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7 LGBTI celebrities you didn’t know are in their 80s

Written by gaytourism

George Takei | Instagram/georgetakei


1 Joel Grey (86)

Firstly we have Joel, who is a veteran of the film world. He is of course best known for playing the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret, on both stage and screen. For the latter, along with Judy Garland’s daughter Liza Minnelli, he won an Academy Award in 1973. The film won eight Oscars in total.

Joe’s other screen roles include Dancer in the Dark and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. On stage, he is remembered for originating the roles of George M. Cohan in George M! And the Wizard of Oz in Wicked. The father of Dirty Dancing’s Jennifer Grey came out in 2015 at age 82.

2 Little Richard (85)

Tutti Frutti singer Little Richard has revealed in various interviews that he has had sex with both men and women throughout his life, although he has faced a long-term struggle to reconcile his faith and his sexuality.

He is best known for the songs Good Golly Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally and also Rip It Up. He received the 1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

3 Stephen Sondheim (88)

Musical theater legend Stephen is responsible for some of the most enduring music and lyrics in Broadway history.

He has written for Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, among others. He also wrote ‘Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)’, sang by Madonna for the 1990 film Dick Tracy, which won the 1990 Oscar for Best Song.

Stephen has also won countless Tonys, Lawrence Olivier Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama at a White House ceremony.

4 Richard Chamberlain (84)

Actor Richard is known for his iconic TV roles. He played Dr Kildare for 191 episodes from 1961-66, making him a teen idol. He then played Ralph de Bricassart on The Thorn Birds. In more recent years, he appeared on Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and Twin Peaks.

Richard confirmed he is gay in 2003 autobiography Shattered Love.

5 Clive Davis (86)

Grammy winner Clive Davis is one of the most famous names in music. Clive revealed his bisexuality in his 2013 autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life. He later told Katie Couric: ‘You don’t have to be only one thing or another.

‘I opened myself up to the possibility that I could have a relationship with a man as well as the two that I had with a woman.’

The former president of Columbia Records mentored such singing icons as Barry Manilow, who himself came out as gay in 2017, as well as the late Whitney Houston, who it is believed was bisexual.

6 George Takei (81)

George, who first publicly discussed the fact he’s gay in 2005, of course shot to fame in 1965 as Star Trek’s Lt. Sulu.

Speaking about keeping his sexuality secret in the past to the Guardian in 2016, he once said: ‘You live under the fear of being outed all the time. I played the game. I took a female friend to premieres and parties, and then I’d take her home and go to a gay bar. It was a double life.’

In addition to his most iconic role, he’s known for his appearances in the likes of Will & Grace, Scrubs and The Simpsons.

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7 David Hockney (81)

Finally, one of the world’s most iconic living artists, Yorkshire-born David Hockney has frequently depicted themes of sexuality in his work.In an interview with the New York Times last year, he said his chief assistant Jean-Pierre Conclaves de Lima has been his ‘faithful companion of 15 years.’

He was also recently the subject of a record-breaking retrospective at the Tate Britain in London. Oh, and he recently got Tom Daley to pose naked!

Why 478,082 people queued to see this gay artist’s record-breaking exhibit

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