10 Famous People You'll Be Shocked To Learn Were Total Perverts

Shocking secrets of truly phenomenal talent revealed...

by Stephen Kennedy
History is littered with the names of amazing people who have achieved phenomenal things in their lifetimes, which is exactly the reason that we still have any idea who any of them were. Figures who invented world changing creations, or wrote ground-breaking novels pretty much guarantee their place in the history books because they changed the course our world was due to take. In some ways, it's almost as if these people never actually existed, as their status has elevated them to a near godlike plain of legend, and for the large part, that is thoroughly deserved of them. However, just like everyone else who has or will ever have existed, even the greatest of people have their dark secrets. Whilst we're not talking about the products of horrendous backgrounds and childhoods going all Buffalo Bill and venturing onto a killing spree, there are people that we now deem as outstanding contributors to the human race, who were in fact, more than a little perverted. While it is not necessarily the aim of this article to besmirch the names of any of the people mentioned, it serves as a reminder that, although those included were the owners of some truly phenomenal talent, their private lives featured some shocking secrets.

10. Lord Byron - Hair Collection

Lord Byron is easily one of the most renowned literary artists from the last three hundred years, and is quite probably one of the most important of the 19th century. What went hand in hand with his artistic genius was the phenomenally tempestuous nature of his personal affairs. Whilst Byron was officially linked to four women in any serious capacity during his lifetime - one was rumoured to be his cousin - there are endless theorists who have attempted to discover whether or not Byron was in fact bisexual, with there also being a stream of speculation surrounding his very sexuality throughout his romantic ventures. But the lesser known fact about Byron, is that he also had a private collection of hair. The poet had rather cruelly wooed Lady Caroline Lamb for a period of over two months, before seeming to lose interest entirely, and shun her. This seemed to drive Lamb to a form of deranged obsession, which culminated in her sending him a letter, wherein she had enclosed a lock of her own pubic hair. Now you may be thinking that this surely is not so much Byron's fault, given that he was the recipient, and might have not asked for such a horrible gift, but think again. Byron, an infamous womaniser, had a history in collecting locks of hair from past lovers, and Lamb was merely obliging, whether he wanted her to or not, to his usual habit.

9. Oscar Wilde - Paederastry

Now it certainly should not come as a surprise to many of you to learn that Oscar Wilde was a homosexual man, but that is most definitely not why he features here. After all, homosexual people can be just as much or as little perverted as heterosexual people, am I right, Russia? Wilde was one of the highest profile figures to have ever faced a genuine prison sentence for the supposed crime of being a homosexual man, and his fighting attitude and sense of snarling criticism and ridiculing of his prosecutors have made sure that he is remembered fondly in history as being an extraordinarily brave man. There was, however, a real reason Wilde could have faced a great deal of criticism at the time, and that was due to his fondness of close companionship with young men and teenagers. Whilst it must be made clear that in Wilde's case, what he was doing most certainly not qualify as paedophilia, it is, however, on a very thin moral ground, and even more so at the time. The most well known example of this was his relationship with Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, who was at oldest 19 - Wilde would have been approaching 40 - when the two met. Douglas and Wilde became largely inseparable, with the latter becoming so infatuated by his young companion that he would spend great deals of money to please his every whim. However, things took a turn from morally wobbly to outright seedy when Douglas introduced Wilde to the gay prostitution underground scene, where he met Alfred Taylor, a man who would frequently arrange meetings between Wilde and young, male prostitutes. Though there is no guarantee that any of Wilde's companions were still pre-adulthood, his previous three serious companions - Robert Ross, John Gray and Douglas - had all been of a very young age, particularly in comparison to the writer.

8. F. Scott Fitzgerald - Foot Fetish

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an author who is largely regarded as one of the best that the United States has ever produced, with his most popular novel - The Great Gatsby - remaining culturally significant some 90 years after it was published. His writing is thought of as being thematic of the Jazz age in America, capturing the excess and mystery of the 1920s so perfectly in only four complete novels during his lifetime. But Fitzgerald supposedly had a slightly quirky trait which he kept very much to himself and select company only: a fetish for feet. Rumours during Fitzgerald's life circulated around his penchant for a particular prostitute, whom he used to employ the services of for the exclusive purpose of "appreciating" her feet. Whilst initially these rumours were seemingly vague and not necessarily attributed to anyone in particular, the issue was expanded upon in Nigel Cawthorne's book, Sordid Sex Lives. What's more, it would appear that Fitzgerald was most certainly not alone in his peculiar taste, as Fyodor Dostoyevsky is also revealed to have been a foot fetishist in the same publication, with love letters to his partner Anna Snitkina more or less entirely addressing her feet.

