New Bio Has Marlon Brando Outing Paul Newman
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand
It hasn't even been a year since Paul Newman passed away at the age of 83, but that isn't stopping a new, and sure to be controversial biography, one that has one icon supposedly outing the other. Canoe reports that a new book from Darwin Porter called Paul Newman: The Man Behind the Baby Blues has Marlon Brando outing Newman.Porter says he interviewed Brando before his death in 2004, and the man said: "He never fooled me. Paul Newman had just as many on-location affairs as the rest of us, and he was just as bisexual as I was. But, where I was always getting caught with my pants down, he managed to do it in the dark." But this isn't just a case of a shocking revelation. Porter is a sexual detective ridiculously obsessed with Newman's sex life, saying that he tracked the actor's sexual encounters ever since they met in 1959, and that Newman slept with Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, and Marilyn Monroe, plus a romance with James Dean. Newman's family says it's not true, and a source says: "Paul knew there were rumors out there about his sexuality and to have to face them when he's not here to dispute them is Joanne's worst nightmare."
And this is why I'm sharing this bit of news -- not to gush in all things tabloidish, but to say: I don't buy it, and it doesn't matter. Could Joanne be unhappy with the biography? Sure. Worst nightmare? Naw. She met Newman when he was married to another, and she was engaged to the then bisexual Gore Vidal. The trio even shared a house together for a while -- not exactly the history that brings someone to find gayness their worst nightmare. The claims certainly add another layer to that living arrangement, but they do nothing to tarnish the man he was, and the accomplishments he made.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-14-2009 @ 10:49AM
Astin said...
I was going to comment with "why does it matter?" but figured that needs to be refined.
Why does it matter now? I can understand leading men hiding in the closet while they're alive and have active careers due to the prejudices of society and a large percentage of the movie-going public. Coming out as bi or gay can destroy a leading man's box office potential in the States and other countries.
But Newman is dead and has a legacy that can't be questioned. Does it matter if he was bi or had affairs? Even if it's true, it has no bearing on his body of work and certainly won't alter his box office potential. At worst, it tarnishes the opinion of his relationship with his wife, which as you pointed out, wasn't exactly spotless to start with.
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 10:57AM
Paolo said...
At first, I was thinking that knowing that Paul Newman was bisexual has less to do with breaking boundaries and more about the nosy public trying to find out what an actor puts where. But then I have a friend that vehemently denies Marlon Brando and James Dean's bisexuality, and a lot has to be done in that respect.
Newman got arrested for drunk driving when he was younger. He apparently hit on Cloris Leachman in the 70's. Isn't that enough for everyone?
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 3:26PM
edith ann esbensen said...
well said. will we never tire of nosing about in the so-called netherworlds of so-called icons? i can't add more to what this writer said. it is wearying, this passion for 'uncovering' what we deem unsavory 'truths' about famous people - such easy targets?
5-14-2009 @ 11:57AM
Lisa said...
I just think we currently live in a culture where people are obsessive about each others sexuality! Suddenly if you are straight, well gee you MUST be gay, you must WANT to gay or oh I bet you HAD a gay affair in your life someplace! Ridiculous! As for the other part of this story regarding the women Newman "allegedly" had affairs with: All of them are as dead as he is so NONE of them are around anymore to defend themselves! Also, ridiculous!! Only Joanne Woodward knows for sure on any of this nonsense and she was married to the man for 50 yrs! I think this "crap" dishonors the memory of a man who had a lifetime of great work, both on and off the silverscreen! We all should be concentrating on that and let him rest in peace!!
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 2:00PM
pete thomson said...
I suppose you could refer to the allegation as crap but you need to clarify why you with no knowledge or insight into the truth would think that. Are you personally offended by the idea that he was born bisexual and enjoyed sex with both men and women? If so why? You may be eager to defend his heterosexuality on the grounds that you find homosexuality or bisexuality abhorent. This is the view which paradoxically forces Hollywood actors to live out such a lie, and contributes to the ridiculous backward views that a lot of Americans would appear to have towards gay people. It doesn't matter that Paul Newman was bisexual it does matter that if he was forced to lie about it if he was. Has society moved since the fifties? Not enough. Is Hollywood and American culture still at large homophobic yes. Does Hollywood represent gay/bisexual/transgender people in a way that is largely offensive ? Yes. Is this thread going to generate a lot of narrow minded intollerant abuse that strays wildly off the point? Yes.
Let's not forget that if Paul was attracted to men or just women he supported gay rights, worked with gay actors, directors, playrights and played sexually ambiguous characters on film and on stage. He wasn't homophobic. Do you think that he would honestly want you to be in your support of him?
nd
5-14-2009 @ 5:33PM
snowballa said...
@astin: it matters because hopefully if some bigot sees that his favorite actor was bisexual yet still by all accounts a loving family man as well as actor, then he or she would be more open minded to gay actors and actresses today.
on an aside note: people like to think that actors back then had more class or whatever than the actors today. i say nonsense. newman (alcoholism), brando (ditto and then some) and bogart had TMZ and 40 million blogs, i suspect that they would not come off any better than the stars today. newman's sexual proclivities would be splashed across the tabloids and would definitely be a dent in his legacy.
