The Nude Photos of Martin and Lewis: A Gay Tease or a Gay Getaway in 1952

 

Nude photos of 1950s-60s comedy duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis have recently appeared on ebay, "from the Frank Branda collection."  This one sold for $4,494.99"  Wow, why spend that much when you can see it online for free?

Frank Branda was Jerry Lewis's personal assistant, driver, and close friend; he also appeared in three of Jerry's movies..  The photos were originally sold at Sotheby's shortly after Lewis's death in 2017.

Here Dean seems to be cold or pretending to be embarrassed, while Jerry is pretending to masturbate.

Same shower, but Jerry's hair is dry, so taken earlier?  Obviously staged. Dean and Jerry face each other.  Dean grabs Jerry's wrist to move him, and pretends to be soaping his back.  I can't read their expressions.

The candids seem to depict ordinary bathhouse activities: sauna, gym, flirting.  The captions say that they were taken in 1952, about five years into their comedy partnership, at the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs.

The Spanish Colonial style El Mirador, which opened in 1927,  was converted to an army hospital during World War II, and re-opened in  November 1952.  During the next 20 years, it was a "must see" landmark for tourists and a resort for the rich and famous, including U.S. Presidents.  

Are Dean and Jerry romantic partners, or are they fooling around, playing with the perception that they were gay?  At this time you could "hide in plain sight," as long as you were seen on the arms of women on occasion.  In November 1952, the 35-year old Dean was married to his second wife, Jeanne Biegger, and had five children (he would later have two more, and marry a third time).  The 24-year old Jerry was married to Patti Palmer, and had a son (he would marry a second time, and have a total of six children).  Both had numerous extramarital affairs.

Playing with the perception that they are a romantic couple, or actually a couple, having a gay weekend while their wives and kids wait at home?   Here they hang out in the sauna with  his driver/"close friend" Frank Branda and  Dean's assistant Mack Gray.  Notice that Jerry is keeping a chaste distance from Dean and crossing his legs in "don't touch me!" body language, while the other two guys are pressing their thighs together and letting their dongs hang out.

They were aware that Mack Gray was in a relationship with George Raft (1895-1980), who often played gangsters and heavies in movies.  They even attended parties at Raft's house as a couple, leaving the wives at home.

Here Jerry kisses Mack while Dean and an unidentified boyfriend wait.  One gets the impression that Jerry is comfortable in the gay world, while Dean is a bit standoffish.

Romantic partners, or gay teases?  Nearly 70 years later, there's no way to know for sure, but either challenges our perception of the 1950s as a dark era when gay people were closeted and lived in constant fear.