Before DeGeneres: Hoover Outed At House Party

Tonight, millions of Americans will watch Ellen DeGeneres's TV character come out of the closet. With many of these viewers gathering at house parties nationwide, The Smoking Gun offers this bizarre 1943 FBI memo dealing with the thorny question of J. Edgar Hoover's sexual orientation. Back then, if you sat around your living room speculating about the FBI chief's love life, you risked an official government reprimand. The memo was written by a top bureau official to Clyde Tolson, Hoover's second-in-command and his longtime close companion. Note that SAC is the acronym for Special Agent In Charge. (2 pages)