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Who Was The First Gay Person You Saw On Television?

Ellen asked Wanda Sykes this, with her responding "Liberace," along with justifying how she just knew he was gay, despite him never publicly admitting it.

Anyway, who was your first? Mine was Paul Lynde, back when he was Uncle Arthur on Bewitched. Even as a child, I sensed that he preferred the company of boys, like I did.

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by Anonymousreply 129February 4, 2020 1:47 AM

Yes, OP, Paul Lynde was up there.

I also remember when my otherwise mild mannered, sweet, loving grandmother angrily switched the radio away from a Johnny Mathis song because she "can't stand that f*****!"

by Anonymousreply 1January 23, 2020 11:56 PM

Alan Sues on “Laugh-In”.

by Anonymousreply 2January 24, 2020 12:03 AM

Person we now know is gay, OP or person we looked at and thought "this person is also a homosexual"?

by Anonymousreply 3January 24, 2020 12:06 AM

R1, my aunt also said that about him in the mid 1970s. I have no idea how she knew that. I guess rumors were already spreading about him.

by Anonymousreply 4January 24, 2020 12:08 AM

R3 You can follow Wanda's lead and mention someone who's now definitely known to be gay. But you should've already sensed it even before they came out publicly, like Clay Aiken.

Or someone who was already out, of course.

by Anonymousreply 5January 24, 2020 12:13 AM

Rock Hudson

Robert Reed

Richard Chamberlain

I used to sit with my grandmother and watch old movies on tv. I remember watching Pillow Talk and thinking that Rock Hudson wasn't totally into Doris Day as much as I thought he should be. LOL.

Robert Reed was very lucky to be on tv in the 1970s, which was a time when the "sensitive" man was popular. But watching The Brady Bunch, I always thought he was a bit too sensitive. Then he showed up in one season with a perm and I thought, "Yup, he's gay."

In High School, our old maid English Teacher showed us a video of Richard Chamberlain doing Shakespeare. Afterwards she remarked, "He's so beautiful. It's too bad he's gay."

by Anonymousreply 6January 24, 2020 12:18 AM

Sean Hayes was the first most unapologetically gay person I saw on TV. The first time where I knew a gay man was playing a gay character.

by Anonymousreply 7January 24, 2020 12:21 AM

I got a gay vibe from Nick Adams way back when Johnny Yuma was a rebel.

by Anonymousreply 8January 24, 2020 12:27 AM

As a kid in the early 80s, I remember the beginning days of cable. I happened upon a documentary about homosexuals on what had to be HBO or Cinemax.

The opening of the doc showed 2 men on a bridge who make eye contact, approach each other, and put their hands in each others’ back pockets. Freeze frame on their (tight) denim asses as an odious instrumental soundtrack came on. The tone of the doc was very negative and treated gays like a sick group of depraved people. I remember knowing in my gut that I would grow up to be one of them. It was titillating to see 2 men together but it was also upsetting to see that they were meant to be feared. I’ll never forget it. I had to turn it off quickly because my mom came in the room.

by Anonymousreply 9January 24, 2020 12:27 AM

CBS News did a prime time, very clinical, documentary called "The Homosexuals," in 1967, featuring actual self-identified gay men. But it mostly treated us as sickos and criminals, with an undertone of scandal. This is the sort of shit that caused my parents to throw me out of the house for a time.

PBS followed with the late Lance Loud in 1973 in the first reality TV series, "An American Family," which was much more positive.

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by Anonymousreply 10January 24, 2020 12:36 AM

In Junior High School, we had to watch the documentary Future Shock. Below is the only part of the documentary I remember.

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by Anonymousreply 11January 24, 2020 12:39 AM

Liberace. My mother LOVED him. Then Gomer Pyle and then Paul Lynde.

by Anonymousreply 12January 24, 2020 12:41 AM

And for some reason, DL is not carrying over links that lead to specific segments. In the Future Shock documentary, go to the 27:15 mark.

by Anonymousreply 13January 24, 2020 12:41 AM

It’s interesting that Wanda feels so comfortable calling Liberace out for being closeted considering she was closeted well into her career. She only came out after she was an established star.