7. T.E. Lawrence - Paederastry

Of all the heroes and legends of the British Armed Forces, few have gathered such a remarkable amount of tributes and re-enactments as T.E. Lawrence. The man was a key cog of the British involvement in the Arab Revolt against the Turkish Ottoman Empire around the time of the First World War. He is rightly regarded as going above and beyond in the name of duty, thanks to an adoption of the culture surrounding him in order to galvanise the Arab forces in their quest to hold off their attackers. However, when it came to Lawrence's personal life, he was man haunted by a great deal of scandalous (for the time) allegations. First, it was difficult for anyone who knew Lawrence to come to a definitive conclusion with regards to his sexuality, however, a reaction of near outrage was reached amongst circles of observers when it came to the relationship he held with Selim "Dahoum" Ahmed. Dahoum had been taken on by Lawrence as a water-boy whilst on an archaeological dig, but was soon employed into Lawrence's personal house service, all whilst at the age of 14 years old. Whilst it is largely believed that nothing scandalous truly occurred between the two, thus steering it away from paedophilia, there are several theories which point to the fact that Lawrence romantically loved Dahoum, despite his young age. One of Lawrence's most well know pieces, the dedication in Seven Pillars Of Wisdom is addressed to an "S.A.", leading theorists to argue in the decades since about whether the author was referring to Selim Ahmed or Saudia Arabia in the piece. But the point is, the Lawrence and Dahoum shared a home in private, whilst also sharing a close companionship, surrounded by cryptic suggestions made by the hand of Lawrence which pointed at some untoward behavior on behalf of the pair.

6. Elvis Presley - Ebonophilia

Another figure who needed to tread very carefully with regards to his personal behaviour was the King himself, Elvis Presley. Most people will know that Elvis was married to Priscilla Wagner, but what is not quite so widespread is the fact that when the two began dating, Elvis was already 24 years of age, but Priscilla was still only 14. It is worth pointing out that Elvis is reported, by Priscilla, to have said the he did not wish for the actual act of sexual intercourse to take place until after they were married, by which point Priscilla would have been 22, but Presley had openly admitted on a number of occasions to a bit of a habit when it came to the company of younger girls. Biographer Reuben Fine revealed that Presley was particularly fond of sharing his bed with young teenage girls who wear white panties. This is already disturbing enough before you consider that Elvis told Fine that he would never have sex with these girls, because, in his words, they were "jail bait". This really raises more questions than it answers, and I'm certainly not suggesting that Elvis should have taken advantage of those girls, because that's just beyond horrendous, but what exactly was the point of having those girls sleep half naked next to him in bed if not for some perverse satisfaction? Brings a whole sorry meaning to Jailhouse Rock.

5. John F. Kennedy - Nude Swim Parties & Lots Of Affairs

Now let's not all pretend to be shocked to the very core at the suggestion that President John F. Kennedy is included on this list. The man probably holds the world record for how many affairs you can possibly fit into one 46 year lifetime. What's more, we all know exactly what will have happened between the President and the nation's favourite blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe. So no, we're not necessarily looking at just what Kennedy did that earns him a place here, but it's the fact of just how much gall he had in doing it. Essentially, Kennedy's marriage to Jackie was one huge cover act for the President, regardless of how loving either might have been to the other at any given point. The abuse of Presidential power displayed by Kennedy meant that not only were the FBI tracking calls of his indiscretions (particularly the Monroe affair), but a particularly infamous incident took place inside the White House itself. Mimi Alford, who was working as an intern at the White House at the time, recently released a book in which she details how the President not only lured her to his wife's bedroom in the middle of a pool party, but how he got others involved with her as well. Alford claimed that Kennedy demanded she take drugs before performing sex acts on Kennedy's friend for the viewing pleasure of the Commander In Chief. Arguably the most depraved, if not quite the most morally dodgy thing to have ever occurred in the home of a politician.

