| On May 25th, 1939, in the small town of Burnley in nothern Enland Ian Murray McKellen was born. Sinse he was raised in a small town he was alot of performances in the theater, which he was encouraged by his parents. He did lots of plays fromWilliam Shakespears work. He began at Bolton, where he got his first role as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. He was also studying at England Drama. He eventually obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1961, and began his career in earnest. McKellen began working in theater steadily over the next few years. Privately, he was living with another man with whom he had a caring and intimate relationship for a while. Very few people knew of Ian's homosexuality; he saw no reason to go public, nor had he told his family. They did not seem intrested in the subject and so he saw no reason to bring it up. In 1988, Ian publicly came out of the closet on the BBC radio 4 program, while discussing Maragert Thatcher's "section 28" legislation which would make the" public promotion of homosexuality" a crime. It was reason enough for McKellen to take a stand, and he has been active in the Gay Rights movement ever since. in 1990, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his effort for the art of acting. |
| SIR IAN MCKELLEN |