Today, William Haines is not the gay icon that he should be. But his story could be—and should be—the stuff of LGBTQ pop culture lore. As Lara Fowler (who is currently writing a biography on Marion Davies, Haines' one-time co-star and longtime friend) once told me on Twitter, he was "so unapologetically out and proud. He really should be better incorporated into the LGBTQ pantheon than he is--I feel like people just don't really know him that well anymore."

Haines' life is the perfect story for Pride Month: a man who, despite the challenges, lived proudly as an openly gay man in Hollywood before the social conventions of being gay even existed. Such a story is relevant today; even as these social conventions are very much established in today's society, they are not yet fully accepted (as the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" proved just last year.) Between choosing to hide or live authentically, Billy chose his true identity.