Maybe she talks about being closeted on her documentary though I doubt it since she wants us to think that she was always out (ie, brave and courageous).

Oh, of course, Ellen was closeted while she was a star throughout the 80s and 90’s...but she yuks it up at Lee’s expense, too. Pathetic.

by Anonymousreply 14January 24, 2020 12:42 AM

The first person I was aware of was Robert Reed. My mom told us when we watched Brady Bunch reruns. It seemed so scandalous

by Anonymousreply 15January 24, 2020 12:43 AM

I’m pretty sure it was Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) on The Dick Van Dyke Show. I didn’t have the words to describe it, but I just knew he was different.

The first totally out gay person I saw on tv? Like another poster said, it must have been Lance Loud. At that point I was just about to graduate high school and I wasn’t really even out to myself yet.

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by Anonymousreply 16January 24, 2020 12:46 AM

Paul Lynde - although the first I know to actually identify as gay was Lance Loud from PBS's An American Family.

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by Anonymousreply 17January 24, 2020 12:46 AM

In regards to out gay people on TV, the first ones I saw were in the documentary "Word Is Out," in the late 1970s, on PBS. I was about 12 years old at the time, and I remember being both shocked and impressed that they could be so candid about being gay.

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by Anonymousreply 18January 24, 2020 12:47 AM

Liberace

Waylon Flowers & Madam

Paul Lynde

Charles Nelson Reilly

Richard Chamberlain

by Anonymousreply 19January 24, 2020 12:47 AM

Wanda Sykes is GAY?

by Anonymousreply 20January 24, 2020 12:50 AM

RuPaul then Danny from the Real World

by Anonymousreply 21January 24, 2020 12:54 AM

The first time I heard someone say that they were gay on TV was Lance Loud. Sure I heard rumors about those mentioned above, but now I saw someone who was out and we saw him be himself.

by Anonymousreply 22January 24, 2020 12:55 AM

Dom DeLuise. I don't know if he ever admitted it, but c'mon.

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by Anonymousreply 23January 24, 2020 12:57 AM

[quote] Sean Hayes was the first most unapologetically gay person I saw on TV. The first time where I knew a gay man was playing a gay character.

That asshole reinforced every negative stereotype in the goddamn book with that shitty and offensive minstrel show and then stayed closeted until it was over. He’s a sellout, and gays would be better off if that rotten fucking show had never aired at all.

by Anonymousreply 24January 24, 2020 1:01 AM

[quote]then stayed closeted until it was over.

What about Rosie O'Donnell? Went through her entire talk show drooling over Tom Cruise (I think one time she said she'd like him to come over and cut her grass shirtless). Then when she came out, she overcompensated and had to be the biggest lesbian in all of lesbiandom.

by Anonymousreply 25January 24, 2020 1:04 AM

I always assumed that Mr. Furley was a huge mo.

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by Anonymousreply 26January 24, 2020 1:05 AM

I guess my gaydar was undeveloped, but I never saw Paul Lynde or Richard Deacon as gay as a kid, just funny. And I certainly didn't think Mr. Brady or Dr. Kildare were. I guess the first one I really thought was gay had to be Rip Taylor, the comedian.

by Anonymousreply 27January 24, 2020 1:06 AM

Snagglepuss.

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by Anonymousreply 28January 24, 2020 1:24 AM

Specifically on television, I would have to agree with Liberace, but for some reason, as a child, I didn't care for him. Who I do remember, from movies shown on television, was Clifton Webb. He was able to portray such different characters, such as the father in "Cheaper By The Dozen," and the murderer in my favorite murder mystery, "Laura." Great actor, and there was something about his demeanor, the way he portrayed himself, that really set him apart. You just knew there was something different. The only role I ever saw Liberace in that I liked was as the role of the makeup man in "The Loved One." I absolutely love that movie.

by Anonymousreply 29January 24, 2020 2:21 AM

First out gay man: Merle Miller on The Dick Cavett Show.

by Anonymousreply 30January 24, 2020 2:35 AM

Roddy McDowall. He used to be regular on a game show called Celebrity Sweepstakes. I had a huge crush on him. Lance Loud was the first admitted gay person I remember seeing and I remember my mom trying to explain Truman Capote to me once when he was on The Merv Griffin show.

