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MasterCaneman -> RE: Somewhere over the gaybow... (11/4/2013 7:55:51 AM)
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I'm going to repeat a story my mom told me a few years ago. In the late 40's-early 50's, before she met my father, she moved to NYC for a few months to see if the could "make it there". She got a job as an elevator operator and ticket-taker for a theater, and in short order, was on the fringes of the arts community in that town.
She made the acquaintance of a number of gay men simply due to the fact that many bars and restaurants refused to serve them if they came in alone or with a male partner, so she ended up going out on a lot of "dates" with them to defuse that situation. She told me that many of the producers relied on the male homosexual community for their shows for a number of reasons. Most were thin or small-statured, many were deemed unfit for military service for a number of reasons, they generally tended to be good dancers and were very style conscious.
One of the biggest reasons, she said, was that they couldn't get pregnant, something that happened with alarming regularity when the Atlantic Fleet pulled into town. She used the term "Shakespearean" when she told me that it was common for producers and directors to use the more feminine-appearing men to 'fill-in' for backup dancers and singers on stage when they'd lose a girl to some sailor.
They tended to be more reliable when showing up for rehearsals for the simple fact that they were subject to employment discrimination almost everywhere else, and had a lot more stamina for some of the more energetic routines and scenery changes. They were also better able to fill out roles for both genders as required in each scene. One minute they could be a wandering townsman, the next they could be in a gown and wig giving backup vocals and doing a dance number, and in between, they'd help out by working the ropes behind the stage. It all boiled down to dollars and cents, she said. One actor could fill several different roles in a production and was less likely to call in because her husband or boyfriend was in town, she had her "friend" show up, or got pregnant and had to quit on doctor's orders.
Again, this is told second-hand, but she was there and I've seen the pictures she had from her sojourn in the Big Apple. About 25 years ago, one of her friends from that time came and visited her, and he was a really nice man. Definition of a gentleman, well-spoken and articulate, and I listened a bit while they mulled over old times. I wish I could remember his name, because I do believe he became something of a fixture in that business before retiring, but I can't ask her directly now, because yesterday was the first anniversary of her passing, so you'll just have to take this story on faith. She was there, and that's what she always talked about when she watched 'em on AMC before she started going blind and deaf.
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