Sir John Gielgud (14/4/1904 – 21/5/2000)
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As Gielgud's homosexuality was generally known if not publicly acknowledged in a time when sexual acts between men were still a criminal offense in Britain (and remained so until 1967), the government had been reluctant to bestow its approval on him.
Given the controversy over his knighthood, it was cruelly ironic that within months of receiving the honor, Gielgud was involved in an embarrassing incident that might have been fatally damaging to his career.
During the early 1950s, British legal authorities conducted a veritable persecution of gay men that resulted in criminal charges against a number of prominent figures. Gielgud was arrested outside a public lavatory in Chelsea for "importuning for an immoral purpose," and the press conducted a vitriolic campaign against him.
Gielgud nonetheless received a standing ovation upon his next stage appearance, and his arrest is thought to have been instrumental in starting the process of decriminalization. (The incident did not, moreover, prevent the Queen from granting him two further distinctions, the Companion of Honour [1977] and the Order of Merit [1996].)
But, having been so deeply humiliated, Sir John never spoke publicly about the matter or his sexuality again, and he was banned from entering the United States for the next four years. (glbtq.com)
As Gielgud's homosexuality was generally known if not publicly acknowledged in a time when sexual acts between men were still a criminal offense in Britain (and remained so until 1967), the government had been reluctant to bestow its approval on him.
Given the controversy over his knighthood, it was cruelly ironic that within months of receiving the honor, Gielgud was involved in an embarrassing incident that might have been fatally damaging to his career.
During the early 1950s, British legal authorities conducted a veritable persecution of gay men that resulted in criminal charges against a number of prominent figures. Gielgud was arrested outside a public lavatory in Chelsea for "importuning for an immoral purpose," and the press conducted a vitriolic campaign against him.
Gielgud nonetheless received a standing ovation upon his next stage appearance, and his arrest is thought to have been instrumental in starting the process of decriminalization. (The incident did not, moreover, prevent the Queen from granting him two further distinctions, the Companion of Honour [1977] and the Order of Merit [1996].)
But, having been so deeply humiliated, Sir John never spoke publicly about the matter or his sexuality again, and he was banned from entering the United States for the next four years. (glbtq.com)
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Ο σερ Τζον Γκίλγουντ μονοπώλησε τα βρετανικά θέατρα από τη δεκαετία του '30 μέχρι και το 1970 μαζί με τον Λόρενς Ολίβιε, τον Ραλφ Ρίτσαρτσον και την Πέγκι Ασκροφτ.
Μνημειώδεις και κλασικές έχουν μείνει οι εμφανίσεις του σε έργα του Σαίξπηρ και ιδιαίτερα στο ρόλο του Αμλετ, τον οποίο ερμήνευσε πάνω από 500 φορές. Εκτός από το θέατρο, ο Γκίλγουντ εμφανίστηκε σε πολλές κινηματογραφικές παραγωγές, όπως «Ριχάρδος Γ'» με τον Λόρενς Ολίβιε (1956), «Ιούλιος Καίσαρ», «Τα βιβλία του Πρόσπερο» του Πίτερ Γκρίναγουεϊ και «Αρθουρ» με τον Ντάντλεϊ Μουρ, που του χάρισε το Όσκαρ β' ανδρικού ρόλου το 1981. Το 1961 του απονεμήθηκε το αμερικανικό θεατρικό βραβείο Τόνι για τη σκηνοθεσία της μεταφοράς του βιβλίου του Χιου Γουίλερ «Μεγάλο ψάρι, μικρό ψάρι» στο Μπρόντγουεϊ. Τελευταία του κινηματογραφική εμφάνιση ήταν το 1998 στο δράμα εποχής Elisabeth του Σεχάρ Καπούρ με την Κέιτ Μπλάνσετ στον ομώνυμο ρόλο. (in.gr)
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