Written by Shane Smith, Editor


What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but it's a question every closeted movie star has asked themselves.

In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man, William "Billy" Haines. Billy lived with his partner, Jimmie Shields. Unlike other closeted stars then and now, Haines never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm.

By 1933, Billy's his Hollywood career was over. However, by 1936, Billy Haines had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work as an interior decorator.

Watch the video, Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines, below.