James Whale didn’t care what people in Hollywood thought of him. Whale was openly gay in 1930s Hollywood, at time when gay actors and actresses had to hide their sexual orientation at a risk of jeopardizing their careers. He was an innovative director. Universal Pictures owed its stellar success in the 1930s much in part to the huge box-office receipts of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Bride of Frankenstein — all blockbusters Whale directed for the studio. Whale personally selected Gloria Stuart, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff and Claude Rains, for their roles in those films. He had known them in his native England and he essentially gave them careers in movies in the United States.
While Whale was primarily known for directing horror movies, he also helmed the 1936 version of the musical Showboat and The Man in the Iron Mask in 1939. Whale was eventually relegated to B-grade films and retired from directing in the early 1940s.
In his later days, Whale suffered debilitating stroke and experienced difficulty with his memory. He became lonely and battled depression. On May 29, 1957, he wrote in a note “The future is just old age and illness and pain… I must have peace and this is the only way”. He left the note for his estranged lover, producer David Lewis. Whale committed suicide by drowning himself in his swimming pool.
Irene Gibbons was an Oscar-nominated costume designer in Hollywood for thirty years. She took over from Adrian at MGM, and went on to establish her own company, Irene, Inc. She was known only as “Irene” in her screen credits.
Doris Day wrote in her 1975 autobiography that she got to know Irene quite well. One night after Irene had a few drinks, Irene told Day that the “love of her life” was Gary Cooper. On several other occasions Irene spoke about the intensity of her love for Cooper, and Day got the feeling that Irene had never mentioned this to anyone before her. Day wrote that she honestly could not tell if they actually had or were having an affair, or if it was a one-sided love. Day did know that Irene was extremely distraught over Cooper’s death in 1961.
On November 15, 1962, Irene checked into room 1129 of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. She finished nearly two pints of vodka. She wrote a suicide note that read “I’m sorry. This is the best way. Get someone very good to design and be happy. I love you all. Irene.” At 3:12 that afternoon she pushed out the screen of her hotel room window and jumped.
A guest in room 429 heard a crash on the roof, and contacted the hotel manager. Irene’ s body was discovered on the 3rd floor roof, 9 feet in front of room 329.
The challenge word this week on illustrationfriday.com is “vacant”.
“Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful.”
— Louis XIV
