Freddy Perkins comes to California hoping to become a movie star. Changing his name to Les Banister, he surrenders his principles as he gives into the demands of a casting director to secure his first role. He relinquishes control of his personal life so the studio can build an image of him as the next American heartthrob. This means giving up Russ, his loving and supportive boyfriend, to hide the truth from his fans. He’s gay.<br><br>These sacrifices pay off for the young actor and he becomes a star. But as Les continues to pay the price for fame, he realizes at the height of his success that it’s cost him too dearly. Will he have the courage to take the chance of losing it all to be true to himself?

The Price of Fame

“Oh, sugar,” Arnie enthused as he looked Freddy over. “Oh my, my, MY, my my!”


Freddy sat down, looked in the mirror, and watched the make-up man walk up behind him and put both hands on Freddy’s well-developed shoulders. 


“It will be such a pleasure to work on you!” He emphasized ‘pleasure’ with a squeeze of each of Freddy’s shoulders. “Have you done make-up before, sweetheart?”


“I’ve been in several stage plays and—”


“Oh yes, that heavy, dreary, theatrical stuff. So hard on the complexion,” Arnie said disdainfully. “Since in film you’re going to be seen so very, very close up, your make-up must make you look fabulous but natural. And you do have a fabulous face.” 


From behind, Arnie ran a finger lightly up Freddy’s jaw line and then patted his cheek. Freddy smiled. He liked Arnie despite the campy demeanor.


Chapter 6