by Anonymousreply 31January 24, 2020 2:56 AM

Definitely Paul Lynde on Hollywood Squares. I just knew a man that bitchy and sarcastic was different. Also I remember seeing James Baldwin on some talk show, Dick Cavett maybe. And then Lance Loud.

by Anonymousreply 32January 24, 2020 2:59 AM

Richard Simmons

by Anonymousreply 33January 24, 2020 3:03 AM

Kristy McNichol on "Family" (also I guess, Meredith Baxter-Birney).

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by Anonymousreply 34January 24, 2020 3:17 AM

First time the character was out and gay that I knew of

by Anonymousreply 35January 24, 2020 3:38 AM

Take 2

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by Anonymousreply 36January 24, 2020 3:39 AM

Norm on The Real World

by Anonymousreply 37January 24, 2020 3:40 AM

Honorable mention. Thank you to our forefathers.

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by Anonymousreply 38January 24, 2020 3:45 AM

Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle .

by Anonymousreply 39January 24, 2020 4:19 AM

William Frawley

by Anonymousreply 40January 24, 2020 4:20 AM

Ir's nice to be first.

by Anonymousreply 41January 24, 2020 4:25 AM

Half the closeted singers on LAWRENCE WELK .

by Anonymousreply 42January 24, 2020 4:26 AM

Funnily enough, Ellen.

by Anonymousreply 43January 24, 2020 4:27 AM

Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly, probably within the same hour

by Anonymousreply 44January 24, 2020 4:47 AM

Jim J Bullock as Monroe in "Too Close to Comfort". His character was not written as gay. However, he did not attempt to fake a macho affectation. (And reportedly, the show's star Ted Knight was annoyed with his flamboyance on set.) I'm not the only one who sensed Jim J / Monroe was different. Many years later, on a talk show, he revealed that people frequently told him they recognized he was gay on the show, and it helped them feel less alone.

Then a few years later, there was Danny Pintauro on Who's the Boss. He was on camera during his awkward adolescent years, and it was very obvious that he was gay. And it was clear that the producers were limiting his time on camera, in contrast to how they had heavily featured his-costar Alyssa Milano in storylines when she had been that age.

by Anonymousreply 45January 24, 2020 4:47 AM

Myron Floren

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by Anonymousreply 46January 24, 2020 4:50 AM

Remember this guy?

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by Anonymousreply 47January 24, 2020 4:55 AM

I'm so glad Wanda didn't let Cosby's horrible words stop her.

Ellen.

by Anonymousreply 48January 24, 2020 5:06 AM

And the boy from My So Called Life.

by Anonymousreply 49January 24, 2020 5:06 AM

All the male dancers on Solid Gold

by Anonymousreply 50January 24, 2020 5:12 AM

Aunt Bea.

by Anonymousreply 51January 24, 2020 5:13 AM

Iola on Momma's family

by Anonymousreply 52January 24, 2020 5:18 AM

Paul Lynde

Charles Nelson Reilly

by Anonymousreply 53January 24, 2020 5:23 AM

Dr. Zachary Smith

by Anonymousreply 54January 24, 2020 5:32 AM

Nancy Kulp on "Love That Bob" and "The Beverly Hillbillies."

by Anonymousreply 55January 24, 2020 5:38 AM

Richard Nixon

by Anonymousreply 56January 24, 2020 5:46 AM

Pedro Zamora. I was about 14 when I watched him on "The Real World". I was old enough to know for certain that I was a homosexual but wasn't old enough to know what being a homosexual meant. I guess Zamora was kind of a role model for me and he was a good one. He wasn't just out, he wasn't just proud, he was a thoroughly good person. He taught me that it wasn't enough just to be proud of being gay, you had to be proud of the person that you were. Pedro, may you rest in peace, you had a large impact on my life and you influenced that man I was to become and I will always be grateful to you.

