Jobriath should have been one of the biggest starts of ’70s glam rock: He landed a stunning $500,000 record deal. He shared a manager with Carly Simon. David Geffen had big plans to make him the American David Bowie.
Oh — and he was openly gay at a time when almost no one in music was. That may explain why the hype around him quickly disintegrated, a tragic tale we discuss on the new “Shoot This Now” podcast. You can listen on Apple or right here.
Every week on “Shoot This Now,” we talk about stories Hollywood should adapt for film or TV. The story of Jobriath is one of the best we’ve ever come across.
Jobriath, born Bruce Wayne Campbell in 1946, had the kind of winding, suitcase-and-a-dream journey to stardom that a producer on a celebrity biopic would only dream about.
Drafted into the army and AWOL within months, Jobriath assumed his moniker while haunting the streets of Los Angeles, where he scored a role in a production of “Hair” mounted on Sunset Boulevard.
Jobriath was nabbed by military police and committed to a psych hospital for six months, where he would dream up the loud and otherworldly rock altar ego that caught the attention of Davis — who most notable shepherded Whitney Houston to the very height of global pop stardom.
What makes Jobriath so compelling is not only that he was an out-gay man receiving the full support and adoration of his corporate owners — it’s how spectacularly his well-funded arrival to music failed.
At a time when David Bowie and Elton John and Freddie Mercury titillated with gender-bending, or by hiding queerness in plain sight, the promotional machine behind Jobriath was staggering: a three-night stint at the Paris Opera house, full-page ad buyouts in glossy magazines like Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, and a saturated outdoor advertising campaign.
Yet the album sold so little it didn’t even rate on Billboard’s biweekly charts.
How could such a monumental force come and go so quickly, and what conspired to keep Jobriath from ushering in an LGBT rights movement from within the powerful American recording industry?
His story ends tragically, but his influence lives on in musicians from Morrissey to, perhaps surprisingly, Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott. Lyndsey Parker’s recent piece about Elliott inspired our latest episode.
LGBTQ Hollywood: 19 Stars Who've Come Out Since Last Year's Pride Month (Photos)
Here are all the stars who have publicly joined the LGBTQ community since Pride 2017.
Former "Backstrom" and "The Secret Circle" star Thomas Dekker announced that he was gay in July 2017 in a Twitter (and Instagram) post which complained that he had been outed by a "Heroes" writer during an awards acceptance speech: “While it is an odd situation, I thank him because it presents a prime opportunity for me to publicly say that I am indeed a man who proudly loves other men. In fact, this April, I married my husband and I could not be happier.”
Emo artist and "Benz Truck" singer Lil Peep identified himself as bisexual in an August 2017 tweet. "Who wants a kiss?" he added.
Haaz Sleiman, who co-starred on "Nurse Jackie," took to social media in August 2017 to say he's a "gay, Muslim, Arab-American man." He added, "Not only am I gay, but I’m also a bottom."
Pop star Aaron Carter identified himself as bisexual in an August 2017 tweet that he later deleted. Months later, he said that his comments about his "experience with a male" when he was 17 had been "misconstrued."
"13 Reasons Why" star Brandon Flynn identified himself as part of the LGBT community in a September 2017 Instagram post -- and then began dating Oscar-winning British singer-songwriter Sam Smith.
Gordon Thomson, star of the original "Dynasty," came out as gay in a September 2017 Daily Beast interview -- and also trashed The CW's short-lived reboot of the primetime soap as "such s--- that a cretinous 6-year-old would not be interested."
Singer-songwriter Teddy Geiger, who's written hits for Shawn Mendes and One Direction, took to Instagram in October 2017 to say she was transitioning. "She/her pronouns are perfect," Geiger wrote on Twitter. "And... yes I am still Teddy."
Dan Amboyer, who plays twins Tad and Chad on TVLand's "Younger," came out as gay to People magazine -- around the time of his October 2017 wedding to Eric Berger.
Oscar winner Kevin Spacey delivered history's most awkward public coming out in October 2017, identifying himself as gay just moments after offering actor Anthony Rapp "the sincerest apology" for attempting to seduce the then-14-year-old "Star Trek" actor in 1986.
Rutina Wesley, who starred in "True Blood" and OWN's "Sugar Queen," came out in a series of Instagram posts in November 2017.
"The Hobbit" and "Pushing Daisies" alum Lee Pace identified himself as bisexual in a February 2018 interview in W magazine. "I've dated men. I've dated women,” he said. “I don't know why anyone would care."
"Love, Simon" actor Joey Pollari publicly identified as gay in a March 2018 interview with The Advocate. "It's part of my goal to be more transparent, especially in the public sphere," he said.
Former Disney star Alyson Stoner ("Camp Rock," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2") published a personal essay in the March 2018 Teen Vogue declaring: "I, Alyson, am attracted to men, women, and people who identify in other ways."
"Broad City" star Abbi Jacobson told Vanity Fair in an April 2018 interview: "I kind of go both ways; I date men and women."
Singer-actress Janelle Monáe ("Hidden Figures") identified herself as "a queer black woman" in an April 2018 interview in Rolling Stone, "someone who has been in relationships with both men and women -- I consider myself to be a free-ass motherf---er."
Kevin McHale, who played wheelchaired high schooler Artie on "Glee," came out via Twitter in April 2018, prompted by the release of Ariana Grande's single "No Tears Left to Cry."
R&B singer Kehlani took to Twitter in April 2018 to identify herself as "queer -- not bi, not straight."
Singer and actress Rita Ora ("Fifty Shades" series) identified herself as bisexual in a series of May 2018 tweets in which she also apologized to fans upset over lyrics in her "Girls" single: "I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey.”
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Happy Pride Month!
Here are all the stars who have publicly joined the LGBTQ community since Pride 2017.
