 Dirk Bogarde's Biography : For the Time Being Click cover to BUY |
Dirk Bogarde was more than a pretty face. And Dirk was a dish. The DiCaprio of his day. His female fans were once so eager to get into his pants that he use to sew up his flies at premieres.
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It was appearing in inoffensive fluff such as Doctor at Sea which gained Bogarde the reputation of being sex on a stick. But Bogarde grew tired of being treated trivially and strove to become a serious actor instead.
His professional turning point came in 1961 when he was approached to play a blackmailed gay barrister in Victim. The film has since been credited for helping to create support for the eventual decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. More risque roles in advant garde films followed. The most memorable being Gustav von Aschenbach - a dying writer consumed by desire for a beautiful teenage boy - in Death in Venice. Although Bogarde wasn't afraid to take on queer characters, he never came out himself. While being pressed on his sexuality on a TV chat show, Bogarde snapped: "You haven't cracked me yet." There are some that dismiss him for this. But Bogarde played his part through his art. In 1977 Bogarde started a second career as a writer of a series of memoirs. However, he doesn't once touch intimately upon his 50-year relationship with his partner and manager Anthony Forwood. The couple spent much of their life together in their beloved farmhouse in Province. Until, in 1986, Forwood was struck down by Parkinson's disease forcing the couple to live in London. Two years later Bogarde experienced the despair of watching his long-term companion die "wretchedly" of liver cancer. Bogarde's death was sudden and painless. He died at his home on May 8 1999 of a heart attack. He once publicly claimed that his will stated "no funeral, no memorial service … just forget me". But whether as an actor with an edge who took artistic risks, an accomplished writer or just a pretty face, Dirk Bogarde will always be remembered. |
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