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Rupert Everett Remembers Oscar Wilde's Genius As Tomb Is Made 'Kiss-Proof' (PICTURES)

The Huffington Post UK     First Posted: 01/12/11 12:58 GMT   Updated: 01/12/11 13:41 GMT

Rupert Everett has attended the unveiling of Oscar Wilde's restored tomb in Paris, which has a new glass barrier to make it "kiss-proof".

Everett, who appeared in the big screen version of Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and has recently written his own screenplay about Wilde, said the tomb was "being eaten away by lipstick" after hordes of female fans felt moved to kiss the tomb of the troubled playwright.

The tomb, designed by Modernist sculptor Jacob Epstein, has been refurbished with money provided by the Irish government.

Everett told yesterday's BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "The Irish government have taken it upon themselves to renovate the Epstein gravestone, which is literally being eaten away by lipstick, endless women kissing it."

Tourists are now leaving their lipstick marks on a neighbouring tree instead.

Everett said of Wilde, who was convicted of gross indecency in 1895 after his love affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, "I find him very inspiring and touching, not just for his genius, also for his stupidity, in a way.

"He was a human being, and made mistakes like everyone else."

Wild's grandson Merlin Holland also attended the unveiling, and voiced his gratitude to the Irish government for restoring the tomb.

"If my grandfather had been here he would have loved the attention," the BBC reported Mr Holland reflecting.

See pictures of Rupert Everett at the newly 'kiss-proof' tomb in our Slideshow below...

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28th May 1889: Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, poet and wit Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
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Rupert Everett has attended the unveiling of Oscar Wilde's restored tomb in Paris, which has a new glass barrier to make it "kiss-proof". Everett, who appeared in the big screen version of Wilde's...
Rupert Everett has attended the unveiling of Oscar Wilde's restored tomb in Paris, which has a new glass barrier to make it "kiss-proof". Everett, who appeared in the big screen version of Wilde's...
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
NoMercy
Member Since October 2005
1721 Fans
08:37 AM on 12/02/2011
I was one of the kissers about 5 years ago (male)

The barrier is certainly "tacky", as Andrew Hartwell says. I think the best solution might have been to redo it in granite or another sturdier stone.
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AndrewHartwell
55 Fans
 
11:41 PM on 12/01/2011
Too bad! That barrier looks incredibly tacky, something Mr. Wilde would never have stood for. Also, given his notorious sexuality, I doubt all those lipstick marks were from "hordes of female fans." The lipstick marks gave it character, they told a story. That story has been erased.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
NoMercy
Member Since October 2005
1721 Fans
08:39 AM on 12/02/2011
I know - he could have just said "hordes of fans".

The worst thing is the missing member. The lipstick traces were adorable.
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rj74210
retired to French Alps
6 Fans
04:05 PM on 12/01/2011
"If my grandfather had been here he would have loved the attention," the BBC reported Mr Holland reflecting.

Actually, since this is Oscar Wilde's tomb, he WAS there. At the very least his bones still are.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
floodberg
Attorney (ret.)
858 Fans
02:50 PM on 12/01/2011
As an older, probably jaded straight man I am angry and frustrated when I will be unable to give him a (lipstick-free) kiss.  No matter how many times I  reread Wilde (Sabatini and Voltaire are in the same category), I laugh again, as if for the very first time!
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