Partner James Woolf

Queer Places:
Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England
Santa Barbara Cemetery Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California, USA, Plot Ocean View Add, C-132

Laurence Harvey (1 October 1928 – 25 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films, being best known for his lead performance in Room at the Top (1959). In 2004, John Fraser published his autobiography, Close Up, in which he wrote frankly about his gay life and friendships.[7] In the book, Fraser wrote that Laurence Harvey was gay and that his long-term lover was his manager James Woolf.

He stood with John Wayne in The Alamo. He wooed Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8. And he took a Walk on the Wild Side in 1962. He was Laurence Harvey, one of Hollywood’s most versatile leading men.

British actor John Fraser wrote in his memoir Close Up that Harvey was gay, and that his lover was his manager James Woolf. “As a teenager, he started out living with Hermione Baddeley, a blowsy star of intimate revue more than twice his age. Then he married Margaret Leighton, old enough to be his mother, but a woman of style. When this marriage was over, he married Joan Cohn, widow of Harry Cohn, managing director of Columbia Studios. Throughout all these career marriages, he still managed to string Jimmy Woolf along.” Eventually he married Paulene Stone. Harvey met Stone on the set of A Dandy in Aspic, and while still married to Cohn he became a father for the first time when Stone gave birth to a daughter, Domino, in 1969. Harvey divorced Cohn (who was 17 years his senior) and married Stone in 1972.

Noël Coward once commented on Harvey’s unhappy marriage to actress Margaret Leighton: “It really isn’t surprising that homosexuality is becoming as normal as blueberry pie.”

Numerous accounts contend Harvey was bisexual. In his account of being Frank Sinatra's valet, Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra (2003), George Jacobs writes that Harvey often made passes at him while visiting Sinatra. According to Jacobs, Sinatra was aware of Harvey's sexuality.

A heavy smoker and drinker, Harvey died from stomach cancer at the age of 45. His daughter, Domino (1969–2005), who later became a bounty hunter, was only 35 when she died. They are buried together in Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California, USA.

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  1. Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 5981-5989). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.