double-life

The negation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness I expected to know. Besides, I seemed to hold two lives - the life of thought, and that of reality.

Upon their meeting in New York in 1958: __e didn__ want to live together. We didn__ have any examples of what a good love relationship between two men could be. And there was always the problem of hiding so no one would know we were gay. There was no question that if I were known to be gay, living with another man, it would make it more difficult for me to get work as an actor._ - Alan Shayne, co-author, Double Life

As an artist in the 1960s, Norman Sunshine was able to maintain a moderately out lifestyle. But when the first exhibition of his paintings in New York brought on a profile in The New York Times in 1968, he was photographed in the apartment that he admitted sharing with Shayne. At both his advertising agency and Shayne__ television production company, the article was met with absolute silence.

We both grew up at a time when homosexuality was not even spoken about. There were certainly no books that could help a young person understand that two people of the same sex could build a happy, productive and loving life together. When we entered our 50th year, another same sex couple told us we were __n inspiration_, so we began to feel we had the responsibility to make what we__e experienced available to others. We also wanted to show people who were not gay that our life was not unlike theirs. We are all pretty much the same, so we deserve equal protection under the Constitution.

After 50 years together as a couple:"Look how fast the leaves are falling now," Alan says. "The trees will be bare in a couple of days. Do you realize that we have watched the leaves fall together for more than fifty autumns?"I stand quietly, looking at Alan, letting his words sink in. I am suddenly so moved.

About their wedding on a beach of Nantucket, after nearly 50 years together as a couple: "After years of being who we truly were only in the privacy of our homes or with a few friends, we were out in the world, under the sky, no longer pretending._ - Norman Sunshine, co-author, Double Life

In the 1970s, when Norman Sunshine won an Emmy for the graphics and title design he had created for one of Alan Shayne__ television productions, __lan and I agreed it was not a good idea for us to be seen together at an industry event,_ he remembers. __lan, after all, was one of the very few homosexuals who had such a powerful, high profile job, and who lived openly with a man. Homophobia had its adherents and some ruthless climber up the executive ladder would certainly love an opportunity to use it_ 'Better to be seen with a woman,_ we were advised by a very trusted friend, __akes everyone more comfortable.