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This was the era of flamboyant freaks such as Quentin Crisp, or, a personal favorite of mine, author Simon Raven.
About 25 years lies between the time of BRIDES OF DRACULA and that of Quentin Crisp, and in that 25 years came the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, the pill, the Stonewall Riots in New York city, etc. etc.. You'd have a hard time finding openly gay types in 1960, other than if you looked in areas already safe for them; as mentioned above, it was illegal to be gay in England--that is, to engage in sex with someone of your own gender. Sure, there were some people who had what we now recognize as a gay demeanor. The biggest surprise about Liberace was that he DENIED being gay; almost everyone assumed he was all along--although his most devoted fans probably didn't see him that way. For many, there is still a lot of stigma attached to being gay; consider the ongoing controversy over the issue of gay marriage.

Incidentally, I wouldn't describe Quentin Crisp as a "freak," but flamboyant he most certainly was.