Ann B. Davis may have been a deeply closeted lesbian
... according to Sherwood Schwartz.
[quote] Schwartz said that Davis never married. And while he knew her, she never had a relationship either, which, for the decade, was odd. So her choice to remain single caused rumors to spread. The producer revealed that he spoke with Davis about her personal life on one occasion, and the actress illuded that a bad relationship made her swear off men for good. And in turn, she never had the chance to start a family of her own.
[quote]“She was never married and everybody suspected that she was gay. [Ann] and I actually talked about it and she said, ‘No, I have lots of issues, but that’s not one of them,’” Lloyd continued. “She told me she once had a relationship, I think with a married guy or something, and it ended badly. I don’t know that she ever had anything else after that. But that’s almost apocryphal.”
Mmm. Ann B. was deeply religious. I suspect she was stuck in the closet somewhere back in Narnia. Poor Alice!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 100 | April 23, 2024 8:40 AM
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And like all deeply closeted lesbians, I believe she joined a religous order...
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 2 | January 16, 2024 2:43 AM
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Hmmmm....looks like there were multiple gays on the show!
by Anonymous | reply 5 | January 16, 2024 2:54 AM
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[quote]Sherwood Schwartz: “She told me she once had a relationship, I think with a married guy or something, and it ended badly.”
Well, imagine that!
by Anonymous | reply 6 | January 16, 2024 2:54 AM
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I wonder if she were alive today she would have been supportive of Robert Reed.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | January 16, 2024 2:55 AM
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If she were alive today she'd probably be attending every Trump rally.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | January 16, 2024 2:57 AM
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My dad (who I doubt ever saw The Brady Bunch) once said to my mom over dinner, “Who was that girl who was on the Bob Cummings show, back in the ‘50s?” “Which one?’ Mom said. “The lesbian,” Dad said. “Oh,” Mom said. “Ann B. Davis.”
by Anonymous | reply 10 | January 16, 2024 2:57 AM
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r10, you sure had "interesting" parents...
by Anonymous | reply 11 | January 16, 2024 2:59 AM
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R11 Why? They just had eyes and ears.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | January 16, 2024 3:00 AM
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I wonder if Ann B ever got together with the mannish actress who played her replacement, Kay.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | January 16, 2024 3:04 AM
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My folks were talking about actresses everyone knew or assumed were lesbians. They also mentioned Patsy Kelly, “the girl from Dobie Gillis” and “secretary from he Beverly Hillbillies” My mom told me Mary Grace Canfield - “Ralph”, from Green Acres - was “playing a dyke”, but I was really young and all of this was a surprise to me.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | January 16, 2024 3:12 AM
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R14 I’m not going to argue about it, but I notice this attitude here a lot - the assumption that people of other generations were idiots, or totally uninformed or unsophisticated. They weren’t.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | January 16, 2024 3:15 AM
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Here's her official obituary. Reads like she had a terrific life. I remember she did do a lot of stock and dinner theaters -- back when they existed.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 17 | January 16, 2024 3:16 AM
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She loved the Lord and the ladyham!
by Anonymous | reply 18 | January 16, 2024 3:23 AM
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[quote] the actress illuded that
You know what? I’ll let someone else deal with this.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | January 16, 2024 3:24 AM
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I think it was apparent certain actresses didn't connect with men just like gay performers today. Whether people actually articulated that they were lesbians depended on personal curiosity and sophistication.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | January 16, 2024 3:30 AM
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WHAAAAAATTTT!!!!?? Shocking!
by Anonymous | reply 21 | January 16, 2024 3:43 AM
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Oh! She was connected to the Episcopal church?? Then she WAS a lesbian.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | January 16, 2024 4:00 AM
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[quote]“the girl from Dobie Gillis”
This one?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 23 | January 16, 2024 4:05 AM
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I'm not Gay, but my cousin Emma was...
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 24 | January 16, 2024 4:33 AM
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She just never found the right guy
by Anonymous | reply 25 | January 16, 2024 4:38 AM
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She only played one on TV.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | January 16, 2024 4:49 AM
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r27 Homophobic trope. GTFO.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | January 16, 2024 7:42 AM
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Mike and Alice used to cover for each other when they were sneaking their respective lovers into the Brady house.
