Wes has just finished reading the new Sal Mineo biography by Michael Gregg Michaud and has become a bit obsessed with the late star. We watched his Oscar-nominated performance in Rebel Without a Cause last night and he was amazingly good. He was sensitive, troubled, adorable and obviously in love with James Dean's character. It may have been Dean himself he had the crush on and there seemed to be no attempt to hide the attraction. Many movies of the era had homosexual undertones, but these were right there on the surface. I wonder what mid-50s audiences thought?
Before he broke into the movies, Sal was on Broadway in The King and I. He was a small kid and Yul Brenner introduced him to weight lifting, something Sal kept up the rest of his life. The results speak for themselves.
In the picture above, Sal is on stage with his long-time lover, actor Courtney Burr. They were living together in Los Angeles in 1975 when Sal's life ended tragically. Sal was stabbed in the heart in an apparent robbery attempt outside their apartment. He was 37. Also tragic was Courtney's treatment in the aftermath of the murder. He was not allowed into the apartment until the Mineo family could come. Reportedly, they burned everything they deemed gay and trashed the home the two men shared.
I understand that James Franco has purchased the rights to this book. Hopefully, it's as a director or producer because Franco is too old and mature looking to play Sal Mineo.
