MEET ACTIVIST-ACTOR-KNIGHT MCKELLEN; SOLO SHOW HIGHLIGHTS HIS STRUGGLE.Byline: Reed Johnson Reed Cameron Johnson (born December 8, 1976 in Riverside, California) is an outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of the American League East division of Major League Baseball. He weighs 180 lb (82 kg) and is 5'10" tall. Daily News Staff Writer In her own inimitable in·im·i·ta·ble adj. Defying imitation; matchless. [Middle English, from Latin inimit way, Margaret Thatcher Noun 1. Margaret Thatcher - British stateswoman; first woman to serve as Prime Minister (born in 1925) Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, Iron Lady, Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Thatcher may have done as much for gay rights as Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. . But that hardly makes her an idol to actor Ian McKellen. During the 11-1/2-year reign of the ultra-conservative ``Iron Lady,'' Britain endured what McKellen describes as an era of homophobia so intense that gay Britons had no choice but to radicalize rad·i·cal·ize tr.v. rad·i·cal·ized, rad·i·cal·iz·ing, rad·i·cal·iz·es To make radical or more radical: "Many, probably most, of those have been radicalized by their experiences among the poor" and fight back. As a result, McKellen says, London today is the ``gay capital of Europe.'' Gay culture is thriving. Public attitudes have grown steadily more tolerant. And, following last month's landslide Labor Party victory, McKellen believes that the climate for gays will only get balmier. ``We've gotten rid of a homophobic government to be replaced with an openly friendly one, with five openly gay members of Parliament,'' says the actor, fixing his calm, oceanic blue eyes Blue eyes are eyes that have blue irises (see eye color), and may also refer to:
In fact, McKellen is as heartened by the Conservatives being thrown out as he is by DeGeneres coming out. ``It's hugely symbolic,'' he says of the sitcom star's newfound identity. ``And the ease with which the nation has adjusted to it shows that homophobia comes out of ignorance.'' As if riding some trans-Atlantic wind of change, McKellen, who turns 58 this month, has sailed into town for a two-week run of his solo show, ``A Knight Out in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ,'' at downtown's Los Angeles Theatre Center. Conceived by the Cambridge-educated actor three years ago, and first performed during the Gay Games The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. Originally called the Gay Olympics, in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , it tracks two parallel journeys: the evolution of McKellen's acting career in London, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Hollywood; and the personal odyssey that led to his coming out as a gay man in 1990, shortly before Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his services to the performing arts. ``A Knight Out'' (get the pun?) marks Sir Ian's first L.A. stage appearance since his charismatic portrayal of Shakespeare's Richard III at Royce Hall in 1993, a role he reprised in Richard Loncraine's 1995 movie version. In the show, McKellen mixes personal insights and wry, sometimes gossipy asides with snippets of authors ranging from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde to Armistead Maupin. Proceeds from the two-week L.A. engagement will benefit a number of local arts and human service organizations that cater largely to a gay and/or low-income youth clientele. Why bring the show here now? Well, McKellen says, ``with all this gay stuff being in the air, it just seemed maybe L.A. would be interested in it.'' A modest supposition, coming from an actor considered one of the best in the English-speaking world. Though he built a reputation doing classics with the Royal Shakespeare Company Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), a British repertory theater. The company, established in 1960, was based on the earlier Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon. It is a national theater supported by government funds. , McKellen also has mastered Chekhov and Ibsen, appeared in a dozen films and won a stack of awards for playing Salieri on Broadway in Peter Shaffer's ``Amadeus.'' None of this, though, seems to fire his pride more than his role in co-founding the Stonewall stone·wall v. stone·walled, stone·wall·ing, stone·walls v.intr. 1. Informal a. Group, a gay-rights lobbying entity. The knight has been all too happy to wield his title like a lance in the service of this larger crusade. ``As far as being a gay activist is concerned, it's very useful, because if someone called `Sir' writes a letter or knocks on the door, the letter gets opened and the knock gets answered.'' He takes equal satisfaction in being L.A.'s only one-man show with its own Web page: www.history.com/knightout. Hard to believe that barely seven years ago, McKellen was still clinging to the closet. Ask what made him finally come out, and he'll mention the battery of British sodomy laws dating back to Queen Victoria (some of them still on the books). He admits to being worried at first. How would an audience react, he wondered, if it were known that an actor ``in his private life would be less attracted to Juliet than Mercutio?'' ``That was something I thought about,'' he says. But now that he's out, friends tell him he's acting better than ever before. If that's true, he hopes the knowledge of it may inspire others, including some of his colleagues. ``I'd like to feel that all the middle-age closets were lining up to come out now. I don't think it'll happen until people start talking to these inveterates and telling them, `If you do lose your career, your new career will be so much more rewarding than the one you had.' '' The questions are done, and McKellen graciously thanks the interviewer before rising to leave. ``There's something in the air,'' he says again, softly, almost to himself. As if on cue, a spring gust heavy with floral fragrance blows through the open window, scattering papers and tousling the actor's gray-blond hair. THE FACTS What: ``A Knight Out in Los Angeles.'' Where: Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown. When: 8 p.m. today, Saturday, Tuesday through May 25 and May 27 through June 1. Tickets: $20 and $25. For information and tickets, call (213) 485-1681. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Sir Ian McKellen, the first openly gay man knighted by a British monarch, is bringing his solo show to the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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