BURIED TOGETHER
Partner Ross Hunter
Queer Places:
140 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
370 Trousdale Pl, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Westwood Memorial Park
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Jacque Mapes (June 14, 1913 - May 4, 2002) was an art director for the
1952 movie musical ''Singin' in the Rain'' who later became a television and
film producer. He was a set decorator in films
from 1945 to 1961 (The Huchback of Notre Dame, 1939, Champagne for Caesar, The
People Against O'Hara, Kind Lady, Singin in the Rain) and co-produced with
Ross Hunter of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Airport, and several others. Mapes was a life partner of producer Ross Hunter. They were together for over 40 years - one of the longest lasting Hollywood relationships.
"Jack Moore truly enjoyed his success,"
Frank Lysinger remembered. "His apartment
was very stylish. He always insisted on having a houseman. Richard Pefferle and
Keogh Gleason used to tease him about it." His
lavish parties, thrown with Jacque Mapes, a fellow decorator, became well
known.
Mapes was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Los Angeles area and began his career as a set decorator
on the 1939 film ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'' In the 1940s he was living
with Frank Mullaney (February 2, 1910 - June 10, 1991).
Mapes and Hunter met at a private Hollywood party during the 1940s. One of them was then
Tyrone Power's male lover, and the other was
Errol Flynn's lover. Hunter later recalled, "I remember I was at the top of the stairs, and there stood Jacque. Our eyes met, and we left the party, dumped our famous boyfriends, and we've been together ever since."
After serving in the Navy in
World War II, Mapes worked on such movies as ''Delightfully Dangerous,'' starring
Jane Powell in 1945, and ''Good Sam,'' featuring Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan
in 1948. Mapes was later hired to create sets for ''Singin' in the Rain,''
''Everything I Have Is Yours'' and ''Latin Lovers.'' He teamed up with Ross
Hunter to produce plays, television shows and movies. Among their film credits
are ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' in 1967, and ''Airport'' in 1970. He produced
the 1978 television special ''A Family Upside Down,'' which earned an Emmy
Award for Fred Astaire.
In 1977, Ross Hunter was nominated a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series for producing Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers (1976) (he shared the nomination with his long-time professional and personal partner, Jacques Mapes).
Hunter died of cancer at the Century City Hospital in Los Angeles on March 10, 1996. He was survived by his long-time partner, set designer
Jacques Mapes who was also his production partner. When Mapes died he was
buried in a crypt next to Hunter.
Throughout their long association, the two also produced several plays and revues in small theaters throughout Los Angeles and in San Diego and New Orleans. They were major backers of annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event shows, which raise funds for the AIDS Service Center and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, among other groups.
Mapes died on May 4, 2002. He was 88. Mapes died in his sleep at his home in the Trousdale area of Beverly Hills, publicist Warren Cowan announced. Cowan said Mapes had not been ill, and died of natural causes.
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