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 6:01PM
Jophiel said...
Wait Marlon Brando was bisexual wtf? Where was I. Thats the story form me one man openly admitting hes bi, not him accusing another person.
Reply
5-15-2009 @ 12:12AM
Mr. R said...
I am a heterosexual man yet most of my friends are gay and there is always one friend of a friend who outs everyone, who thinks that being gay gives them extrasensory powers to define sexuality, even my friends hate that. I think what truly matters is how people profit from gossip these days, specially from a dead celebrity. If this guy were giving his book away for free or in favor of a gay rights group, I would find it a lot more credible but people today are totally into gossip and the most shocking the better. What you do behind closed doors is pretty much your own business, don't make a book out of it.
Reply
5-18-2009 @ 1:33PM
icapricorn said...
Well, it does matter. The private lives of movie stars are fascinating to the public at large. Why pretend otherwise in the face of all the evidence? A movie star, by virtue of one type-casting role after another, seems to be a familiar and vaguely consistent acquaintance, who is nevertheless playing out grand plotlines, is having one eventful life experience after another.
The sexuality of such a virtual person, especially when it is taboo, is somehow deeply thrilling. Genteel propriety pretends we're not suppose to feel this, but even the clumsy caveat by the author that, of course, he doesn't care about what he just wrote 500 words on belies the fact. Sex is fun. Sex in great ones is even more fun. Big deal? Not at all. But it is fun and endlessly interesting.
Reply
5-21-2009 @ 8:20PM
Patrick said...
I guess then we can point to the scene in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" where Brick (Paul Newman) is accused by Maggie of being homosexual and ahving relations with another football player. Brick recoils in horror at the thought of being lumped in with "Jack Straw and Peter Ochello" who worked for Big Daddy and were well known, down on the farm for "being queer for each other..."
And we all know about Tennessee Williams and his sexuality... so I guess what I am tyring to say is...
IT DOESN"T MATTER! There are more imprtant things in this world than fascination with the fact that Britney Spears isn't wearing underwear tonight of that Paul Newman was bi or that Woody Allen had sex with the baby sitter? WTF? The bankers of the world are embezzling all the money and we sit around like Howard Beal (Peter Finch in Network) describes "eating our dinners and buying our radila tires and watching our tv's screaming 'Leave me alone'! Well, not me... I'm mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore..." Pady Cheyevsky was never more right about predicting life in the early 21st century where Paris Hilton is a celebrity, Brangoline get more press than the genocide in the Sudan and we just suck on our straws and say "What happened today with JackO?"
What a world we live in that this stuff rates a waste of ink and paper. This author needs to find a new obsession. Hell, read about Noel Coward if you want to read about a gay mona who has to remain in the closet. His diaries are great reading!
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 10:54AM
jay ferguson said...
Who is this guy anyway. It would seem to me that if he had any proof that he would have come forward while Paul Newman was still alive. I have known a lot of gays. My wife was an AIDS buddy in the day. A lot of the gay guys that I came into contact with always had a friend... that had a friend ....who knew somebody.... that knew a friend of somebody else.... that had had sex with anyone you could name. I had a friend who was an All-Pro tight end I was going to bring his name up one night and this gay said that he knew a guy who had a sexual relationship with him. I hadn't even said I knew him. So I brought my football playing friend to an event where I knew this guy would be. Then without the guy knowing it I started a conversation about my friend. He broke into the story and my friend came up behind him....My friend broke in on the story and said that he was going to sue the story teller for defamation if he didn't give up the person who alledged the relationship. Needless to say there was a lot of back pedaling. There was no other guy. It was all BS. At which time my friend said that if he ever heard of the story again he was going to sue the story teller. Upon which he left the event and said in a loud voice. That the guy was a lying sack of s**t. And warning anybody that had any regard for their own reputation to stay away from this guy.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 11:16AM
WTF said...
What a brave guy. Outing a dead man on the word of the dead man. With no one left to defend themselves this jack-off has a clear field. I doubt that Joann Woodward is pulling out her hair. Do you think that this crap with such a unsupportable source could make the New York Times. Lets just answer the fundamental journalistic questions. Who (With?) answer: somebody. What (what specific acts?) Don't be coy. Was Paul the pitcher or catcher or did he just drink from the hose of life? answer: I don't know or I can't say because of my integrety. When? Sometime or I can't say because it would out an innocent person. Where? answer: I don't know or I can't say because of my integrety Why? Because he was a flaming bi-sexual. What about your famous integrety? What a freaking bozo. However, i have heard although that Mr. Porter is not only an avowed and admitted homosexual but a necrophiliac and a pedophile as well as working on a degree in amimal husbandry or maybe in his case animal wifery. I really don't have any sources but, it could be true. Couldn't it?
Reply
6-17-2009 @ 1:38AM
Ann Trest said...
Why can't people just leave someone's memory along? It is true that the man with the gorgeous BLUE eyes is not here to defend his own name.
Reply