Did leonard bernsteins wife know he was gay

Bernstein wed Montealegre (played in the film by Carey Mulligan) in , but according to their kids she did not go into the marriage under any illusions about her husband's sexuality. If a person has sexual relations regularly with both men and women, then I call that person bisexual.

It's a hell of an experience — nerve-racking and guts-tearing and wonderful. Cothran died of AIDS in Just three years before his marriage, Bernstein visited Israel and had an affair with Azariah Rapoport , a stunning young Israeli soldier who was his guide.

He said Bernstein was a "gay man who married. Bernstein was madly in love: "I can't quite believe that I should have found all the things I've wanted rolled into one. It's changed everything. Those who knew Perkins said that he'd let nothing stand in the way of his career, and getting married served his career goals.

Lenny walked across the stage to hand the roses to Felicia, but as he did so, she pivoted on her heel and stormed offstage. It’s no surprise that Bernstein remained silent on the subject of his sexuality in letters to Koussevitzky – until, that is, he proudly announced his first engagement to Felicia in December , suggesting a picture of his sexuality that was at best incomplete.

The next year Felicia was diagnosed with lung cancer, and Bernstein moved back in to care for her until she died in Bernstein himself was to die of progressive lung failure. The giant bouquet fell to the floor with a thwump , and the audience gasped. Once he sampled married life, he was so relieved that the gay rumors and suspicions no longer haunted him that he at last settled into a zone comfortable for him.

When Bernstein took the podium, the audience went wild. Most biographies of Bernstein relate that his lifestyle became more excessive and his homosexual activities cruder and less discrete after her death. A personal comment here: homosexuality is not a life style. Cooper directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay.

Afterward, Bernstein was disconsolate, but went through with his plan to join Cothran in Paris. Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre's children open up about 'Maestro,' how their mom knew about their dad's bisexuality and how it affected her. Leonard Bernstein’s Children Say His Wife “Knew Exactly What the Deal Was” With His Bisexuality Hollywood Reporter November 14, Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre's children Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein, Jamie Bernstein and Alexander Bernstein sat down with 'Maestro' writer-director Bradley Cooper to discuss the upcoming film.

The same with actor Anthony Perkins, who did not have a sexual experience with a female until he was 39 years old he was so closeted and paranoid prior to that time that he insisted on parking blocks away from the homes of his male lovers and arrived at events and restaurants well before or after his boyfriends.

Pete Townshend? At the end of the concert, an assistant brought a hundred red roses to him. The two had been booked long in advance of their personal turmoil, but there was no question of the Bernsteins not fulfilling their obligation. He underwent psycho-analysis with Hungarian-born Dr.

Sandor Rado, whose specialty was "curing" homosexual men of their "inversion". Bernstein was going to Paris to spend half a year with Cothran, whom Felicia detested. His wife also suffered the humiliation of receiving phone calls and discovering love letters from her husband's many boyfriends.

Bernstein's sexual relations before, during and after his marriage were overwhelmingly homosexual, so I agree with Laurents' assessment. If the gay rumors about George Gershwin proved true, I'd label him bisexual, because he was known to have regular sexual relations with women.

Photo: With wife Felicia and children A major event in Bernstein's personal life was his decision that he could no longer repress his homosexuality; he left his wife in to live with Tom Cothran , his male lover at the time. Do we call Bernstein bisexual because he married and fathered three children?

The screenplay focused on Bernstein's relationship with his wife Felicia and the impact his dalliances with men often his younger students , alcohol and drug abuse had on their marriage. Professionally, however, Bernstein felt that his homosexuality was a curse. The recently deceased Arthur Laurents did not think we should.