Explains why one Christmas Mike bought Alice a brand new Subaru and Alice bought him a "hammock" and a Tom of Finland coffee table book.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | January 16, 2024 8:42 AM
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@r22, "Oh! She was connected to the Episcopal church?? Then she WAS a lesbian. "
Episcopalian here, can confirm ✋, but we're an understanding lot, no need to hide... Just don't push it
by Anonymous | reply 30 | January 16, 2024 8:51 AM
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[quote]My dad (who I doubt ever saw The Brady Bunch) once said to my mom over dinner, “Who was that girl who was on the Bob Cummings show, back in the ‘50s?” “Which one?’ Mom said. “The lesbian,” Dad said. “Oh,” Mom said. “Ann B. Davis.”
Nancy Kulp also made regular appearances on the Bob Cummings show. It was Lesbian Central!
by Anonymous | reply 31 | January 16, 2024 8:55 AM
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[quote]I suspect she was stuck in the closet somewhere back in Narnia. Poor Alice!
I went to Catholic school and have known quite a few nuns. The stereotype that women in religious orders are all closeted lesbians is not entirely accurate. While there are lesbians in that milieu, there are other women who don't prioritize intimate relationships. It's just not on their radar at all. This can be due to past trauma, or being on the autism spectrum, or simply lack of opportunity or interest. Ann B. Davis strikes me as belonging to this second group.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | January 16, 2024 9:09 AM
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[quote]'s just not on their radar at all. This can be due to past trauma, or being on the autism spectrum, or simply lack of opportunity or interest. Ann B. Davis strikes me as belonging to this second group.
Of course she does.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | January 16, 2024 9:12 AM
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@r31, " the Bob Cummings show. It was Lesbian Central! "
Wasn't Bob Cummings a speed and sex freak?... Got to love the 50s 😉
by Anonymous | reply 35 | January 16, 2024 9:22 AM
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Without knowing much about her, I like her because she's one of those people who improbably made it (somewhat) in showbiz with minimal talent & nothing special in the looks department. The "Meet Me in St. Louis" thread makes me think that Katie was a model for Alice - a gruff, older woman with no family of her own she was devoted to kids but also told them off in a way their parents didnt. As other posters noted, I doubt she was that closeted.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | January 16, 2024 9:39 AM
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“She was never married and everybody suspected that she was gay. [Ann] and I actually talked about it and she said, ‘No, I have lots of issues, but that’s not one of them,’.” That's right Bitches, no one here has to worry about me. I was all in for that A-grade Man Meat!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 37 | January 16, 2024 11:19 AM
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^ " I was all in for that A-grade Man Meat! "
So, Sam the butcher was the real deal, huh? 😏
by Anonymous | reply 38 | January 16, 2024 11:29 AM
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In the reboot, they better let Alice be out and proud.
also r10 likes to WW herself - how odd
by Anonymous | reply 39 | January 16, 2024 11:32 AM
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Are we really still talking about this? What generation is this? What CENTURY????
by Anonymous | reply 40 | January 16, 2024 12:51 PM
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R7 He's been dead for 32 years.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | January 16, 2024 7:58 PM
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R41 That looks more like trans Bill Clinton.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | January 16, 2024 8:36 PM
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My mom said Alice was a big lesbian
by Anonymous | reply 45 | January 16, 2024 8:41 PM
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r40 Glad you bumped the thread
by Anonymous | reply 46 | January 16, 2024 8:52 PM
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Why does any woman that is not into men automatically considered a lesbian? Maybe she was asexual.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | January 16, 2024 8:58 PM
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In the late 50's she and her identical twin sister Harriet were on I've Got A Secret.......and none of the panel could tell them apart....it was very funny......
by Anonymous | reply 48 | January 16, 2024 9:43 PM
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Never forget...4:15 into this...Perhaps the gayest moment in the history of television...
