One of the most notable film stars of the silent era was William Haines. His life was detailed in William J. Mann's critically-acclaimed 1998 biography, Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star. Haines lived openly as a homosexual. Starting in 1926, Haines lived with Jimmy Shields, whom he had met when Shields was his stand-in during the production of a film. Studio publicists were able to keep Haines' sexual orientation from the press. In 1933, Haines was arrested in a YMCA with a sailor he had picked up in Los Angeles' Pershing Square. Louis B. Mayer, the studio head at MGM, delivered an ultimatum to Haines: choose between a sham marriage or lavender marriage, or his relationship with Shields. Haines chose Shields and they were ultimately together for 50 years. Mayer subsequently fired Haines [Source:
Wikipedia]
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