美国国家公共电台 NPR A Sexual Underground Surfaces In 'Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood'

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

After World War II, a Hollywood gas station became the center of that city's hidden sex life. Scotty Bowers¹ was an attendant there.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD")

SCOTTY BOWERS: One day, Cary Grant was in the gas station. And Rock Hudson just happened to be there. Cary Grant picked him out, so I fixed² him up with Rock for 20 bucks³. And Rock saw him several times. This was before Rock had any money.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Bowers knew them all - Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and so many others from the golden age of Hollywood. In the new documentary "Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood," director Matt Tyrnauer tells the story of Bowers and how Bowers became a central figure in Hollywood's underground gay and lesbian community.

MATT TYRNAUER: Scotty Bowers is now 95. He was mustered⁴ out of the Marine⁵ Corps⁶ at the end of the Second World War, landed in Hollywood and got a job at the Richfield gas station on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Van Ness. But he was doing much more at this gas station than just filling up cars and washing windows.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Indeed.

TYRNAUER: He became what was known as the pimp to the stars or the male madam to the stars in the post-war period all the way up until, really, the 1980s.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So he worked at this gas station, and that really, as you mentioned, launched him into this secret world that included so many Hollywood stars. Can you tell us some of those stories? Who did he intersect with? And what was he doing?

TYRNAUER: Well, the first thing to know is that the stars of Hollywood were restricted by morals clauses in their contracts, so if you had anything other than a heteronormative lifestyle, you were not really permitted to be public about that. So there was a need for a sort of sexual underground in Hollywood. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood who are immortal⁷ names passed by this gas station and used his services.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NOTORIOUS")

CARY GRANT: (As Devlin) Don't you need a coat?

INGRID BERGMAN: (As Alicia) You'll do.

TYRNAUER: Cary Grant, for instance, literary figures such as Tennessee Williams and Gore⁹ Vidal. And he was really a protector of these people's reputations because not only were there morals clauses in these contracts that could lead to their career ruin, there was also the vice⁸ squad¹⁰, which was run by the Los Angeles Police Department at the time and was sort of like a sexual Gestapo that was out to shake down famous people and collude with the press to ruin lives and reputations.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And he never took money for making those connections, did he? I mean, he turned tricks himself. But he didn't actually take money for connecting people.

TYRNAUER: Yeah. That was the way it worked. So he really wasn't, in the classic sense, a pimp. But Scotty really served a purpose in the community. Recently, the mayor of West Hollywood honored Scotty by making him an honorary citizen of the town. So now some 80 years after he started his brothel, he's being recognized as a kind of equal rights and gay rights icon¹¹ in that place.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You know, even though he talked about a story much later in the book that he wrote and in your documentary, at the time, he kept everyone's secrets for decades.

TYRNAUER: Yes. What I came to realize very quickly - because I met him through Gore Vidal, who met him in 1947 at the gas station - that these were really lasting¹² and important friendships that he had with some of the great people of the town. And that, in his prime, included people like George Cukor, who was the - one of the top directors of the era. And Scotty was integral to someone like Cukor's life. He not only was a sex worker for Cukor, but he was a man of all work, so he would trim the trees and, you know, go Christmas shopping, pick him up at the airport. So he was a trusted person. And when you had to live your life in the shadows like this but were also prominent, imagine how important someone who could be trusted in all aspects, including the secret aspects of your life, could be.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Some of the stories that he talks about have been rumored¹³ for a long time, like Cary Grant, but others not as much. How do you know Scotty's stories are true?

TYRNAUER: He wrote a memoir¹⁴ some years ago. And it provided no proof. It was a collection of memories. When I start to interview him, which I did over the course of two years, I began to find corroboration¹⁵ in my independent research. And this came in many forms. The first thing I asked them when I met him was, are there any people alive who were at the gas station when you were operating it as a covert¹⁶ brothel? And he said, yes. There are. I was very surprised to hear this, so the first thing we did was go visit those people. And over the course of a few months, I met, I think, seven people who were present in the '40s, '50s and '60s and witnessed this. So they provided corroboration - and very specific in some cases. For instance, Charles Laughton had autographed books and a script to "Witness For The Prosecution¹⁷" for one of the sex workers who appears in the film. He revealed that he had run lines with Laughton for "Witness For The Prosecution."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION")

TYRONE POWER: (As Leonard Vole) So now they say that I did have a motive¹⁸.

