Robert La Tourneaux
Encyclopedia
Robert La Tourneaux was an American actor best known for his role of Cowboy, the good-natured but dim hustler hired as a birthday present for a gay
man, in the original Off-Broadway
production and 1970 film version of The Boys in the Band
.
debut in the 1967 musical Illya Darling
. In 1968, he was part of the ensemble for Mart Crowley
’s play The Boys in the Band, which opened on April 14, 1968 at Theater Four in New York City
. The advertisement for the film version used head shots of Leonard Frey
and La Tourneaux, with La Tourneaux identified as the "present" for Frey’s birthday-celebrating character. Many newspapers refused to run the advertisement.
La Tourneaux’s career stalled after the film version of The Boys in the Band was released. His only other film performances were a supporting part in the Roger Corman
film Von Richthofen and Brown
(1971) and the independent film Pilgrimage. He also had a small role in a 1974 made-for-television version of the Maxim Gorky
play Enemies.
On stage, La Tourneaux appeared in a small role in a Broadway revival of The Merchant of Venice
; he was slated to appear in the 1977 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams
’ Vieux Carré
, but was dropped from the cast prior to the show’s opening.
The openly gay La Tourneaux initially blamed his being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "Boys was the kiss of death for me.” In the 1978 anthology Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations, La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "Charles Laughton
played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe."
Unable to secure work as an actor La Tourneaux resorted to nude modeling in gay men's magazines and in 1978 performed nude in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a New York City
theater showing gay
pornography
films. He eventually became a prostitute.
He also gave an interview to a gay magazine naming his famous married closeted
bisexual lovers; alleging one of them to have been Academy award-winning actor Christopher Walken
, whom he met through Mart Crowley. He also accused Walken of having an affair with another married actor, Robert Wagner
, on the night of actress Natalie Wood
's (Wagner's wife) unexplained death. In 1983, La Tourneaux was arrested for assault after trying to extract money from a client and incarcerated at the Rikers Island
prison. While in prison, La Torneaux attempted suicide.
In the early 1980s, La Tourneaux contracted AIDS
, and received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of a live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died in Metropolitan Hospital on June 3, 1986. Boys co-star Cliff Gorman
and his wife cared for him during his illness until his death.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man, in the original Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production and 1970 film version of The Boys in the Band
The Boys in the Band
The Boys in the Band is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Friedkin. The screenplay by Mart Crowley is based on his Off Broadway play of the same title, Crowley penned a sequel to the play years later entitled The Men From The Boys...
.
Biography
La Tourneaux made his Broadway theatreBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the 1967 musical Illya Darling
Illya Darling
Illya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.-Production:The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks...
. In 1968, he was part of the ensemble for Mart Crowley
Mart Crowley
Mart Crowley is an American playwright.Crowley was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After graduating from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1957, Crowley headed west to Hollywood, where he worked for a number of television production companies before meeting Natalie Wood on...
’s play The Boys in the Band, which opened on April 14, 1968 at Theater Four in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The advertisement for the film version used head shots of Leonard Frey
Leonard Frey
- Biography :Frey was born in Brooklyn, New York. After college, where he studied art with designs on being a painter, he studied acting at New York City's prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse under famed acting coach Sanford Meisner, and pursued a career in theater instead...
and La Tourneaux, with La Tourneaux identified as the "present" for Frey’s birthday-celebrating character. Many newspapers refused to run the advertisement.
La Tourneaux’s career stalled after the film version of The Boys in the Band was released. His only other film performances were a supporting part in the Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
film Von Richthofen and Brown
Von Richthofen and Brown
Von Richthofen and Brown also known as The Red Baron, is a film directed by Roger Corman, and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as the titular characters....
(1971) and the independent film Pilgrimage. He also had a small role in a 1974 made-for-television version of the Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
play Enemies.
On stage, La Tourneaux appeared in a small role in a Broadway revival of The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
; he was slated to appear in the 1977 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
’ Vieux Carré
Vieux Carré (play)
Vieux Carré is a play by Tennessee Williams. It is an autobiographical play set in New Orleans. Although he began writing it shortly after moving to New Orleans in 1938, it wasn't completed until nearly forty years later.- Plot synopsis :...
, but was dropped from the cast prior to the show’s opening.
The openly gay La Tourneaux initially blamed his being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "Boys was the kiss of death for me.” In the 1978 anthology Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations, La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe."
Unable to secure work as an actor La Tourneaux resorted to nude modeling in gay men's magazines and in 1978 performed nude in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
theater showing gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
films. He eventually became a prostitute.
He also gave an interview to a gay magazine naming his famous married closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
bisexual lovers; alleging one of them to have been Academy award-winning actor Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
, whom he met through Mart Crowley. He also accused Walken of having an affair with another married actor, Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
, on the night of actress Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
's (Wagner's wife) unexplained death. In 1983, La Tourneaux was arrested for assault after trying to extract money from a client and incarcerated at the Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
prison. While in prison, La Torneaux attempted suicide.
In the early 1980s, La Tourneaux contracted AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, and received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of a live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died in Metropolitan Hospital on June 3, 1986. Boys co-star Cliff Gorman
Cliff Gorman
Cliff Gorman was an American stage and screen actor. He won an Obie award in 1968 for the stage presentation of The Boys in the Band, and went on to reprise his role in the 1970 film version....
and his wife cared for him during his illness until his death.
Work
- The Doctors (1963 TV series)
- Illya DarlingIllya DarlingIllya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.-Production:The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks...
(1967 Broadway production) - The Boys in the BandThe Boys in the Band (play)The Boys in the Band is a play by Mart Crowley. The off-Broadway production, directed by Robert Moore, opened on April 14, 1968 at Theater Four, where it ran for 1,001 performances, an extremely healthy run for both an off-Broadway production, and one not geared to a mainstream audience...
(1968 play) - The Boys in the Band (1970 film)
- Von Richthofen and BrownVon Richthofen and BrownVon Richthofen and Brown also known as The Red Baron, is a film directed by Roger Corman, and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as the titular characters....
(1971 film) - Pilgrimage (1972 film)
- The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
(1973 Broadway production) - Enemies (1974 TV film)