Robert La Tourneaux (August 10, 1940 – June 3, 1986) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

best known for his role of Cowboy, the good-natured but dim hustler hired as a birthday present for a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

man, in the original

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production and 1970 film version of '' The Boys in the Band''.

Biography

Robert Earl LaTurno was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, to James and Lucille LaTurno on November 22, 1941. He made his

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

debut in the 1967 musical ''

Illya Darling ''Illya Darling'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film ''Never on Sunday''. Production The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto an ...

'' while simultaneously playing the role of Mike Powers in the NBC

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

The Doctors. In 1968, he was part of the ensemble for

Mart Crowley Edward Martino Crowley (August 21, 1935 – March 7, 2020) was an American playwright best known for his 1968 play '' The Boys in the Band''. Biography Crowley was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After graduating from The Catholic University ...

's play ''The Boys in the Band'', which opened on April 14, 1968, at Theater Four in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The advertisement for the film version used head shots of Leonard Frey and La Tourneaux, with La Tourneaux identified as the "present" for Frey's birthday-celebrating character. Many newspapers refused to run the advertisement. After the film version of ''The Boys in the Band'' was released La Tourneaux's career declined. His only other film performances were a supporting part in the

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

film '' Von Richthofen and Brown'' (1971) and the independent film ''Pilgrimage''. He also had a small role in a 1974 made-for-television version of the

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

play ''Enemies''. On stage, La Tourneaux appeared in a small role in a Broadway revival of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

''; he was slated to appear in the 1977 Broadway production of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

' '' Vieux Carré'', but was dropped from the cast prior to the show's opening. The

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

La Tourneaux initially blamed his being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, "''Boys'' was the kiss of death for me." In the 1978 anthology ''Quentin Crisp's Book of Quotations'', La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, "

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...

played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image hich included a wifenever betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn't safe." Unable to secure work as an actor, La Tourneaux began nude modeling in gay men's magazines and in 1978 performed nude in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a

theater showing

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

films. He eventually became a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. La Tourneaux also gave an interview to a gay magazine naming his famous married

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

lovers, alleging one of them to have been

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning actor

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

. He also accused Walken of having an affair with another married actor,

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows ''It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series), It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch (American TV series), Switch'' (1975–1978), ...

, on the night of actress

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

's (Wagner's wife) unexplained death. In 1983, La Tourneaux was arrested for assault after trying to extort money from a client and was incarcerated at the

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

prison. While in prison, La Torneaux attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. In the early 1980s, La Tourneaux developed

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, and received news coverage when he sought legal channels to prevent being evicted from his apartment when his landlord objected to the presence of his live-in caregiver. La Tourneaux won the court case, but died in Metropolitan Hospital on June 3, 1986. ''Boys'' co-star

Cliff Gorman Joel Joshua Goldberg (October 13, 1936 – September 5, 2002), known professionally as Cliff Gorman, was an American actor. He won an Obie Award in 1968 for the stage presentation of '' The Boys in the Band'', and went on to reprise his role in ...

and his wife cared for him during his illness and until his death.'' The Boys in the Band'' DVD, "The Film" special feature He was buried at Rosedale and Rosehill Cemetery in

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a City (New Jersey), city in southeastern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a boro ...

Work

* ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'' (1951, TV series) - Jimmy Stanhope (1965-66) * '' The Doctors'' (1963, TV series) - Mike Powers (1967) * ''

'' (1967 Broadway production) * '' The Boys in the Band'' (1968 play) - Cowboy Tex * '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970, film) - Cowboy Tex * '' Von Richthofen and Brown'' (1971, film) - Ernest Udet * ''Pilgrimage'' (1972, film) - Peter * ''

'' (1973 Broadway production) * ''Enemies'' (1974, TV film) - Officer (final television appearance)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Tourneaux, Robert 1941 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male actors AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American gay actors American male film actors American male prostitutes American male stage actors American prostitutes Gay male prostitutes LGBTQ people from New York (state)