60: MGM Stories Part 5: William Haines and Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Marriage

60: MGM Stories Part 5: William Haines and Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Marriage

60: MGM Stories Part 5: William Haines and Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Marriage

You Must Remember This - October 13, 2015 - 37:10

The rare silent star who made a relatively smooth transition to sound films, William “Billy” Haines was one of the top box office stars of the late 1920s-early 1930s. Beginning in 1926, Haines started living with Jimmie Shields, and the two men became one of the most popular couples on the Hollywood social scene, facing little if any homophobia among the industry’s elite. But as times changed and the heat from the censors began to get hotter, MGM began to put pressure on Haines to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

Previous Episode

59: MGM Stories Part 4: John Gilbert and Greta Garbo

October 6, 2015 - 35:50
Rising romantic lead John Gilbert signed with MGM in 1924 and the next year he starred in King Vidor’s The Big Parade, the studio’s...

Next Episode

61: MGM Stories Part 6: Jean Harlow

October 20, 2015 - 41:31
As part of the publicity campaign for his film Hell’s Angels, Howard Hughes made Jean Harlow a star, branding her “The Platinum Blonde.”...

About The Show

You Must Remember This is a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. It’s the brainchild and passion project of Karina Longworth (founder of Cinematical.com, former film critic for LA Weekly), who writes, narrates, records and edits each episode. It is a heavily-researched work of creative nonfiction: navigating through conflicting reports, mythology, and institutionalized spin, Karina tries to sort out what really happened behind the films, stars and scandals of the 20th century.