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.
My published books:
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- 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.