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William Haines (January 2, 1900 in film|1900 -
December 26, 1973 in film|1973) was a United
States|US film actor who was one of the most
successful film stars of the silent movies|silent
era.

Born in Staunton, Virginia, Haines left his home
while in his teens and moved to New York City.  
After winning a talent contest he moved to
Hollywood where he played bit parts for several
years until MGM Studios began casting him in more
prominent roles.  

By 1925 he was MGM's most important male star, and
his films were very profitable for the studio.  He
was cultivated as a romantic leading man, and his
combination of good looks and flair for comedy won
him many fans.

He appeared in successes such as Sally, Irene and
Mary (1926 in film|1926 with newcomers Joan
Crawford and Constance Bennett), West Point (1927
in film|1927 also with Crawford), and scored his
biggest personal success with Show People (1928 in
film|1928), opposite Marion Davies.

Haines lived openly as a homosexual man, and from
1926 lived with Jimmy Shields, whom he had met
during the production of a film.   Studio
publicists were able to keep this information from
the press, however studio head Louis B. Mayer
pressured Haines to end his relationship with
Shields and marry.  He made a successful
transition into talking pictures (in 1930 he was
the top male box office star in Hollywood), but
after a few years his films began to falter at the
box office. When Mayer finally delivered him an
ultimatum, and forced him to choose between
Shields and his career.  Haines chose Shields and
Mayer terminated his contract, quickly recasting
Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery in
roles that had been planned for Haines. Haines
made a few minor films at cheap studios, then
retired.

Haines and Shields began a successful career as
interior designer|interior designers and antique
dealers.  Among their early clients were friends
such as Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard, Marion
Davies and William Randolph Hearst.   Their lives
were disrupted in 1936 when homophobia|homophobic
neighbours, dressed in sheets and wearing hoods to
hide their faces, dragged the two men from their
home and beat them.  Crawford, along with other
stars such as Claudette Colbert, Kay Francis and
Charles Boyer urged the men to report this to the
police.  Marion Davies asked Hearst to use his
influence to ensure the neighbours were prosecuted
to the full extent of the law, but ultimately
Haines and Shields chose not to report the
incident.  The couple finally settled into the
Hollywood community in Malibu, and their business
prospered until their retirement in the early
1970s, barring a brief interruption when Haines
was drafted for World War II. The long list of
clients Haines and Shields worked for included
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan when Reagan was
governor of California.

Haines never returned to films.  Gloria Swanson
extended him a personal invitation to appear with
her in the film Sunset Boulevard (1950 in
film|1950) but he refused.

Haines and Shields remained together for the rest
of their lives.  Joan Crawford (a lifelong friend)
described them as "the happiest Same-sex marriage
in the United States|married couple in Hollywood".
 Haines died from lung cancer in Santa Monica,
California. Soon afterward, Shields, who suffered
from what many believe to be Alzheimer's Disease
(and had actually been ill for a longer period of
time than Haines) put on Haines' pajamas, took an
overdose of pills, and crawled into their bed to
die.  They were interred side by side in the
Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.

William Haines has a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame for his contributions to Motion Pictures, at
7012 Hollywood Boulevard. His life was detailed in
William J Mann's critically acclaimed 1998
biography, Wisecracker: The Life and Times of
William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star.

==External link==
* http://silentgents.com/PHaines.html William
Haines Photo Gallery
* imdb name|name= PAGENAME|id= 0354313