John Kerr, cast in two famous 1950s movie roles challenging bigotry (Tea and Sympathy and South Pacific) died February 2 of, according to his son, Michael, congestive heart failure.
In 1954 Kerr won a Tony for his portrayal of Tom Lee on Broadway opposite Deborah Kerr (no relation) in Robert Anderson’s Tea and Sympathy. From the New York Times:
He played a sensitive teenager whose prep school classmates torment him because they assume he is gay. When he starred in the 1956 film version, MGM avoided mention of homosexuality by having his tormentors harass him for being a sissified “sister boy.”The tragic/comic scene from the movie, in which a helpful frat brother tries to help Tom Lee get rid of the excessive bounce in his walk is the cinematic antecedent of Kevin Kline's attempt (played totally for laughs) to become more butch via a self-help tape, in In and Out.
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