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by Anonymousreply 57January 24, 2020 5:56 AM

The Great Gazoo

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by Anonymousreply 58January 24, 2020 5:56 AM

Mr. Brady didn't ping my gaydar, but I felt that Alice was different from the other women.

by Anonymousreply 59January 24, 2020 5:59 AM

Queens on Ricki Lake!

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by Anonymousreply 60January 24, 2020 6:17 AM

Definitely the guy from Too Close for Comfort (which In retrospect Was such an awful show, good God.) I had no clue Robert Reed was gay until he died of AIDS — I was really shocked at the time. It is definitely true that he seemed “more gay” once he got the perm, but then again the styles in the 70s made even straight men seem just a little bit gay.

Also, speaking of Three’s Company, there was a guest star in the last season — a food critic Mr.Townsend where Jack has to break into his office to get a letter )anyone else remember that?), and there was no mention of gay or not gay but even to this young one he was so obviously swishy.

by Anonymousreply 61January 24, 2020 6:31 AM

Henry Polic II

Chad Allen

Franklyn Seales

by Anonymousreply 62January 24, 2020 6:47 AM

Marty the pickpocket on "Barney Miller."

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by Anonymousreply 63January 24, 2020 6:49 AM

Little Richard

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by Anonymousreply 64January 24, 2020 6:51 AM

I remember my mom mentioned off handedly in the early 70s (!) she read Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors had gotten married and Jim was on a talk show denying it, but she figured it was real or at least believed them to be gay.

by Anonymousreply 65January 24, 2020 6:54 AM

Definitely Charles Nelson Reilly. Living in a tiny town, I couldn’t help but stare at this guy who would never be working a trade job in a redneck town. Eight inch high eyeglasses, and so very fey.

Then there were Afterschool Specials, Disney movies and the like. Which brings focus to Jodie Foster and Kristy McNichol. They walked so manly. There was a girl like that at my grade school, who would beat up the boys. Thats the only comparison I had as a kid, and it turns out she was a lez.

by Anonymousreply 66January 24, 2020 6:55 AM

I'd guess that were Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, and Kate Pierson from The B-52s in their Love Shack video. Later it was Rock Hudson in some classic rom-com with Doris Day.

by Anonymousreply 67January 24, 2020 7:41 AM

I guess Tony Randall too, though I didn’t know really WHAT to make of him actually, until David Hyde Pierce stoke his entire schtick.

by Anonymousreply 68January 24, 2020 7:58 AM

Well, by age of viewing, it was probably Hadji in Jonny Quest. But that was a cartoon character. The queeny man on Lost in Space. (Zachary Smith was the character on the program, his name was Jonathan Harris). I love his personal life description in Wikipedia:

"Harris was married to his childhood sweetheart, Gertrude Bregman, from 1938 until his death in 2002. She died of natural causes, at age 93, on August 28, 2007. They had one child, Richard, born 1942.[5]

Throughout his life, Harris had a number of hobbies — gourmet cooking, watching movies, reading, traveling, painting, magic, playing piano (he played a piano teacher in a 1968 episode of Bewitched), listening to opera, spending time with children, gardening and knitting. He also did some dancing in his spare time."

HELLO!!!

by Anonymousreply 69January 24, 2020 8:25 AM

I think Paul Lynde.

by Anonymousreply 70January 24, 2020 8:36 AM

The thing was that a lot of these TV characters who were obviously Gay were silly and over the top. Who wanted to grow up to be Liberace or Charles Nelson Riley? I didn't. I'm still mad at Rock Hudson for being such a coward. He could have done so much for Gay guys who just needed someone to look up to that wasn't portrayed as someone silly and overly flamboyant, but I guess that's Hollywood's fault where everyone has to be a stereotype. Lance Loud did more for me then all of Hollywood put together. He was the only Gay guy that at least seemed like a real person

by Anonymousreply 71January 24, 2020 9:37 AM

In Britain we had loads of camp comedians / actors who were obviously gay, and it was part of their act, but it was never anything I associated with fancying other boys. They were just funny to me then (funny ha-ha, not funny peculiar) and I still enjoy their humour now.

