Michael Greer
| Michael Greer | |
|---|---|
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|
| Born |
James Robert "Jimmie" Malley April 20, 1938 Galesburg, Illinois |
| Died | September 14, 2002 (age 64) Riverside, California |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, cabaret performer |
| Years active | Mid-1960s through 1990s |
Michael Greer (born James Robert "Jimmie" Malley, April 20, 1938 — September 14, 2002) was an American actor, comedian and cabaret performer. He is best known for his appearances in the films The Gay Deceivers and Fortune and Men's Eyes, and for being one of the first openly gay actors to appear in major Hollywood films.
Greer was born James Robert "Jimmie" Malley in Galesburg, Illinois to parents Charles and Elizabeth "Betty" (Koetter) Malley. Although his birth date has been given as April 20, 1943, his birth year was probably 1938, based on 1940 U.S. census records listing a 2-year-old "Jimmie Malley" and obituaries stating Greer's age as 64 when he died in 2002. He grew up in Galesburg, residing first with his parents and later with his aunt and uncle, and had two sisters and two half-brothers. Greer later said that his parents had divorced and each had married three times, and described his childhood as unhappy. He began performing at a young age, singing during intermissions at the local movie theater.
Greer left Galesburg in the mid-1950s. Despite being underage at 16, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served three years in Japan and Korea. While in the service he formed a pop vocal group that performed in the style of The Four Aces. After finishing his service, he moved to Boston and then to New York City in the early 1960s, where he worked as a furniture salesman while competing in "talent night" contests against other aspiring entertainers, including Tiny Tim and Barbra Streisand. Greer later worked as a floor captain at Arthur, the NYC discothèque opened by Sybil Burton, where he met celebrities such as Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Jacqueline Kennedy. He disliked his birth name, and in the mid-1960s he legally changed his name to "Michael Greer", choosing "Michael" because he liked the name and "Greer" after the actress Jane Greer.
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