Wednesday, January 04, 2006

It's a small world after all

A new biography of Laurence Olivier asserts that a long claimed affair between he and Danny Kaye may in fact not have happened, while otherwise conforming his general bisexuality.

The Kaye allegation was printed in Donald Spoto's exquisitely written life of Laurence Olivier, which I find generally trustworthy. But who the hell knows? The author of the new book said in a recent interview:

"What I did find was evidence of a homosexual affair in 1937 with an actor called Henry Ainley. He was a big name of the 1910s and 1920s. I'm not sure this is a terribly important thing. It's there and it's a fact and therefore I report it."


Henry Ainley was the father of Anthony Ainley, the second actor to play The Master on Doctor Who as a recurring role. And for that matter, Olivier was once asked (and reportedly considered) to play a cameo role in an episode of the series.

It's a small world after all...

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