March 14

Events

1986 - A boy who danced himself out of the womb - Jamie Bell, star of Billy Elliot was born on this date. He was 14 when he made that film, a story full of questions of sexual identity. Some people were unnerved when Bell and the film's director, Stephen Daldry showed that they had a very close relationship in a series of interviews they did to promote the film, including at least one where they seemed quite openly affectionate. Daldry was widely regarded as homosexual and so such a closeness was more than some could take. Jamie's mother said of the relationship, "It is obviously more than the usual relationship between a director and star. It's good that he can pick who he wants as a father, normally you can't pick. You get what you're given. But Jamie had a chance to pick someone and he picked Stephen." Jamie's estranged father, John Bell said, "What I was unprepared for and was completely unaware of is the fact that Stephen is gay. Not that I have anything against gays. But Jamie seems to be spending a lot of time down there with this man." Jamie's view of Daldry was this: "I suppose I would kind of like him to be my dad and he'd like me to be his son." The story got one step stranger when the autumn of 2001 Daldry married his long time girlfriend.

1998 - The boy is father to ... another child - It was revealed on this date that Mary Kay Letourneau, the former teacher in prison for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy, was six weeks pregnant, for the second time by the then 14-year-old Vili Fualaau. Letourneau had been found by police alone with him in a car, in violation of a judge's order that she stay away from him. The judge in the case, who had originally suspended her sentence on child rape charges, subsequently sent her to prison to finish an 89 month sentence.