The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Prose - 74. Elisa Rolle “Arthur C. Clarke”

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Queer Places -- Arthur C. Clarke

BURIED TOGETHER

Partner Leslie Ekanayake, buried together

Clarke and Ekanayake (center) in the 1950s

Queer Places:
King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
Hotel Chelsea, 222 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011, United States
Leslie’s House, 25 Barnes Pl, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka
Borella Kanattha Cemetery, Colombo 08, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Arthur Charles Clarke (December 16, 1917 – March 19, 2008) was an English science writer, science-fiction writer, futurist,^[3] inventor, undersea explorer and television host.

He is famous for being co-writer of the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, widely considered to be one of the most influential films of all time.^[4][5] Clarke was a science writer, who was both an avid popularizer of space travel and a futurist of uncanny ability. On these subjects he wrote over a dozen books and many essays, which appeared in various popular magazines. In 1961 he was awarded the Kalinga Prize, an award which is given by UNESCO for popularizing science. These along with his science fiction writings eventually earned him the moniker "Prophet of the Space Age".^[6] His other science fiction writings earned him a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, which along with a large readership made him one of the towering figures of science fiction. For many years Clarke, Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction.^[7]

Clarke was a lifelong proponent of space travel. In 1934, while still a teenager, he joined the British Interplanetary Society. In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system.^[8] He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1946–47 and again in 1951–53.^[9]

Clarke emigrated from England to Sri Lanka in 1956, largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving.^[10] That year he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee. Clarke augmented his fame later on in the 1980s, from being the host of several television shows such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death.^[11] He was knighted in 1998^[12][13] and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honor, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.^[14]

On a trip to Florida in 1953^[1] Clarke met and quickly married Marilyn Mayfield, a 22-year-old American divorcee with a young son. They separated permanently after six months, although the divorce was not finalized until 1964.^[42] "The marriage was incompatible from the beginning", said Clarke.^[42] Clarke never remarried a woman, but was close to a Sri Lankan man, Leslie Ekanayake (13 July 1947 – 4 July 1977), whom Clarke called his "only perfect friend of a lifetime", in the dedication to his novel The Fountains of Paradise.^[43] Clarke is buried with Ekanayake, who predeceased him by three decades, in Colombo's central cemetery.^[44] In his biography of Stanley Kubrick, John Baxter cites Clarke's orientation as a reason why he relocated, due to more progressive views of same-sex love in Sri Lanka.^[45] Journalists who inquired of Clarke whether he was Gay were told, "No, merely mildly cheerful."^[33] However, Michael Moorcock has written:

Everyone knew he was Gay. In the 1950s I'd go out drinking with his boyfriend. We met his protégés, western and eastern, and their families; people who had only the most generous praise for his kindness. Self-absorbed he might be, and a teetotaler, but [he was] an impeccable gent through and through."^[46]

In an interview in the July 1986 issue of Playboy magazine, when asked if he had had a bisexual experience, Clarke stated "Of course. Who hasn't?"^[47] In his obituary, Clarke's friend Kerry O'Quinn wrote: "Yes, Arthur was Gay ... As Isaac Asimov once told me, 'I think he simply found he preferred men' [sic]. Arthur didn't publicize his [orientation] – that wasn't the focus of his life – but if asked, he was open and honest."^[48]

Clarke accumulated a vast collection of manuscripts and personal memoirs, maintained by his brother Fred Clarke in Taunton, Somerset, England, and referred to as the "Clarkives". Clarke said that some of his private diaries will not be published until 30 years after his death. When asked why they were sealed, he answered, "Well, there might be all sorts of embarrassing things in them."^[3]

Clarke died in Sri Lanka on March 19, 2008, after suffering from respiratory failure, according to Rohan de Silva, one of his aides.^{[33][61][62][63]} His aide described the cause as respiratory complications and heart failure stemming from post-polio syndrome.^[64]

A few days before he died, he had reviewed the manuscript of his final work, The Last Theorem, on which he had collaborated via e-mail with his contemporary Frederik Pohl.^[69] The book was published after Clarke's death.^[70] Clarke was buried alongside Leslie Ekanayake in Colombo in traditional Sri Lankan fashion on March 22. His younger brother, Fred Clarke, and his Sri Lankan adoptive family were among the thousands in attendance.^[71]