The names may not mean anything in the rest of the world but I'm thinking of Kenneth Williams, Larry Grayson, Frankie Howerd etc. Even characters like Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served? were obviously gay but never anything more than a caricature. Then there were poofy characters played by straight actors like Melvyn Hayes in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. But I was too busy looking at the topless sweaty Scottish squaddie in that show to be bothered with him.

As I say I never once thought I was like them, they were just part of show business and a few steps away from real life.

by Anonymousreply 72January 24, 2020 9:57 AM

[quote] I'm still mad at Rock Hudson for being such a coward. He could have done so much for Gay guys who just needed someone to look up to that wasn't portrayed as someone silly and overly flamboyant, but I guess that's Hollywood's fault where everyone has to be a stereotype.

Hollywood would have had no use for an openly gay man to be the lead of their movies including rom-coms with Doris Day. Hell, even nowadays Luke Evans went back into the closet to get cast in major Hollywood movies. Everybody knows he was out before he moved to Hollywood, but that doesn't matter apparently. Just that he plays by Hollywood's rules now.

by Anonymousreply 73January 24, 2020 10:10 AM

Stealth: it had to have been Liberace. My grandmother must have watched his program, and I watched it with her. Not that I had any idea what "gay" was at the time. His costumes are what made him stand out for me, even today.

Everyone knew: Lance Loud. I didn't miss an episode. He was so jerk-offable-to—later, of course, in my bedroom, where I did not have a TV. One of his brothers was even better looking, but Lance Loud was gay. Gay, ga-gay-gay-gay. And he lived in California and in no way resembled a character from a Rechy novel.

by Anonymousreply 74January 24, 2020 10:50 AM

[quote]Then a few years later, there was Danny Pintauro on Who's the Boss. He was on camera during his awkward adolescent years, and it was very obvious that he was gay. And it was clear that the producers were limiting his time on camera, in contrast to how they had heavily featured his-costar Alyssa Milano in storylines when she had been that age.

That's because he couldn't act and was an annoying dweeb, and the show was so poorly written that [italic]Small Wonder[/italic] actually held up better. If they could recast Philip on [italic]Maude[/italic], Tommy on [italic]Alice[/italic], and Mr. Drummond's second wife from [italic]Diff'rent Strokes[/italic], then why couldn't they replace him with someone who could actually act? And his behavior towards other gay men by using his undeserved fame to infect other gay men with AIDS, then to go around and make his infection all about him, is unforgivable. The DL thread about his seroconversion was the only thing funny that he has anything to do with at all; someone there even claimed to be an ex-BF attesting to his lack of moral character. Take away his homosexuality and he's just typical Jersey Guido trash. He got the homosexuality that by all right should have gone to Ricky Schroder! Leave it to Norman Lear to prove the exception to every rule: the blond boy who wasn't gay but can act and acted alongside a gay black man who died of AIDS and a tragically-not-gay DILF musical theater veteran vs. the blond boy who is gay and cannot act, got AIDS, and offered to bareback after he seroconverted. There was no reason for that stupid show to run eight years, each one stupider and more offensive than the last. The only cast member who was good in anything else has died.

At least we weren't stuck with him on [italic]As The World Turns[/italic] anymore. Their ratings actually went up without him. They replaced him with Christopher Daniel Barnes, who wasn't gay, but was better-looking and a better actor, and got to play Greg in [italic]The Brady Bunch Movie[/italic]. I almost like him better than Barry Williams and his tiresome stories about striking out with the actresses playing his mother and sister. And, he's a [italic]Golden Girls[/italic] guest star and a Disney prince!

by Anonymousreply 75January 24, 2020 2:15 PM

How many were on The Waltons?

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by Anonymousreply 76January 24, 2020 2:26 PM

Grandpa and Grandma we all know about. Not sure about any of the kids.

by Anonymousreply 77January 24, 2020 2:27 PM

Benny Hill.

by Anonymousreply 78January 24, 2020 2:49 PM

Feminists complained about him but he never transitioned like Eddie Izzard. Be careful what you wish for.