4. Charlie Chaplin - Stripping Women In Auditions

Surely the most beloved, cheeky face of the silent movie era doesn't belong here, I mean, it's hard to imagine Charlie Chaplin doing anything more than settling into bed with a night gown, cap and candle at the end of the day. Not quite, as it turns out that Chaplin had a particularly specific method of casting the female actresses for his films. Picture if you will, a young actress nervously making her way onto the middle of the stage, her whole life has built up to this moment, she's about to audition for a part in the next big Charlie Chaplin picture, and the man himself is there to see her in person. Sounds like the stuff dreams are made of, until Chaplin then asks the woman to strip naked and begins to throw cream pies at her. And no, this isn't in fact the rejected plot for any of Chaplin or Laurel & Hardy's movies, this actually happened, and apparently it happened quite a bit. Chaplin's theory was that if a woman could not take a pie to the face without crying out, she was not worthy to be in a mime production. Why did she have to be naked in the first place? Oh, simple; to allow Chaplin to fondle her in a comical mime fashion, of course. If ever you actually needed a reason to distrust mimes, it's the 100 year old antics of an old pervert that tips it over for you.

3. Percy Grainger - Sadomasochism

The name of Percy Grainger may not be one which is found in every household, but the man was a forerunner in experimental arranging and composing in the classical genre. When you think of classical music, you're most likely to find yourself thinking of slightly older men, quite probably those who look like they haven't done anything anywhere near the definition of "debaucherous" for a good long while, if ever at all. But, true to his reputation as an experimental composer, Grainger decided to experiment with how he got his kicks. In his formative years, Grainger gained a hunger for sadomasochism, which, as I'm sure you're aware, is most definitely not quite the wholesome and traditional form of enjoyment taken up by the masses. It turns out that Grainger was brought up with a mother who was more than a little bit keen on the whole disciplinarian attitude, and so it has been widely assumed, particularly by Grainger's biographer John Bird, that it was this style of upbringing which sparked and interest in the rougher stuff for Grainger. From a young age, Grainger began to practice self flagellation and developed an obsession with punishment. What makes this darkly hilarious is that his wife Ella Strom apparently knew nothing about Grainger's habits until just months their marriage. Grainger revealed his secret in a magnificently creepy manner, sending a letter to Strom which included the line that as far as whips go "blows are most thrilling on breasts, bottom, inner thighs, sexparts". Kudos for skin crawling beauty, sir.

2. Lewis Carroll - Child Pornography

It's fair to say that when you think of Lewis Carroll, you think of a man who gave the world the classic tale of Alice In Wonderland, or perhaps, at a push, the man who got out of his mind on opium, and then wandered around Sunderland. Both are pretty much accurate. What you probably don't consider is that Lewis Carroll is a man who has a reputation which has been plagued by accusations of paedophilia, or, more specifically, creating child pornography. Both before and during Carroll's literary career, he discovered a talent for creating pictures, but rather disturbingly, almost every single one of those pictures was of a very young girl, who was almost always nude. Biographers the world over have speculated that Carroll could very well have been a paedophile, even if a celibate one, but it is the fact that he also worked as a teacher which provides an extra chilling level of discomfort to his character. The most justice the we can do to Carroll is that he maintained until his dying day that his interest in children was purely aesthetic and for artistic purposes. Biographers have again moved to say that although this may have been naive of him, his peers were found to agree that his fascination with children had come hand in hand with a lack of interest in the real world; this suggests that Carroll have had paedophilic tendencies, even if he didn't want to acknowledge them, let alone act upon them.

1. Eric Gill - Incest, Paedophilia & Beastiality

The name of Eric Gill may not be one which is currently bandied around a great deal, and that is quite probably due to the same reason as to why he appears on this list. Gill was a highly acclaimed sculptor, and was recognised as such by being awarded the Royal Designer for Industry, the top achievement offered in the field of designers. He is also responsible for a number of font styles used widely in the English speaking world. But all of that has largely been swept under the rug, along with Gill himself, due to the atrocities the man committed in his lifetime. Gill's personal diaries were published in conjunction with a biography in 1989, some 49 years after his death, with no mention of his antics having been made in any earlier publication. Gill admitted to having sexually abused his own children, as well as engaging in a carnal relationship with his sister. To top off a vile act, he also confessed to have performed acts of a sexual nature on his dog. There really isn't much more you can really say to describe how utterly perverse a man has to be to attempt such things, because he really takes the crown here. Shocked by any of the entries here? If you have any additions to make, please let us know in the comments section below.
 
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English MA Graduate, passionate about film, Sunderland A.F.C., tv and music with guitars found somewhere in it.