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 49 | January 17, 2024 2:21 AM
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R48 I wonder if one of her "issues" was something sexual with her sister (like Melissa Etheridge).
by Anonymous | reply 50 | January 17, 2024 5:46 AM
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R9 Ann must've been a far right wing Episcopal as she appeared on The 700 Club with Pat Robertson in the 90s & on the E! True Hollywood Story they made it sound like she had some issues with Robert Reed at multiple times during the various Brady Shows. Possibly a closeted repressing lesbian being routinely annoyed by a free spirited gay guy? Didn't the Marsha actress say that Ann went after her once verbally for having an abortion?
by Anonymous | reply 51 | January 17, 2024 5:51 AM
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Perhaps she was asexual and on the spectrum.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | January 17, 2024 8:39 AM
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[quote] Why does any woman that is not into men automatically considered a lesbian?
Ann B Davis has a very distinct look that most lesbians have. It's not that difficult to tell in her.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | January 17, 2024 2:33 PM
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^ "Ann B Davis has a very distinct look that most lesbians have."
So, you're saying when she played cousin Emma on the Brady Bunch it wasn't a stretch? 🤔
by Anonymous | reply 55 | January 17, 2024 3:24 PM
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Does anyone know where her home was when she was filming the Brady Bunch. I've often wondered what her personal life was like when she was not filming the Brady Bunch in the 70s. How her house was decorated, who her friends were, where she dined, shopped, etc. She didn't seem like someone who would've been hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | January 18, 2024 6:06 PM
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She lived in Denver in the 1980s when she was in that weird religious cult. I was working as a teller at a bank during that time, and one day, she walked in with another woman. She looked exactly like Alice looked when she'd go out on errands with Mrs. Brady. Big, heavy cloth coat, purse in her hands, hair styled exactly like Alice's.
She came to my window and deposited a check. I didn't let on that I knew who she was. I just completed her transaction and she was on her way. She was very pleasant, just like any other old lady who came to the bank. You'd never know she was in one of the most iconic TV shows.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | January 18, 2024 6:28 PM
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Alith wath a lethbian? Wath a lethbian?
by Anonymous | reply 58 | January 18, 2024 6:35 PM
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[quote] She lived in Denver in the 1980s when she was in that weird religious cult. I was working as a teller at a bank during that time, and one day, she walked in with another woman.
Was it a "lady friend?"
by Anonymous | reply 59 | January 18, 2024 6:46 PM
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R59 I didn't pay that much attention, but the other woman just seemed like a neighbor or a friend. I don't recall picking up a "lesbian" vibe. Then again, I was screaming to myself inside, "Alice is at my teller window!" so my attention wasn't really on the other lady.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | January 18, 2024 6:49 PM
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^ I do, however, remember that she deposited a check for a fairly small amount, and it looked like some kind of rebate check or something like that.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | January 18, 2024 6:49 PM
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[quote] She didn't seem like someone who would've been hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd.
She certainly wasn't at any of my parties.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | January 18, 2024 6:50 PM
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[quote] I do, however, remember that she deposited a check for a fairly small amount, and it looked like some kind of rebate check or something like that.
Maybe it was a residual check from The Brady Bunch.
How "small" was it? Something she could maybe live off of, for the rest of her life?
It would be sad it it was only $50 or something like that. For such an iconic role.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | January 18, 2024 6:54 PM
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This is the last home she lived in in San Antonio
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 64 | January 18, 2024 7:05 PM
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Nine replies and it's a Trump thread. You classic TV gals are on the case.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | January 18, 2024 7:07 PM
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Ann's former home in Colorado
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 66 | January 18, 2024 7:10 PM
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R64 I notice she had a stairlift installed.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | January 18, 2024 7:12 PM
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Rubbish! Ann was secretly married to Raymond Burr.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | January 18, 2024 7:15 PM
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I totally wouldn’t be surprised. But she was deeply religious. And it was an Episcopalian community and they’re among the least offensive Christian churches. So she’s ok.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | January 18, 2024 7:15 PM
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According to Mazar Lesbian Archives Ann may have frequented the Green Door in North Hollywood
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 70 | January 18, 2024 7:19 PM
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R64 I wonder what went on in that room with the dirty carpet.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | January 18, 2024 7:41 PM
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@r61, " I do, however, remember that she deposited a check for a fairly small amount"
Must have been one of her Brady Bunch residual checks 😏
by Anonymous | reply 72 | January 18, 2024 7:42 PM
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When I was starting grade school, LOVE THAT BOB reruns were on everyday. Ann was very funny as Bob's man-crazy secretary.....and of course Dwayne Hickman and Rosemary de Camp were also in the show......