CHARLES LAUGHTON: (As Sir Wilfrid Roberts) They will, indeed. Eighty thousand pounds makes for a very handsome motive.

TYRNAUER: And so this began to give me a window into exactly what this world was like.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What you ultimately reveal, though, is not only about the sex lives of Hollywood's most famous. But it's about Scotty Bowers' own history. He, by any measure, had some terrible things happen to him. He was sexually abused by his teacher when he was about 11. He denies it was abuse and denies it was the reason he got into the life he did. But that happened to him. He lost his daughter when she was only 23 years old to an illegal abortion¹⁹. And he was in a violent period of World War II.

TYRNAUER: He's a survivor²⁰ who, interestingly, doesn't want to be recognized as a victim. He's very intent on saying that he was very aware of everything that was happening - and was all his choice. I let him speak his own truth in the film. I question him on it on several occasions. And it's an unusual perspective for us to hear today. But it's very much his own perspective.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You know, hearing Scotty's story made me think about the myths that we create about famous people and how there always seems to be more to the story, a secret person we actually didn't know anything about. This film refers to Scotty as an urban legend. And it is an urban legend that ended up being true.

TYRNAUER: Yes. It's fascinating to me how enduring the myths of the so-called golden age of Hollywood are. But the publicity²¹ department of the studio system really did its job because the better part of a hundred years later, a lot of people are still clinging to these myths about the strict heterosexual, heteronormative lifestyles of the great stars.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ADAM'S RIB")

SPENCER TRACY: (As Adam) Where do you want to go tonight?

KATHARINE HEPBURN: (As Amanda) No place. I want to stay home tonight.

TRACY: (As Adam) What?

HEPBURN: (As Amanda) Would you mind?

TRACY: (As Adam) What?

HEPBURN: (As Amanda) Please?

TRACY: (As Adam) Well, I don't know.

HEPBURN: (As Amanda) Cook up something ourselves - something exotic. How would you care for some of that?

TRACY: (As Adam) Oh, I would.

TYRNAUER: One of the assertions that Scotty makes is that Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy weren't really a couple, that she was mostly lesbian. And he had a homosexual affair with Tracy over a number of years. And this is myth busting²². But the disruption of these myths is still troubling to people. There has been pushback.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What do you take away from that?

TYRNAUER: It's very interesting to me, if not a bit alarming, that people want to cling to a sort of straight-washed history as it pertains²³ to the reputations of movie stars such as Hepburn and Tracy. If you think that Hepburn and Tracy are great, important figures, which I happen to think, don't you want to know every aspect of their biography? Why would we want a cleaned-up, straight-washed biography of Katharine Hepburn? It makes no sense. And frankly²⁴, I feel that this pushback that's starting to emerge as the film goes out into movie theaters is a form of homophobia.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Scotty's still alive. And I'm wondering what you think his role is in changing those perceptions now that you've spent so much time with him.

TYRNAUER: Well, it's very valuable to have someone who was an eyewitness²⁵ to all of this, so he provides a primary source that fills in the blanks that were intentionally²⁶ left out. And I think he does a great service by revealing the full picture that was obscured by the studio's publicity department and, in many cases, by these great figures themselves who had to live in fear of being exposed and ruined just because they were trying to live an authentic²⁷ life.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Matt Tyrnauer. His documentary is "Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood." Thank you very much.

TYRNAUER: Thank you.

1 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

10 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

11 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

14 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

15 corroboration   

n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据

参考例句：

• Without corroboration from forensic tests,it will be difficult to prove that the suspect is guilty. 没有法医化验的确证就很难证明嫌疑犯有罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Definitely more independent corroboration is necessary. 有必要更明确地进一步证实。 来自辞典例句

16 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

17 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

18 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

19 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

20 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

21 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

22 busting   

打破，打碎( bust的现在分词 )； 突击搜查（或搜捕）； （使）降级，降低军阶

参考例句：

• Jim and his wife were busting up again yesterday. 吉姆和他的妻子昨天又吵架了。
• He figured she was busting his chops, but it was all true. 他以为她在捉弄他，其实完全是真的。

23 pertains   

关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用

参考例句：

• When one manages upward, none of these clear and unambiguous symbols pertains. 当一个人由下而上地管理时，这些明确无误的信号就全都不复存在了。
• Her conduct hardly pertains to a lady. 她的行为与女士身份不太相符。

24 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

25 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

26 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

27 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。