boys_to_men_successes_and_so.html | work=The Daily News | date=23 June 1996 | accessdate=2008-11-23}}</ref> |
In 1978, La Tourneaux starred in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a [[New York City]] theater showing [[gay]] [[pornography]] films. In 1983, he was arrested for assault and was incarcerated at the [[Rikers Island]] prison.<ref name=BB /> During this time period, La Tourneaux contracted [[AIDS]], and he received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of a live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died on June 3, 1986.<ref>{{cite news | author=Michael Riedel | title=Boys to Men Successes and Sorrows | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1996/06/23/1996-06-23_boys_to_men_successes_and_so.html | work=The Daily News | date=23 June 1996 | accessdate=2008-11-23}}</ref> ''Boys'' co-star [[Cliff Gorman]] and his wife cared for him during his illness up through to his death.<ref name=BoysDVD>''[[The Boys in the Band]] DVD, "The Film" special feature</ref> |
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==Work== |
==Work== |
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Revision as of 05:07, 13 October 2009
Robert La Tourneaux | |
|---|---|
 La Tourneaux in After Dark magazine, 1969 | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960s-1983 |
Robert La Tourneaux (1945 – 3 June 1986) was an American actor best known for his role of Cowboy, the good-natured but dim hustler hired as a birthday present for a gay man, in the original Off-Broadway production and 1970 film version of The Boys in the Band.[1]
Biography
La Tourneaux made his Broadway theatre debut in the 1967 musical Illya Darling. In 1968, he was part of the ensemble for Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band, which opened on April 14, 1968 at Theater Four in New York City.[2] The advertisement for the film version used head shots of Leonard Frey and La Tourneaux, with La Tourneaux identified as the "present" for Frey’s birthday-celebrating character. Many newspapers refused to run the advertisement.[1]
La Tourneaux’s career stalled after the film version of The Boys in the Band was released. His only other film performances were a supporting part in the Roger Corman film Von Richthofen and Brown (1971) and the independent film Pilgrimage.[3][4] He also had a small role in a 1974 made-for-television version of the Maxim Gorky play Enemies.
On stage, La Tourneaux appeared in a small role in a Broadway revival of The Merchant of Venice; he was slated to appear in the 1977 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ Vieux Carré, but was dropped from the cast prior to the show’s opening.[1]
The openly gay La Tourneaux's initially blamed being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "Boys was the kiss of death for me.”[1] In the 1978 anthology Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations, La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "Charles Laughton played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe."[1]
In 1978, La Tourneaux starred in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a New York City theater showing gay pornography films. In 1983, he was arrested for assault and was incarcerated at the Rikers Island prison.[1] During this time period, La Tourneaux contracted AIDS, and he received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of a live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died on June 3, 1986.[5] Boys co-star Cliff Gorman and his wife cared for him during his illness up through to his death.[6]
Work
- The Doctors (1963 TV series)
- Illya Darling (1967 Broadway production)
- The Boys in the Band (1968 play)
- The Boys in the Band (1970 film)
- Von Richthofen and Brown (1971 film)
- Pilgrimage (1972 film)
- The Merchant of Venice (1973 Broadway production)
- Enemies (1974 TV film)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Hadleigh, Boze (2007). Broadway Babylon. New York: Back Stage Books. pp. 19, 180–182, 339. ISBN 0823088308. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ^ "Lortel Archives listing". Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ^ "Filmography for Robert La Tourneaux". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ “Pilgrimage,” AllMovie Guide
- ^ Michael Riedel (23 June 1996). "Boys to Men Successes and Sorrows". The Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ The Boys in the Band DVD, "The Film" special feature
External links
- Robert La Tourneaux at AllMovie
- Please use a more specific IBDB template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Please use a more specific IOBDB template. See the template documentation for available templates.
- Robert La Tourneaux at the TCM Movie Database