I didn't put on any big act. Guys would
go out with the girls and all that
...I didn't pretend
George Cukor
B: 7 July 1899
D: 24 January 1983 aged 83
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Famous for having coaxed career defining performances from a series of leading ladies including
Greta Garbo, Judy Garland and Katharine Hepburn, legendary Hollywood director George Cukor
was one of the few in the business who remained unapologetic about his homosexuality.
Not that it courted him any favours with the studio top brass, having been sacked as the
original director of GONE WITH THE WIND due to star player Clark Gable having let it be
known that he would not be "directed by a fairy."
Yet whilst Cukor remained resentful of such, having famously commented "I shot the beginning,
set the scenes, worked on the construction of the sets and researched the god-dammed thing for
a year," his dismissal did not stop Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland from seeking him
out for moonlight directing sessions. All of which prompted Cukor to have the last laugh
when Academy® Award winner Leigh let it be known how "eternally grateful" she was to
him, much to the embarrassment of the studio, Gable and replacement director Victor Fleming.
Notably he was the last director to work with Marilyn Monroe on the ill-fated SOMETHING'S GOT
TO GIVE in 1962, but even his directorial prowess couldn't save the production from being
aborted, although whether such was due to Monroe's erratic behaviour or the studio
desperately trying to claw back money from the mounting costs of the Elizabeth
Taylor epic CLEOPATRA is somewhat disputed.
As for Cukor, he remained true to his gay roots throughout his career, having fought against the
studios 'morality clause' in his contract, refused point-blank to direct the 1958 film
adaptation of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF when MGM all but removed the homosexual element of the story
and whilst discreet, was known for his 'poolside parties' with the boys, a fact not lost on
Bill Condon and his Academy® Award GODS & MONSTERS homage to the last days
of homosexual director James Whale of THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN fame.
Then again, in being openly gay at a time when most homosexuals stayed prudently in the
celluloid closet, both Cukor and Whale had shown Hollywood that frankly,
my dear, they didn't give a damn!
He passed away in January 1983 aged 83, leaving a legacy of films behind him, including such
classics as LITTLE WOMEN / 1933, CAMILLE / 1936, THE WOMEN / 1939, THE PHILADELPHIA
STORY / 1940, GASLIGHT / 1944, A STAR IS BORN / 1954 and most notably MY FAIR
LADY / 1964, arguably his crowning achievement.
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