Talk:Eric Portman

Pub

Just a side note, should it not be mentioned on his profile that there is a pub named after himself and Wilfred Pickles (see the aforementioned's wikipedia page) in Halifax itself? Named the Portman and Pickles (Branthemosherman (talk) 13:49, 21 April 2009 (UTC))

So add it then -- SteveCrook (talk) 02:30, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Gay?

The article says that Portman was a life long bachelor, which is factual but could also be a euphemism common in obituaries etc. Should it not also refer to him being gay? Eg: in Secret Classrooms (Geoffrey Elliott & Harold Shukman, St Ermin's Press 2002 ISBN 1 903608 13 9), pp. 91-92 which talks of his boyfriend running the Bistro Bar at the St Petroc's Club - apparently a known gay club back in the 1950s.

Elliott & Shukman point out that the relationship presented "a new insight for the many naive souls [stationed at the nearby Bodmin JSSL camp] whose adolescent picture of him had been formed by his roles as the imperturbable silver-haired Senior British Officer in The Colditz Story ..." 82.20.14.251 19:30, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

His being "a life long bachelor" is a deliberate euphemism for his being gay. It was used in many articles about him in fan magazines. He never came out. But remember that for most of his life, homosexuality was illegal in the UK -- SteveCrook 22:09, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm pleased someone else sees the probable euphemism - tough I was going a little doo-lally for a moment. However, are reference articles correctly a place in which to to resort to such devices? It really does not matter in the context of the article that homosexuality was illegal for much of his life, although doubtless somewhere else there is a discussion about these various euphemisms. Either the possible euphemism should be detailed or a link to a discussion of the phrase "lifelong bachelor" should be provided.

There is also a grammatical issue, for the pedants such as myself. You either are/were a bachelor or you ain't. "Lifelong" is redundant.

I've used Wikpedia for a while and the time is long past when I ought to have signed up, so I will. Apologies for the unintended anonymity. However, signing up will be one thing & editing a page quite another! 82.20.14.251 23:08, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

For "tough" above, read "thought". But at least I'm now signed up ...

Au contraire, you can be a bachelor for part of your life, and then get married. Also, I think the times in which he lived had a big influence on his concealing his homosexuality. But I agree, a reference work like this should make it clear. Both that the phrase was used as a euphemism and that it was to conceal something that was illegal -- SteveCrook 00:51, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

If you die a bachelor then you must have been so throughout your life. However, in the historical context it is certainly apt to use the phrase. Thanks for updating the page and so saving me from a tentative first dabble - nicely done, too Sitush 07:59, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

I reworded the sentence about his alleged homosexuality because the way it read with "during the 1950s" made no sense. He continued working steadily as late as 1969, the year of his death. Earlier this week the Fox Movie Channel in the United States showed the 1968 film Deadfall in which Eric played a supporting role. His character was a married bisexual man, but there is no evidence that the movie studio used Eric's personal life to promote the film. His co-star, Michael Caine, was a huge star in the United States at the time, and that was enough to sell box office tickets. Telling Americans about the private life of an actor they barely had heard of would have been revolutionary in 1968, and I'd like to see evidence that it happened. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.183.42.25 (talk) 01:14, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

I think that made it less clear. It's not correct to say "Portman was rumored to be homosexual". There is no doubt about it now. At the time it was only rumoured because homosexuality was illegal and even after it was legalised it would have still damaged his career -- SteveCrook (talk) 09:52, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

You are right. I revised the sentence again, clarifying that he was homosexual yet newspapers refrained from publicizing that. Many young people today do not realize that newspapers were the only medium that could have identified and did identify performers as gay. The most notorious example was a London daily newspaper humiliating Liberace, who was American, in the late 1950s. A daily newspaper, not a weekly supermarket tabloid, did that. BBC television and radio never did such a thing. American and Canadian television did not, either, prior to the advent of cable and satellite channels. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.183.42.37 (talk) 18:20, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Don't get me started on what I think of British newspapers, even the so called respectable and mainstream British newspapers are little more than celebrity obsessed gossip sheets. They do hardly any real reporting nowadays they just reiterate press releases, or, if they can't get the story they want, they make it up -- SteveCrook (talk) 20:56, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

...he was romantically involved with Eliza Jane Thornton, his leading lady...

I think bisexual would be the term, unless we know that he later became exclusively gay. Valetude (talk) 23:30, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Anti-semitic?

The Wiki page for Norman Hudis mentions his time working with the 'notoriously anti-Semitic actor Eric Portman'. Valetude (talk) 15:51, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

References