They Died in the Closet
Ed Koch
December 12, 1924 - February 1, 2013
The mayor of New York City, whose sexual orientation was confirmed by journalist Charles Kaiser after his death, was called "an evil man" by activist Larry Kramer, due to his inaction during the devastating early years of the AIDS crisis. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Katharine Hepburn
May 12, 1907 - June 29, 2003
The original gender-norm rebel, The Philadelphia Story actress was iconoclastic in her choices of film roles, men's clothing, and lovers -- though many, including Gore Vidal, speculated that her famed relationship with Spencer Tracy was a sham to cover her affairs with women. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Anthony Perkins
April 4, 1932 - September 12, 1992
The dark and brooding boy next door from Psycho had a secret, and that secret was that his boyfriend was the sunny and athletic boy next door Tab Hunter.
(Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Sally Ride
May 26, 1951 - July 23, 2012
The first American woman in space, Ride had a long-term same-sex relationship, something that didn't become known until she died in 2012, when her obituary listed her female partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, as a survivor. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Liberace
May 16, 1919 - February 4, 1987
The renowned pianist died in 1987 of AIDS-related pneumonia, after years of battling gossip magazines that printed gay-baiting articles about him and his former lover Scott Thorsen. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Rock Hudson
November 17, 1925 - October 2, 1985
The Giant actor and 6'5" dreamboat held legendary gay pool parties during his heyday, though he was closeted to the public eye until his death from AIDS-related complications. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Roy Cohn
February 20, 1927 - August 2, 1986
The McCarthy era attorney who famously helped convict Ethel and Julius Rosenberg also targeted public figures suspected of being gay, though he himself was rumored to have had a relationship with his chief consultant and eventually died of AIDS-related causes. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Barbara Jordan
February 21, 1936 - January 17, 1996
A great civil rights leader and progressive politician, Jordan was the first woman in the House of Representatives in Texas and the first African-American in that state's Senate after Reconstruction, though her 30-year relationship with partner Nancy Earl wasn't publicly acknowledged until Jordan's obituary was printed. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Raymond Burr
May 21, 1917 - September 12, 1993
Known for his role as the sinister Lars Thorwald in the Hitchcock classic Rear Window, Burr concealed his sexual orientation by making up dead wives for the press, though he had a happy long-term relationship with Robert Benevides, an actor who became his business manager as well as his life partner.
(Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
Ramon Novarro
February 6, 1899 - October 30, 1968
A heartthrob of the silent film era who starred in hits like Ben-Hur (1925), the Mexican-born actor attributed his "bachelorhood" to his devout Catholic faith during his lifetime, though his death -- he was murdered by men he had hired as hustlers -- publicly blew open the closet door. (Read the full story)
They Died in the Closet
J. Edgar Hoover
January 1, 1895 - May 2, 1972
While many have speculated on the FBI director participating in gay sex parties and limo trysts with young men, there is little disagreement that he had a long, tumultuous, passionate relationship with his deputy at the FBI, Clyde Tolson, which was famously portrayed in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. (Read the full story)