by Anonymous | reply 73 | January 18, 2024 7:45 PM
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I don't think she was paid enough for the Brady Bunch to afford living in a home in Beverly Hills. Most likely she had a small apartment close to Paramount Studio.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | January 18, 2024 7:47 PM
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Ann B. Davis with her identical twin sister Harriet.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 75 | January 18, 2024 7:52 PM
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R75 Ann actually got the looks between the two.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | January 18, 2024 7:52 PM
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[quote] Ann actually got the looks between the two
Either of them could have played the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | January 18, 2024 7:55 PM
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Imagine being "the ugly twin" to Ann B. Davis.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | January 18, 2024 7:58 PM
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R63 It definitely wasn't a residual check, because I do remember checking to see if it was from ABC or a production company or SAG. I can't remember who issued the check, but it looked unremarkable. The amount was less than $500. I remember that, because back then, we had to put a hold on checks of $500 or more, and I was happy I didn't have to tell Alice that I was putting a hold on her check.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | January 18, 2024 8:16 PM
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>>She certainly wasn't at any of my parties. >>—Robert Reed
She wasn't on my guest list, but she may have come to one of my parties... Sometimes the ladies brings a guest.
-Bea Benaderet
by Anonymous | reply 81 | January 18, 2024 8:24 PM
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The B in Ann B. Davis stood for Butch.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | January 18, 2024 11:10 PM
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She was a really groovy guy. Miss him.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 84 | January 19, 2024 3:53 AM
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^ Marsha was a clit tease.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | January 19, 2024 5:19 AM
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The house shown in R64 gives me off-putting vibes. It just looks both so Brady and so...uncomfortable. The colors in the various rooms, the horrible 1980s easy chair in that bedroom, the ugly nasty kitchen... I think Ann did not live that great in her final decades. Maybe she should've munched the carpet instead of living on that horrendous blood-red carpet in the living room.
My ex's house gave me similar vibes. I can smell the mustiness and the leftover animal scent throughout the place. She and those religious nutjobs were obviously weird.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | January 19, 2024 8:20 AM
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That living room is big enough to hold both worship services and orgies.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | January 19, 2024 4:32 PM
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Does any human being really think that Ann B. Davis was NOT gay?
by Anonymous | reply 88 | March 4, 2024 12:37 PM
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That’s like saying water might be wet
by Anonymous | reply 89 | March 4, 2024 12:43 PM
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I can’t believe she was only 43 years old when The Brady Bunch started.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | March 4, 2024 12:48 PM
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[quote]Ann B. Davis may have been a deeply closeted lesbian... according to Sherwood Schwartz.
WHO according to WHO?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 91 | March 4, 2024 1:42 PM
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R70 The woman on the far left looks like it could actually be Ann B Davis.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | March 4, 2024 2:37 PM
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Shallowest deep closet in all christendom.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | March 4, 2024 2:37 PM
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Thread closed she was a lesbian! It is common knowledge amongst those in the know, DL.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | April 23, 2024 12:20 AM
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[quote] [R11] Why? They just had eyes and ears.
Oh my god! How horrifying. My parents had full faces, so foreheads, hair, cheeks, teeth, the whole thing. They just have been so scary to look at. I’m so sorry.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | April 23, 2024 12:25 AM
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She was such an obvious lesbian, just like Nancy Kulp. Kulp was openly lesbian later in life, when the times had changed somewhat.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | April 23, 2024 12:35 AM
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This was a perfectly acted scene by the two best performers on the show.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 97 | April 23, 2024 12:56 AM
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That *was* a sweet episode.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | April 23, 2024 1:00 AM
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[quote]Nancy Kulp also made regular appearances on the Bob Cummings show. It was Lesbian Central!
My mother was NOT a lesbian!
by Anonymous | reply 99 | April 23, 2024 1:31 AM
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Ann B. was the prettier one.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 23, 2024 8:40 AM
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