Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976), was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause (1955). He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus (1960).

Biography

Mineo met actress Jill Haworth at the set of the film Exodus, where they played young lovers, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Mineo and Haworth were together on-and-off for many years, even getting engaged to be married at one point. They remained very close friends until Mineo's death.

Mineo was very protective of Haworth, especially regarding Haworth's social circles. He clearly expressed disapproval of Haworth's brief relationship with the much older television producer Aaron Spelling. Haworth was 20 and Spelling was 42. One night when Mineo found Haworth and Spelling at a private Beverly Hills nightclub, he walked up and punched Spelling in the face, yelling, "Do you know how old she is? What are you doing with her at your age?"

In an 1972 interview with Boze Hadleigh, Mineo discussed his bisexuality. At the time of his death, he was in a 6-year relationship and was already living with male actor Courtney Burr III.

Michael G. Michaud wrote a biography of Mineo with the majority of information coming from Haworth and Burr. In his book, Michaud has confirmed that Mineo had sexual relations with then teen idol Bobby Sherman. He also cleared up rumours about Mineo's co-stars James Dean (in the film Rebel Without a Cause, 1955) and Don Johnson (in the play Fortune and Men's Eyes, 1969). Mineo never had any sexual relations with either Dean nor Johnson. Johnson and Mineo had been roommates for a time and became friends. Mineo was also close friends with David Cassidy, another teen idol back then.

Mineo has become a gay icon posthumously. Some people, mostly the LGBT community, label him "homosexual" (even though Mineo himself has said he was "bisexual") and say that Haworth was nothing but a close friend and "his beard". Michaud refutes this, discussing Mineo and Haworth's relationship as a normal heterosexual relationship, and that Mineo fell in love with Haworth and regarded her as one of the most important people in his life.

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