“I have little tolerance for small minds.  If people hate others because they are different, that’s their problem.”   

     The outspoken and articulate Stanley Bennett Clay, the renowned actor, writer, producer, director, composer and author, spoke those rather emphatic words.  It was his response when this journalist asked him if he felt that some individuals would be offended by his upcoming musical album, which is the companion piece to his new novel, Looker.  

     This music project is described as having “unapologetic gay sensibilities, with progressive lyrics and content that are ‘straight-up-in-your-face’ gay.”  The cuts are inspired by passages from the novel.  And, various artists will perform on the album.   

     Mr. Clay describes Looker, his third novel, as a “story of love and friendship-- sometimes not being bold enough to pursue love.  Sometimes we are lookers at life, instead of being participants.”  Looker is published by Simon & Schuster/Atria Books, as was his award winning In Search of Pretty Young Men.  

     Winning awards is certainly nothing new for Clay.  He received three NAACP theatre awards and three Drama-logue Awards for writing, directing, and co-producing the stage play Ritual.  The film version, starring Clarence Williams III and Denise Nicholas (Clay had guest appearances on the latter’s 1960’s television show, Room 222, which was considered groundbreaking for its time) marked his film writing/directorial debut, and won The Jury Award at the 2000 Pan African Film Festival.  The film is currently available on DVD.  

     Clay also produced “Children of the Night,” the stage musical which won NAACP, GLADD, L. A. Weekly, and L. A. Times awards, and the world premiere of James Graham Bronson’s “Willie and Esther,” which earned two L. A. Weekly Awards—for Best Play and Best Ensemble Performance.   

     The list goes on.  Clay directed the west coast premiere of “Joinin’”, which won the Drama-logue Award for Direction.  He also produced and starred (opposite Ms. BerNadette Stanis, “Thelma” from the classic ‘70’s sitcom Good Times) in “Anna Lucasta,” for which he received the NAACP Best Actor Image Award.

     Born in Chicago, Clay is the second oldest in a family of four sisters and three brothers.  In 1963, when he was 12, the Clay family moved to Los Angeles (L.A.).  “My mom and a younger sister suffered from asthma,” the author explained.  “The doctor advised us to move to a warmer, more suitable climate.”   

     The move also gave his writing “a shot in the arm,” and he wrote poetry about the “perfect weather.”  He continued,  “I had a fantasy life there, such a love affair with L.A.  This city has the most liberal attitudes of any big city in the country.  It’s the most easy city in which to be gay.”  

     And speaking of being gay, Clay began “to mess around with boys” when he was eight years old in Chicago.  “There was a little gang of us,” he laughed.   

     However, when he moved to L.A., he was isolated and not sexually active for years.  “Dealing with my sexuality was a little difficult for me.” he stated.  “You see, my family was Jehovah’s Witnesses.  I prayed to God to take my homosexual feelings away, and to stop me from looking at boys any more,” he smiled.  

     However, that all changed when he turned 18, when he worked with gay performers.   “That’s when I truly discovered my sexuality,” he revealed.  “I broke out of my shell when I realized that I ‘was not the only one,’ and that it was okay to be gay.”    

     And at 18, he began making his living as an actor.  It was 1968.  “I appeared very young for my age.  So, it was easier for casting directors to hire an older actor to play someone younger.”   One of Clay’s first roles was in the (original) The Bill Cosby Show, which aired for two seasons on NBC from 1969 until 1979.  Mr. Cosby played the character of “Chet Kincaid,” a physical education teacher at a L.A. high school, “bachelor, and average cool guy trying to earn a living, helping people out along the way.”  

     “I was ‘boy #1,’ and had two lines,” Clay reminisced.  “When I went in for the audition, the director asked me if I could swim.  I said yes, even though I couldn’t swim a lick.”  

     He continued.  “If I started to drown, I was sure someone would save me,” grinned the author.  “I went to the set fully prepared to look like a fool.”  But as luck would have it, there was a last minute change—the pool segment became a rope-climbing scene.  Saved by the bell, so to speak.  

     Next, Clay turned up on the TV drama Room 222.  He was the guest star in one of the three episodes in which he appeared.    “Everyone on the set knew I was gay,” he stated, describing his experience on the show.  “My boyfriend would accompany me to the set.  The actors’ girlfriends would come, too.”

     The author added, “In my opinion Lloyd Haynes (the African-American star of the drama who played the character “Pete Dixon,” the history teacher) was a homophobe.  He snickered and made snide remarks about my sexuality.  But you have to consider the times, though—it was the late ‘60s, early ‘70s.  People weren’t as enlightened then.”  

     “However, Denise Nicholas (the other African-American Room 222 star with whom Clay would later work with in Ritual) was an intellectual.  The perfect lady.”  

     He also appeared on the classic sitcom Good Times, and has worked with Cicely Tyson and Sally Field.  According to Clay, he turned down the role of “Raj” on the successful sitcom, What’s Happening!!  

     Although he was in demand as an actor, Clay made the decision to put most of his acting career aside because handlers and casting directors wanted to keep him “in the closet.”   He stated, “These pressures led to the break-up of my six-year relationship.”       Soon afterwards, he “came out” in the press.   

     Clay continued to do commercials.  And, he became editor-in-chief of Black Beat magazine and American correspondent for London’s Blues and Soul magazine.  

     This journalist asked the author what have been the keys to his longevity in the entertainment business.  “It’s always been about hard work and striving to be the best,”  he responded.  “And, it’s never been about the cash.”  

     Wyatt O’Brian Evans is a journalist, voice-over instructor/talent, actor, and comedian.   His bylines have appeared in print publications including the Washington Post, Washington (Gay) Blade, and American Politics magazine.   Mr. Evans also is senior writer for the on-line sites gbmnews.com and qbliss.net.  His new novel, Nothing Can Tear Us Apart, will be available in November.