OVTV: (TIME Warp) 46 Years ago, When Original Gay Rebel, Sal Mineo, Risked his career and Life!

On February 12, 1976, OUT Actor Sal Mineo is stabbed to death in Hollywood, California. Mineo was parking his car behind his apartment when neighbors heard his cries for help. Some described a white man with brown hair fleeing the scene. By the time they reached Mineo, he was almost dead from a deep wound to his chest. He died minutes later, as detailed in Michael Michaud's Book, Sal and James Franco's film adaption of the same name.

Sal Mineo was a famous teen actor in the 1950s. He co-starred with James Dean in both Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. The transition to adult roles did not come easily for Mineo, but he later appeared in films such as The Longest Day and Escape From the Planet of the Apes, and consistently performed guest spots on television series. On the night he was killed, Mineo was returning from rehearsing for a play.