#waldo lydecker

laura (1944) / laura by vera caspary -- waldo and laura meet

bonus deleted scene from the movie script, with a third interpretation of their meeting --

Clifton Webb had a long career on Broadway and vaudeville as a dancer and actor. Although he made a few silent films in the 1920s, he didn’t make a hit in Hollywood until his was cast as Waldo Lydecker in “Laura” (1944).

Then 20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck didn’t want Webb in the movie. He thought Webb was “too effeminate as a person and an actor”.

Webb definitely came across as effeminate as Waldo Lydecker but it worked. In his first scene we find him taking a bath while the ruggedly handsome police detective (played by Dana Andrews) questions him about the death of Laura Hunt. The audience doesn’t suspect this prissy old man could be the killer.

Curiously enough, Laura (Gene Tierney) has a boyfriend in the film played by another closeted actor - Vincent Price.

“Laura” was a success and Webb earned a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for the role. This kickstarted Webb’s career in Hollywood where he often playing a father or snide, know-it-all.

Webb never married and lived with his mother until her death in 1960. Webb’s friend Noel Coward quipped, "It must be terrible to be orphaned at 71."

Actor Robert Wagner (who co-starred with Webb in the films “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Titanic”) considered Webb a mentor. In his memoir Wagner said, “Clifton Webb was gay, of course, but he never made a pass at me, not that he would have.”

While researching Webb and others for this tumblr, I’ve come across references that Clifton Webb and James Dean may have been lovers. The two seem like an unlikely pair but I’ve also read that Dean, when he was still a struggling actor, accepted support from older men and may have been gay-for-pay.

@tcmparty​ live tweet schedule for the week beginning Monday, July 22, 2019. Look for us on Twitter…watch and tweet along…remember to add #TCMParty to your tweets so everyone can find them :) All times are Eastern.

Wednesday, July 24 at 9:30 p.m. LAURA (1944) A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.

laura (1944) / laura by vera caspary -- baseball games

bonus still from a deleted scene where mark makes it to the game (with company) --