Gay Actors Who Came Out After Retiring

The history of the entertainment industry is often marked by the pressure for stars to maintain a specific public image. For many actors working during the 20th century, coming out could mean the immediate end of a lucrative career due to strict morality clauses and social stigma. This led to several high-profile individuals choosing to share their truth only after retiring or stepping away from the Hollywood spotlight. These stories provide insight into the personal sacrifices made by performers during a different era of show business.

William Haines

After being told by Louis B. Mayer to choose between his relationship and his career, this silent film star chose the former. He left the film industry in the mid-1930s to start a successful interior design business with his lifelong partner, Jimmie Shields. Haines remained out and proud within his private social circles for the rest of his life, though he never returned to the screen. His transition from Hollywood leading man to high-society designer is documented as one of the first major stands against the studio system’s morality clauses. Joan Crawford famously referred to Haines and Shields as the happiest married couple in Hollywood.

Tab Hunter

This actor rose to fame as a 1950s matinee idol in films like ‘Battle Cry’ and ‘The Sea Chase’. He kept his private life hidden for decades while the studios manufactured publicity-driven romances with stars like Natalie Wood. In 2005, long after stepping away from the limelight and moving to a ranch, he published his memoir ‘Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star’. The book officially confirmed his homosexuality and his past relationship with actor Anthony Perkins. He spent his later years living quietly in California with his partner, Allan Glaser.

Farley Granger

Best known for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock classics ‘Strangers on a Train’ and ‘Rope’, this actor was a prominent leading man in the late 1940s. He gradually moved away from the Hollywood film scene to focus on theater and television before eventually retiring from the industry. In his 2007 memoir ‘Include Me Out’, written with his partner Robert Calhoun, he detailed his relationships with both men and women. The disclosure came when he was in his 80s, providing a candid look at life as a bisexual man in old Hollywood. He lived a private life until his passing in 2011.

Jim Nabors

The actor became a household name playing the character Gomer Pyle on ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ and his own spin-off series. While his sexuality was an open secret among friends in the industry, he did not confirm it to the public for the majority of his life. In 2013, after he had largely retired from performing and singing, he married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, in Seattle. He stated at the time that he saw no reason to make a public announcement earlier in his career. He remained a beloved figure in Hawaii until his death in 2017.

Dick Sargent

Known for replacing Dick York as Darrin Stephens in the sitcom ‘Bewitched’, Sargent spent the majority of his career in the closet to protect his professional standing. He officially came out as gay in 1991 during National Coming Out Day, coinciding with his work as a Grand Marshal for a pride parade. By this point, his mainstream acting career had slowed down significantly, allowing him to focus on gay rights activism. He spent his final years as a prominent advocate for the community before passing away in 1994. His disclosure was seen as a landmark moment for veteran television actors.

Joel Grey

The Academy Award-winning star of ‘Cabaret’ spent decades as a leading figure on both the stage and screen. While his sexuality was known to his family and close friends, he did not address the public on the matter for most of his professional life. In 2015, at the age of 82 and long after his peak years of stardom, he officially came out as gay during an interview with People magazine. He described his journey as a long process of self-acceptance that spanned various eras of social change. Grey noted that it took time to embrace the part of himself that he had previously kept private.

David Ogden Stiers

The actor, widely recognized for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on the series ‘M*A*S*H’, maintained a very private life for decades. In 2009, long after the conclusion of his most famous television roles, he publicly came out as gay at the age of 66. He explained that his decision to remain in the closet earlier was due to fears that it would impact his ability to find work in the industry. Following his disclosure, he continued to work primarily in voice acting and conducting orchestras before his passing in 2018. His late-life announcement was met with widespread support from fans of his work in ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

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