num_pages: 480
description: In 1930 William Haines was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw--a talented, handsome, romantic lead. Offscreen, he was openly gay. This bestselling biography captures the rich gay subculture of Hollywood before the Production Code--before studio intimidation led to the establishment of the Hollywood closet. Alone among his contemporaries, Billy Haines (1900-1973) refused to compromise and was ultimately booted out by Louis B. Mayer. Forced to give up acting, Haines went on to become a top interior designer to the stars and to clients such as Nancy Reagan. By his side through it all was his lover, Jimmie Shields; their fifty-year relationship led their best friend, Joan Crawford, to call them the "happiest married couple in Hollywood." Wisecracker is an astounding piece of newly discovered gay history, a chronicle of high Hollywood, and--at its heart--a great and enduring love story.
language: English
title: Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star
titlecomplete: Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star
genres: LGBT, Gay, History, Film, American History, Media Tie In, Biography Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction, Queer
ratings_count: 318
awards: awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Lambda Literary Award
category: Gay Biography/Autobiography
publisher: Penguin Books