Talk:Edward Everett Horton

He may have been a sissy, but he was no dummy. He bought up property in the San Fernando Valley starting in the 1920s. He developed what he named Beleigh Acres, a 23-acre compound where he lived with his longtime partner, handsome, silver-tongued actor Gavin Gordon, and Horton’s mother, who stubbornly hung around until she was 102-years-old. Gordon and Horton met in a stage production of Coward’s Private Lives in 1934. They appeared in only one film together, the sweetly sentimental Pocketful Of Miracles (1961), alongside Bette Davis, Ann-Margret and Glenn Ford. They were together 25 years.

Can you prove Horton and Gordon slept together, and no one else ever joined them? Others who lived at Beleigh Acres included F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham. Multiple books by her identify Horton as her landlord. Possibly all four of them shared a bed every once in a while. The movie Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice was based on a short story by Fitzgerald. You also said Gordon was handsome. He had nothing on my great-grandfather. And Horton's mother "stubbornly hung around" until she was 102? Oh, I get it, most mothers would have said, "When my number comes up, I'm going away."Brent Brant (talk) 23:22, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

Untitled

If you are saying that wikipedia should start generally using USA as an adjective to describe citizens of the United States, I think you should discuss it elsewhere before implementing it. I suspect most will disagree with you.

Like it or not, American is the accepted adjective used to describe citizens of the United States, just as Ni-Vanuatu is the accepted adjective used to describe citizens of Vanuatu. I understand some want to reserve "American" to refer to occupants of all of the Americas, but that isn't how it is used today.

On the other hand, if there is something specific about Edward Horton that I don't understand that would lead us to refer to him *specifically— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.107.2.35 (talk) 19:44, 16 September 2005 (UTC)* as "USA", then I missed that entirely.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.193.88.82 (talk) 19:52, 18 February 2003 (UTC)

I certainly am aware that people from the USA commonly refer to their nationality as "American". I am not calling that "wrong". I just think that the term "USA" is clearer and more specific-- and not "wrong" either. This is a bit tangential to Mr. Horton; perhaps the discussion should go to somewhere like Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies) or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Biography. Also, perhaps you'd like to choose a name for yourself and log in. Cheers, -- Infrogmation 20:43 Feb 18, 2003 (UTC)

Sexual Orientation

Horton's been classified under the category "Gay actors from the United States". However, I've yet to find any proof-- despite some considerable google-fu on my part-- that Horton was gay. A few sites do say that he's gay, but they don't cite any proof, compelling or otherwise. So I'm removing it. If someone does have some proof, feel free to provide it and to revert my edit.Anonymoustom (talk) 23:38, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

According to director George Cukor, Horton was part of Hollywood's gay scene, although his statement probably doesn't meet WP:RS. 162.39.194.20 (talk) 22:30, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Cukor died in January 1983 at age 83. People had numerous opportunities to ask him to drop names for dubious purposes. An author named Patrick McGilligan waited until Cukor had been dead for thirty years and then wrote a book claiming that a whole bunch of people who regularly visited his Los Angeles house were gay. That sleazy type of book does not meet Wikipedia's standards as a RS. Horton's career prospered in an era when movie studio executives forbid talent from discussing their off-camera lives. Let it go.Brent Brant (talk) 23:22, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

My account won't meet Wikipedia standards, but as a cousin I can personally vouch that Horton was gay. He was my grandfathers generation and I knew him in the late 1950s and 1960s during the summer at Lake George, NY (in addition to him, other branches of the family including mine owned homes). While publicly and professionally he was discrete, he was fully out to his family and we dined with his friends. But I only have the oral family tradition and my personal knowledge. If there's any direct or contemporaneous proof of his orientation it could be his papers at the University of Wyoming. His orientation doesn't define him but it seems off not to recognize him for who he was (and have that obvious misdirection 1968 quote on his wikipedia page). Rogerfern (talk) 23:56, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

You refer to Horton’s statement about Leap Year Day as follows: “(and have that obvious misdirection 1968 quote on his wikipedia page).” Unless you provide a source, reliable by Wikipedia standards, for Horton intentionally misdirecting people, it stays in Horton’s article as is. As you noted, your personal knowledge of sexual activity at the vacation resort in New York can not become a part of Horton’s article. That would be an example of original research. Edward Everett Horton’s work in Lost Horizon and other movies consists of his portrayals of fictional characters. Not one of the movies has evidence of the real man’s fantasies. May he rest in peace. Brent Brant (talk) 03:17, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

A kind, talented character-actor, and my friend

Mr. Horton was a frequent visitor to Rochester, NY, where he was loved and made us all giggle. I was in my teens and had the delightful chance to play, and lose, at tennis with him in the indoor court at the Genesee Valley Club. I resent snide remarks about his sexual orientation- - -which is nobody's business, totally beside his talent and deeply in bad taste. I hope Wikipedia is able to filter slander OUT. If not, I have a slew of goodies to contribute to the sleaze faction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Elettra (talk • contribs) 22:44, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

