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

“Hullo,” he mumbled into the receiver. 


“Les, are you watching?” Russ’s voice asked.


“Watchin’ what?” Les replied. “What the hell time is it, anyway?”


“Five-fifty,” Russ said. “They’re announcing the Oscar nominations!”


“That’s nice,” Les said, starting to drift off to sleep again. 


“Les! Wake up! You were nominated!”


The fog of sleep started to lift. “What?” he said, raising his head from the pillow, and trying to focus.


“Les! You were nominated for best supporting actor for Survival!” 


The information penetrated his sleep deprived brain. Les flipped over in bed and sat up. 


“Fuck no! They just announced it on TV. Look, I’m going to get off the phone; they’ll be calling you with the official announcement any minute. I just wanted to…” Les could hear Russ’s voice break, “to be…the first to tell you how…happy I am for you.”


Chapter 23