“The discussion later turned to Jamaica, which Michael had visited in January. Noel Coward had spent a good deal of time there, Michael noted. Michael met Coward once in a hotel: “He took me upstairs. He didn’t seduce me. I didn’t know about such things then,” he claimed. “An innocent abroad,” I commented. “Yes, I was.”

“The discussion later turned to Jamaica, which Michael had visited in January. Noel Coward had spent a good deal of time there, Michael noted. Michael met Coward once in a hotel: “He took me upstairs. He didn’t seduce me. I didn’t know about such things then,” he claimed. “An innocent abroad,” I commented. “Yes, I was.”

— Carl Rollyson