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Henry Willson

AKA Henry Leroy Willson

Born: 31-Jul-1911
Birthplace: Lansdowne, PA
Died: 2-Nov-1978
Location of death: Woodland Hills, CA
Cause of death: Cirrhosis of the Liver
Remains: Buried, Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, CA

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Gay
Occupation: Business

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Talent agent, cultivated gay clientele

For a time enjoyed plausible deniability regarding the homosexuality of himself and the clients he represented -- at one point, he announced his engagement to Margaret Truman. Notable among his clients were Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, who were gay, and Robert Wagner, who is not. At some point, that carefully maintained façade fell, and his clients, straight or gay, distanced themselves from Willson, leaving him bereft of income. He died 1978 at the Motion Pictures Home, penniless. "He was a very, very dangerous man. He controlled all those guys: Rock, Rip, Rap, Tab, Troy."[1]


[1] Elaine Stritch, interview with William J. Mann, after which Stritch would no longer cooperate, quoted in "Secrets and Bios", The Advocate, 11 October 2005.

    High School: Asheville School
    University: Wesleyan University



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