It's interesting that you want to be viewed as open minded but if you were really open minded you wouldn't think that identifying him as gay was snide, slander or "deeply in bad taste." 66.245.66.225 (talk) 23:29, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

You didn't read Elettra's comments correctly. Elettra said the remarks were "deeply in bad taste," not the sex acts. Elettra added they were "nobody's business." I agree. We don't do investigations here at Wikipedia. We only put in articles stuff that comes from legitimate sources. For example, Elettra's memories of Mr. Horton visiting his family in Rochester, New York can't go in the article because they aren't published or broadcast in a legitimate media source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.166.33.92 (talk) 06:12, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I have added a reference to a reliable source regarding his homosexuality. I think it would be a trivial matter to demonstrate that Mr. Horton's sexuality, while obviously a private matter for him in his lifetime, is a notable fact today, and reporting it is neither in bad taste or showing undue weight. He was in his roles an apparent homosexual stereotype, so people have naturally been curious. curious enough that their focus, and the truth of this part of his life, is notable. If we want to debate this, im ok with it, but if we decide to remove it, we MUST remove the categories related to his being gay.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:29, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Your comment that Mr. Horton "was in his roles an apparent homosexual stereotype" is totally POV. It's a generalization about different film roles he played and cartoon characters he voiced over a period of several decades. You might as well say Gracie Allen was using a "girl next door" stereotype as a comic foil for her husband. In truth, neither Mr. Horton nor Ms. Allen included in his/her persona any suggestion of what he/she fantasized about. Suggesting Ms. Allen had a crush on any character besides George Burns is totally POV -- as would be calling her a girl next door or tramp.

Not that there's anything wrong with those POV interpretations of very old movies. But they belong on discussion pages, not in actual articles. This article leads readers to several of Mr. Horton's movies that can let a viewer decide for himself/herself if his character in that film was supposed to be gay. Aren't the DVD's of his films and TV series (like F Troop) substantial sources compared to a user-driven website that was created several decades after his death on which someone tries to dictate how you should interpret his performances?

With Liberace, I understand. But I've seen Edward Everett Horton's work in several Rogers / Astaire musicals and I see him as purely a comic foil -- a lot like Ed Wynn, who never seemed to have a romantic relationship onscreen, either. Rogers and Astaire had pleasant, appealing personalities, but neither could be funny no matter what lines the screenwriter gave them. (After their partnership ended, Astaire kept getting gigs for another forty years, but never in a screwball comedy or on a radio or TV sitcom. It Takes A Thief wasn't supposed to be funny. Rogers switched to drama soon after they parted, even winning an Academy Award for it.) So the RKO Studios brought in Edward Everett Horton to elevate the non-musical scenes, which would have dragged without him. It was his indignation and "double take" that were funny -- not his refraining from making a pass at Ginger Rogers' character.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.101.236.250 (talk) 18:28, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Who he is named after

Just a guess, but he's named after Edward Everett, the man who spoke before Lincoln's Gettysburg Address? Could he be a relation? I hesitate to ask, but if he is, there's always the chance his unusual voice is alike. Piano non troppo (talk) 06:49, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Relationship to Edward Everett Hale

I removed an unsourced statement from the Early Life section indicating that Horton may be the grandson of Edward Everett Hale. Horton is named after his own father, whose last name is obviously not Hale. Edward Everett Hale's only daughter who survived to adulthood (Ellen) neither married nor had children. It's possible that he is related in some other way, but many other possibilities exist including that Edward Everett Horton Sr. was named in honor of the famous statesman and orator, Edward Everett. In any case, a reliable source is called for before addition to the article. Richigi (talk) 15:07, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Trivia

"... Edward Everett Horton, an American comedian who appeared in several Astaire-Rogers films, collected books on tintinnabulation, and confessed to Plummer that three Dominican bellringers were constantly at work in his head." Leo Marks, Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945, chap. 15. (This episode takes place at the antiquarian bookshop Marks & Co, Leo Marks being the then-owner's son.)

Who he?

Actor Gavin Gordon, 15 years Horton's junior, appears in the 1961 film Pocketful of Miracles that also features Horton, though they do not appear together in any scenes.

This does not seem to relate to anything before or after. Presumably it's a discreet way of hinting that Gavin Gordon was his partner. But it should indicate. Valetude (talk) 13:06, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

That was my thought, too. Your inference (that someone is hinting they were partners) didn't occur to me, and I was left wondering why this reference (which has since been edited to indicate that they both appeared in a second film) merited inclusion. He had a significant part in two films with Cary Grant (having scenes and dialogs with Grant in both of them), so appearing in two films with a far-less well-known actor doesn't seem to merit mention, barring some direct statement as to why that is significant. In a career as long as Horton's, he was bound to overlap with lots of actors more than once. I am going to be bold and delete it. Lynn25 (talk) 01:53, 3 January 2019 (UTC)