In the 1950s and '60s, he was considered an all-American, hetero heartthrob, the leading man in romantic melodramas like 'All That Heaven Allows' and 'Magnificent Obsession' and romantic comedies like 'Pillow Talk' and 'Lover Come Back.' He starred with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor in the film 'Giant.' In the '70s, he starred in the TV series 'McMillan & Wife' as the police commissioner of San Francisco.
Gay celebrities often faced serious personal consequences for being forced to live a double life. But if you stayed in the closet, you could be blackmailed.
It used to be unthinkable for a Hollywood star to come out as gay.
