Henry Willson: Last News

Lauren Ames Henry Willson’s behavior was protected by other powerful players in the entertainment industry who depended on him for a steady stream of fresh, young talent. In episode 3 of “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly, Variety’s senior entertainment and media writer, unearth the story of Willson, an aggressive, midcentury Hollywood talent agent and manager who succeeded in both spotting and taking advantage of young actors within whom he saw potential for fame.

Movie stars no longer “own” Hollywood, we are told, but two hallowed brand names owned much of the media space this week.

HBO documentary, “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,” and has alleged that Hudson made sexual passes at costar James Dean.Hudson — who died from an AIDS-related illness in 1985 — kept his homosexuality a secret among the social circles of Tinseltown.Griffin claimed in the special that Hudson was “privately hitting on Dean” during shooting the 1956 drama.“According to some accounts, James Dean was rather disdainful of Hudson,” he went on.“Dean considered it hypocritical that Rock was maintaining this hetero facade in public,” Griffin explained. “Some might consider that a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”“Giant” also starred Hudson’s friend Elizabeth Taylor, and was Dean’s last movie he shot before his 1955 death in a car crash.The “East of Eden” alum portrayed a ranch hand, who enters into a bitter feud with a wealthy Texas rancher (played by Hudson) for over a period of several years.Griffin also alleged in the documentary that Dean was involved with a gay media executive who was pals with Hudson’s agent, Henry Willson.“If you’re talking about shrouded sexuality, they weren’t all that different,” he noted.In an archived interview featuring Hudson from 1983, he stated that he despised his younger castmate.The “Dynasty” actor said that the only reason that “Giant” director George Stevens had cast Dean, was because he was “new and hot.”“As I said, I didn’t like the fella too much.

Spellbound and Gunfight At The O.K. Corral, has died aged 97.Her death was confirmed by her secretary Carla Sapon, who said the actor died on Wednesday (October 14) in Santa Monica, California (as per The Hollywood Reporter). A cause of death has not yet been revealed.Fleming, who also starred in the film A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court, was born Marilyn Louis on August 10, 1923, in Hollywood.