Robert Taylor loved the ladies. He had, in the words of Jimmy Stewart’s biographer Marc Eliot, “a reputation as an intense, real-life ladies man.” Jimmy Stewart: a Biography, Random House 2006, p. 82). Jane Ellen Wayne, in Robert Taylor: the Man with the Perfect Face, St. Martin’s press, 1987, p. 160), recounts that “one night [Taylor] invited the entire Copacabana chorus line for dinner.” The list of Mr. Taylor’s relationships is lengthy, although often unverifiable, due to his extreme discretion. A few women, notably Ava Gardner, have come forward, although most have not.
Nonetheless, since the 1930s rumors have persisted that Mr. Taylor was gay or at least bisexual. This was, of course, based on his sensational looks and the studio’s misguided publicity campaign for the “pretty boy.” There is, however, not one scintilla of evidence for this. No Taylor personal reminiscing, no photographs, no letters. There is only gossip by people who obviously have an axe to grind. Barbara Stanwyck had similar problems and some say they had a “lavender” or bisexual marriage. Again, until there is evidence–real, irrefutable evidence, this is just pointless and irrelevant speculation.
The following photos are intended to illustrate (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) Mr. Taylor’s affection for the opposite sex.
An evening with the lovely ladies of “Broadway Melody”
Ladies from “Marie Antoinette”
Signing autographs or lining up dates?
Billy the Kid at round-up time.
This Is My Affair
Robert Taylor Actor 
Yea but the tone of this sounds like you yourself have an axe to grind. Why would “rumors” of him being gay be offensive? It ultimately doesn’t matter, because the only person that would have known is Robert Taylor and lovers that are most likely long gone by now.
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I just don’t like lies, Alan. It’s not that being gay is offensive. It’s just that Mr. Taylor wasn’t gay. Judith
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If any body in the world thinks Robert Taylor was gay – I have a five story building to sell them . . good grief. If any star in the world was gay it was NOT Robert Taylor. He was a fine man, father and husband and FRIEND and good horseman.
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I agree 100%, Martha. Great to hear from you. Are you ok?
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These photos of Taylor where just an attempt to cover up the fact that he was gay. Because being gay was not accepted by the public. So they tried to cover it up! Not only with Taylor but other actors and actresses.
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There is no evidence whatsoever for this. Judith
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If we all knew each other’secrets, lovers, gay, bisexusl and adulterous affairs, there would be nothing but chaos, murder and madness. Society would collapse families would fall apart The world that we have known would evolve into something strange and dangerous. So many people went through so much time, trouble and money: lying, cheating, cheating betraying, pretending. . Always, looking over their shoulders, fearing blackmail, jail, being discovered, disowned , disinherited . Diiscrimination in housing and employment. Unfortunately, sooner or later the truth will be revealed. MrRobert
Taylor was a very handsome, talented and successful actor and that’s all that should really matter! .
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Daniel, I couldn’t agree with you more. People should be taken as they are for the most part. The exception would be a criminal who has committed a viiolent crime. That person needs to change and it is our business to see that they do. Otherwise, discriminating against someone on the basis of someone’s race or other irrelevant factors is totally wrong.
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As a child 7 or 8 years old (I was born in 1938) I saw a couple of returning soldiers walking up my street-I’d never seen them before and never afterwards- They had a small blanket which they dropped and didn’t bother to pick up and after they disappeared I, of course, immediately went to the blanket- In it I found what I now know was an “eight page” comic book- Apparently these ‘comics’ were notorious for their illicit content-I feel like I’ve seen maybe one other in my lifetime but this one contained illustrations featuring the likenesses of Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck doing and saying inappropriate and salacious stuff. I didn’t understand any of it but I could read extremely well at a very early age and I knew instinctively this wasn’t anything like the Superman and Batman comics with which I was familiar. I hid it but, quite naturally, my mother found it within days and threw it out . On another note, over the years I became a movie-buff , first by way of John Wayne, then John Ford and Howard Hawks and slowly began to realize and love the movie world of William Wyler, Fred Zinneman, Bette Davis, Hepburn and on and on . A slow process yes but bountiful in it’s rewards . It took quite a while for me to even see Robert Taylor and/or Barbara Stanwyck films (thanks to TCM and early AMC) and become a fairly regular fan of both. But the implications of that 8-page comic book stuck with me and I sort of had reservations and suspicions regarding both of them for many years . It may be easy for some to jump on me and say that regardless of the book’s content you should have let it all slide off and be open to anything . Perhaps so, but at 85 years of age I’m me and stuck with it. Your description of Taylor as an apparent very private “ladies man” is for some strange reason a comforting fact for me.
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I’ve seen part of that comic and I don’t think anyone needs to take it seriously. It’s just scandal mongering, most of it done in Mexico. I’m glad you were comforted by my description. I’m only 78. Judith
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