Stanley Gilkey

Stanley Gilkey (1900–1979), also known as Stanley Gilky, was a Broadway actor, producer, and production manager. He attended Harvard University, where he was expelled in 1920 after university administrators accused him of being a homosexual, despite the absence of any evidence supporting the accusation. Following a later request to the university, Gilkey was readmitted in 1921 and completed his degree in 1923.

His career in the theater encompassed performing, producing, and administrative work. As an actor, he appeared on Broadway in 1928 in The Age of Innocence. He subsequently built a long career on the production side of the industry, serving as executive producer for director Guthrie McClintic for 35 years. He later took on the role of general manager for theatrical producer Robert Whitehead.

Among his producing credits, Gilkey presented Message for Margaret in 1947, a production that closed after five performances across three days. He also produced three Broadway revues written by Nancy Hamilton: One for the Money (1939), Two for the Show (1940), and Three to Make Ready (1946). By 1953, Gilkey had five Broadway productions to his credit as a producer when he co-produced John Murray Anderson's Almanac alongside Michael P. Grace II and Harry Rigby. That production ran for 229 performances.

When Robert Whitehead and Elia Kazan established the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center, Gilkey served as general manager for their productions during the organization's first two seasons and also held the position of acting administrator for the theater's board.

Gilkey's experiences at Harvard became the subject of dramatic treatment in the play Veritas, which depicts the events of Harvard's Secret Court of 1920. That court's proceedings, during which Gilkey was among the students accused, went unreported for 82 years until the story became public in 2002.