Out actor Zachary Quinto will star in
and produce a scripted podcast series based on a 1920 incident
involving the purging of gay students at Harvard.
According to Deadline, the
series, titled Secret Court, is being written by Abdi Nazemian
(The Artist's Wife).
On May 13, 1920, Cyril Wilcox, a
sophomore at Harvard, took his own life. The night before, Wilcox
confessed to his brother that he was gay and had been having an
affair with a Boston man. Wilcox's confession led Harvard to create a
Secret Court to investigate claims of gay activity on campus. Eight
students, four “accomplices,” and a handful of locals were tried
by the court. The students were expelled and purged from official
records. The incident was kept secret until 2002.
Quinto said in a statement that the
students were “sidelined due to the social intolerance of their
day.”
“I’m honored to lend my voice and
help amplify the story of these promising young members of the LGBTQ+
community, who were marginalized and sidelined due to the social
intolerance of their day. A hundred years later, I am grateful to
their contributions and sacrifices, and recognize that I stand on
their shoulders today,” Quinto
said.
The series is being produced in
partnership with Quinto's Before The Door Pictures, Topic Studios,
Vespucci Group, Spoke Media, and writer Rafael Moraes.
Spoke Media co-founder Alia Tavakolian
called Secret Court an “important story that needs to be
told.”
“Yes, there is tragedy and pain here,
but there is also joy, happiness, and inspiration. And we’re
thrilled to create a piece that showcases all the bravery and
vitality of these tremendous young men who chose to pursue community
and understanding despite living in a world that attempted to wipe
out their existence,” Tavakolian said.