I would have added Graham Chapman, but I didn't actually see [italic]Monty Python[/italic] until I was a teenager, so unfortunately I cannot call him one of the first. That still went a long way.

by Anonymousreply 79January 24, 2020 2:51 PM

Cesar Romero when he played The Joker in the orig. Batman series, circa 1966. I knew something was really off. That show was rather louche with all its campiness. Some of those 1960s comedies, like Hogan's Heroes. It blows my fucking mind. A comedy about a German prison camp 20 years after the end of WWII? Holy Schnitzel Fondue!

by Anonymousreply 80January 24, 2020 5:06 PM

Nobody remembers Jim Bailey and his female impersonating? He was GOOD.

by Anonymousreply 81January 24, 2020 5:12 PM

I grew up watching Dr Kildare and Perry Mason but it didn't occur to me at the time that those characters were played by gay men

by Anonymousreply 82January 24, 2020 5:21 PM

As a side note about Richard Chamberlain: Although he wasn't the first (suspected) gay I saw on TV, he was certainly one of the firsts who gave me an instant hard-on upon seeing him on screen, especially in Shogun.

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by Anonymousreply 83January 24, 2020 5:42 PM

Joe Flynn in The Strongest Man In The World especially the beginning when he was complaining and screaming about the corns on his foot.

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by Anonymousreply 84January 24, 2020 6:15 PM

Not quite the first, but during my pre-out college years in the late 80s I would always watch whatever morning show Steve Kmetko was on (even though he didn't come out for another decade)

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by Anonymousreply 85January 24, 2020 6:25 PM

Bruno Tonioli from Dancing With the Stars. He was sooo gay in the Elton John I’m Still Standing video. I just knew he was a ... shy boy.

by Anonymousreply 86January 24, 2020 6:50 PM

Was George Takei anyone's first?

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by Anonymousreply 87January 24, 2020 7:40 PM

My Mom was the one who watched [italic]Star Trek[/italic].

by Anonymousreply 88January 24, 2020 7:43 PM

The second season Dynasty episode where Steven Carrington lashed out at his family, insisting that they acknowledge once and for all that “Steven is gay” was transformative for me. I was 12 years old and I sat in the living room watching it, stunned and excited, hoping that my parents wouldn’t come in from the kitchen.

by Anonymousreply 89January 24, 2020 7:56 PM

If only they could’ve kept Steven gay consistently from week to week.

by Anonymousreply 90January 24, 2020 8:24 PM

This is a little off subject, but one of the first stories I remember reading on here was that Reid Shelton (Daddy Warbucks in Annie) used to regularly cruise the hustlers in Times Square during off hours of the show. I’ve seen his episodes of The Golden Girls and Three’s Company millions of times as a kid and adult and I never got a gay vibe from him, so I remember being kind of shocked reading that (assuming it’s true).

And I actually just googled him and saw he was survived by his “companion” named Donovan, who I assume is a man, so I guess he was in fact gay (though he did have some brief marriage to a woman back in the dark ages).

Not sure why of all the stories on here I remember that one lol.

by Anonymousreply 91January 24, 2020 10:13 PM

The first ones who pinged my gaydar, long before I knew what that meant, were Jm J. Bullock and Charles Nelson Reilly. I'm not sure exactly when I became aware of what homosexuality actually was, but I do remember my mother telling me about Rock Hudson when he died, and when AIDS became something you heard about on the news. Then there was Boy George who was at the peak of his fame around that time (and also in the news a lot for his heroin addiction).

by Anonymousreply 92January 24, 2020 10:51 PM

I knew what AIDS was before I ever learned what homosexuality is.

by Anonymousreply 93January 24, 2020 11:16 PM

I did not know at the time (for sure, after all I was a kid) but it was Ellen herself. I kind of felt she was different, but what the hell a 7 year old knows. Second would be Jodie Foster I guess.

by Anonymousreply 94January 24, 2020 11:23 PM

R26 Despite being a gay man, I had a bit of a crush on Nicole Kidman in my youth. This was back in the 90s, when she was gorgeous. Of course, because I am a gay man, I was also obsessed with her clothes.

by Anonymousreply 95January 24, 2020 11:28 PM

Danny Pintauro on Who's the Boss.

by Anonymousreply 96January 24, 2020 11:31 PM

Johnnie Ray.

I don't get him; his voice is weak and unappealing.