—Elisa Rolle

http://www.elisarolle.com/queerplaces/a-b-ce/Arthur%20C.%20Clarke.html

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4. Ranked #15 by the American Film Institute. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition". Retrieved 28 February 2014.
5. Ranked #6 by the British Film Institute. Christie, Ian, ed. (1 August 2012). "The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time". Sight & Sound (September 2012). Retrieved 20 September 2014.
6. Reddy, John (April 1969). "Arthur Clarke: Prophet of the Space Age". Reader's Digest. 9 (564).
7. "The Big Three and the Clarke–Asimov Treaty". wireclub.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
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9. Benford, G. (2008). "Obituary: Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008)". Nature. 452 (7187): 546–546. Bibcode:2008Natur.452..546B. doi:10.1038/452546a. PMID 18385726.
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18. "Close to tears, he left at the intermission": how Stanley Kubrick upset Arthur C Clarke
19. Arthur C. Clarke: Out of the Ego Chamber | The New Yorker
20. "No. 36089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1943. pp. 3162–3163.
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27. "Arthur C. Clarke Extra Terrestrial Relays". Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
28. "Peacetime Uses for V2" (JPG). Wireless World. February 1945. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
29. "Extra-Terrestrial Relays Can Rocket Stations Give World-wide Radio Coverage?". Wireless World. October 1945. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
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31. Mondo Cult Presents Walter Cronkite Apollo 11 Interview with Robert A. Heinlein & Arthur C. Clarke on YouTube
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33. Jonas, Gerald (18 March 2008). "Arthur C. Clarke, Premier Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 90". New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2008. Arthur C. Clarke, a writer whose seamless blend of scientific expertise and poetic imagination helped usher in the space age, died early Wednesday in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since 1956. He was 90. He had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome for years.
34. "Sir Arthur Clarke dies at age 90". Arthur Clark Foundation. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
35. Pournelle, Jerry (April 1982). "The Osborne 1, Zeke's New Friends, and Spelling Revisited". BYTE. p. 212. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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38. British Polio Fellowship – Home
39. "No. 51772". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 1989. p. 16.
40. "Gorilla Organization mourns loss of patron Sir Arthur C Clarke – a true champion for gorillas". London: Gorilla Organization. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
41. "Campaign for gorilla-friendly mobiles - News - This is London". Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
42. McAleer, Neil. "Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography", Contemporary Books, Chicago, 1992. ISBN 0-8092-3720-2
43. Full dedication reads: "To the still unfading memory of LESLIE EKANAYAKE (13 JuIy 1947 – 4 July 1977) only perfect friend of a lifetime, in whom were uniquely combined Loyalty, Intelligence and Compassion. When your radiant and loving spirit vanished from this world, the light went out of many lives."
44. Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 8622-8623). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
45. Baxter, John (1997). Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. New York: Carroll & Graff. p. 203. ISBN 0-7867-0485-3. But Clarke and Kubrick made a match. ... [The work of] both had a streak of homoeroticism ...
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49. Letters Patent were issued by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on 16 March 2000 to authorize this. (see "No. 55796". The London Gazette. 21 March 2000. p. 3167.)
50. "No. 54993". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1997. p. 2.
51. It doesn't do any harm ... most of the damage comes from fuss made. Sunday Mirror, 1 February 1998 Retrieved 24 March 2008
52. Smirk of a pervert and a liar., Sunday Mirror, 8 February 1998 Retrieved 24 March 2008
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65. "NASA Satellite Detects Naked-Eye Explosion Halfway Across Universe". NASA. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
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68. American Atheist Magazine, May / June 2008, p21
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70. "Last odyssey for sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke". Agence France-Presse. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2010. Just a few days before he died, Clarke reviewed the final manuscript of his latest novel, "The Last Theorem" co-written with American author Frederik Pohl, which is to be published later this year.
71. "Sci-fi writer Clarke laid to rest". BBC. 22 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.