“One’s self-image is very important because if that’s in good shape, then you can do anything, or practically anything.”
TRQ: Sir John Gielgud, Born April 14, 1904
Actor, director and producer Sir Arthur John Gielgud, considered to be one of the greatest stage and screen performers of his era, was born in London, England. Gielgud attended Westminster School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Gielgud has the rare distinction of winning an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony, two BAFTAs, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a Gold Globe Award. His career launched in 1921 when he first took to the London stage at the Old Vic Theatre, and by 1924 he was performing the role of Romeo at the Regent Theatre. In 1928 he performed in New York City for the first time.
However, it was his performance as Hamlet in in 1929 at the Old Vic that Gielgud that cemented his reputation as one of England’s most promising actors. He appeared in a series of Shakespearean performances to critical acclaim, and his Richard II, which he directed as well, was his one his earliest significant successes.
For the most part, Gielgud neither discussed nor hid his homosexuality. Although he was never monogamous, he began in the 1930’s to form serious relationships with men such as actor John Perry. Actor and playwright Emlyn Williams, openly bisexual husband and father, claimed to be Gielgud’s first “bit of rough.”
In 1938 Gielgud wrote his first autobiography, Early Stages. In 1963 he published a collection of speeches and essays titled Stage Directions. He followed with Distinguished Company in 1972, on his interests in actors and acting, the illustrated memoir Gielgud: Actor and His Time in 1980, and a look back at his Shakespearean acting in Shakespeare: Hit or Miss in 1991.
In 1953 Gielgud was knighted for his work in theatre. However, three months later, in the Autumn of that year, just as he was set to direct a new West End production in which he was to star, he was arrested and charged with “persistently importuning men for immoral purposes” in a public restroom in Chelsea. Although cottaging, at the time, potentially ruined reputations and careers, Gielgud continued to cruise the West End for sex.
According to his friend actor Ian McKellen, Gielgud was concerned that he regretfully would only be known as the “first queer actor to be knighted.” Thereafter he worked to keep his life private, though he privately contributed to the UK gay/lesbian lobby group.
In 1988 Gielgud openly acknowledged his non-monogamous relationship with Martin Hensler, his long-term lover of more than thirty years. Documented in the archives kept by author and critic Sheridan Morley, Gielgud revealed to Dame Judi Dench his attraction to musician Iggy Pop. “He takes all his clothes off,” Gielgud explained. “I’ve got a couple of nice pics.”
Gielgud continued to remain active in the theatre, and according to McKellen, even at the age of 97 he was rumoured to have changed agents in order to find new work. In 2000 he died of a respiratory infection.
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