In the recent past, many celebrities have come out of the closet. It seems that as each opens the closet door, the fanfare drops further and further. Just a few weeks ago, Jim Nabors, at age 82, married his longtime partner.
Music exec and record producer Clive Davis has worked with such musical greats as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart, Kelly Clarkson, Carlos Santana, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, and Christina Aguilera. And this week, he came out as being bisexual at the ripe of age of 80.
Davis admitted in his new memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” which came out today, that he has loved both women and men. Previously, Davis had been somewhat low key about his sexuality. He was married to Helen Cohen for 9 years (1956 to 1965) and Janet Adelberg for 20 years (from 1965 to 1985). The two marriages produced four children.
In his book, Davis admits that he had his first sexual encounter with a man during “The era of Studio 54.” In case you forgot, Studio 54 was that hedonistic disco palace of the ‘70s/early ‘80s where celebrities rubbed shoulders in its “anything goes” atmosphere. Davis said that one night, he responded to another man’s “sexual overtures” and it was a “welcome relief.”
That encounter opened up Davis to searching his soul and finally separating from Adelberg in 1985. From there, he went on to have relationships with both women and men. In 1990, he began dating a male doctor and that relationship lasted until 2004. After that, he got into a monogamous relationship with another man that continues to this day.
The coming out caused distress to Davis’ youngest son Mitchell, but Davis said the two have since worked out their differences.
Davis doesn’t seem to have a lot of regrets, saying he had “very good sexual relationships with women” and never felt “repressed.”