User talk:Ed Poor/Nick Adams

Accurate contributions

Dear Ed, I am so sorry that the edit war is going on. May I ask you to have a further look at the Nick Adams page. I have included two additional passages in the article, but user Wyss and his alter ego Ted Wilkes have repeatedly deleted this text. Interestingly, both users again seem to take turns in doing repeated reverts in order to delete what I have written, presumably to escape violation of the three revert rule. See Nick Adams, history. To my mind, both users are identical. They seem to use different IP addresses, which is possible, as in the past, User:DW, another alias of Wyss and Ted Wilkes, had repeatedly been banned. Significantly, another user has written on the User:Elliot page (one of the many aliases of DW):

Isn't it amazing how much Elliot's contributions mirror DW's and Ron Davis's. Same refusal to answer questions. Same insistence that he is always right. Same vicious rudeness to anyone who dares to question his judgment. Maybe we could call them the Blessed Trinity, or maybe 'The Popes', given they seem to believe in their own infallibility.

This sounds as if it has been written against users Wyss and Ted Wilkes. See also the history of the User:Ted Wilkes page. Erroneously, Wyss has also contributed to that page. See [1] Be that as it may, I have added these two passages to the Nick Adams page:

1. At about the same time Adams was also a close friend to Elvis Presley. This is confirmed by Red West, member of the 'Memphis Mafia' (pals and employees of Elvis), and Judy Spreckels, the platonic girlfriend of Elvis in the early days of the singer's career.

What is wrong with this passage? It should be added that there are photographs showing Elvis together with Adams. So it is quite clear that Adams and Elvis had been close friends at that time. See [2] and [3] Their friendship must be mentioned in the article. It is part of Adams's biography.

2. According to several sources, Adams had homosexual leanings. In his 2004 biography Natalie Wood: A Life, Gavin Lambert undoubtedly writes, "Her first studio-arranged date with a gay or bisexual actor had been with Nick Adams..." In 1972, Sal Mineo stated that Adams told him that he had a big affair with James Dean. The book Elvis: The Hollywood Years (David Bret, 2002) even claims Elvis Presley was intimate with Adams. That the singer had an affair with Adams is also confirmed by Elvis's stepmother, Dee Presley. However there are no court records, contemporary letters or statements attributed to Adams to support the rumours that Adams was homosexual.

The reputed biographer Lambert, who also worked for many years as a Hollywood screenwriter, was a lifelong friend of Wood's. He was deeply involved in Hollywood's gay scene and must have known that Adams had homosexual leanings. It is also a fact that gay actor Sal Mineo was in close contact with both Adams and Dean. It should also be noted that in the Hollywood world Adams is more widely known for his contacts and affairs with other well-known stars than his acting career. So his affairs with James Dean and Elvis Presley are of much importance and should be mentioned in the article.

In my opinion, the last sentence, written by Wyss, is not necessary as many Hollywood homosexuals did not "out" themselves, but I am willing to make this concession to user Wyss. I have only cited what is written in independent books and articles (see Talk:Nick Adams). I think this is in line with the Wikipedia guidelines, as you also said:

unless an assertion is utterly uncontroversial, it's going to need some back-up. Especially, if one of more contributors challenge the assertion. Then, it's better to move the disputed passage to the article's associated talk page.

A good way to deal with disputed ideas is to attribute an assertion to a source. Like:

Nick Adams says James Dean screwed Natalie Wood while Elvis watched (note: this is a made-up example); or,

Nick Adams says Elvis Presley paid X to cover up his homosexual affairs with Y and Z (another made-up example)

Note the common theme here. Wikipedia is not saying Adams [in the made-up example] is right, it's merely passing along his claims clearly attributed to him.

I think I have accurately cited my sources. In addition, gay biographer David Ehrenstein, who has written a book on Hollywood gays, sent me an email in which he confirmed the assertion that Adams was gay (see Talk:Nick Adams). As an expert, he must have used several sources which prove that Adams had homosexual leanings. I am the person involved in this edit war who frequently cites different sources which all prove that Adams was gay, and Wyss/Ted Wilkes is the person who is constantly disparaging these sources - in lack of further evidence supporting his view. Indeed, user Wyss is unable to cite any sources which undoubtedly prove that Adams was heterosexual. I don't know what else I can do. May I again ask for mediation?

Can't you read?: I'm going on vacation today. Please talk to an active Mediator (see Mediation Committee). Uncle Ed 13:07, July 22, 2005 (UTC)