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by Anonymousreply 97January 24, 2020 11:34 PM

Fuck you, R97.

by Anonymousreply 98January 24, 2020 11:35 PM

Alexander Polinsky from the syndicated version of [italic]Charles in Charge[/italic] is gay, and he says Scott Baio verbally harassed him because of it.

by Anonymousreply 99January 24, 2020 11:36 PM

I was confused by Topo Gigio's flirtatiousness with Ed Sullivan. I wonder if this is why I've always been attracted to rat-faced Italian guys?

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by Anonymousreply 100January 24, 2020 11:40 PM

First gay TV character I remember is Steve, Archie Bunker's football star friend from Kelsey's Bar in 1971.

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by Anonymousreply 101January 24, 2020 11:45 PM

That inspired a diatribe from Richard Nixon:

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by Anonymousreply 102January 24, 2020 11:48 PM

Waylon Smithers...

by Anonymousreply 103January 24, 2020 11:58 PM

LIBERACE and Rip Taylor, I was a kid in the 1970s and although I couldn't define it then, I could tell that LIBERACE and Rip Taylor didn't want to marry women.

I had a crush on MAGNUM P.I. and I thought that he didn't want to marry a woman either.

However, the first gay character on a television series I recall being gay was Billy Crystal on SOAP and I think there was a character on DALLAS, then DYNASTY.

I have a vague recollection on ALL IN THE FAMILY that one of Archie Bunker's friends at his bar came out. I think Archie had been making fun of his son-in-law's friends and classmates for being effeminate and then it turned out that Archie's football buddy was gay.

by Anonymousreply 104January 28, 2020 2:15 AM

^^^ Whoops! I see that R101 already mentioned ALL IN THE FAMILY. Credit to R101

by Anonymousreply 105January 28, 2020 2:27 AM

All of them were already mentioned r105

by Anonymousreply 106January 28, 2020 2:34 AM

I always assumed 'Floyd' in Mayberry was gay.

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by Anonymousreply 107January 28, 2020 2:44 AM

probably Elvis.

that's my theory, anyway!

by Anonymousreply 108January 28, 2020 2:46 AM

Bugs Bunny

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by Anonymousreply 109January 28, 2020 3:55 AM

I can’t remember has anyone mentioned Richard Simmons yet?

by Anonymousreply 110January 28, 2020 4:47 AM

Vanity from The Smurfs.

by Anonymousreply 111January 28, 2020 5:02 AM

[italic]Dallas[/italic]'s gay character was a one-shot from 1979 named Kit Mainwaring whom Lucy was very briefly engaged to until she found out the truth.

by Anonymousreply 112January 28, 2020 12:15 PM

Charles Nelson Reilly from early 1970s Saturday morning's "Lidsville" - I was just a wee tot then

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by Anonymousreply 113January 28, 2020 12:24 PM

Martina Navartilova during 1989 Wimbledon semifinal . At that point I did not knew she was a lesbian or what actually lesbians meant. In 1991 I realized she was a lesbian. I had no idea about lesbians. It was during Helen wills Moody fiasco. I was so puzzled when my parent told that Martina was married to a woman

!st gay man I saw in 1994. He was some gay right activist. during some talk show

by Anonymousreply 114January 28, 2020 12:41 PM

R9 I remember that, too -- thank you!

by Anonymousreply 115January 28, 2020 12:43 PM

[quote] I was just a wee tot then

R113 I love you. Marry me. Please.

by Anonymousreply 116January 28, 2020 12:45 PM

R110 , Richard Simmons is NOT GAY .

by Anonymousreply 117January 28, 2020 12:46 PM

R107 , FLOYD ATE MY PUSSY ….IT WAS BETTER THAN BARNEY.

by Anonymousreply 118January 28, 2020 12:51 PM

On a rerun episode of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW in 1978 or 1979. Maybe I was 10 or 11 or 12. Phyllis was horrified to find out that her brother was spending lots of time hanging with Rhoda. Turns out he's gay. Phyllis was relieved he wasn't going to marry Rhoda.

by Anonymousreply 119January 29, 2020 2:36 AM

I remember someone in junior high back in the 70s told me that Lucie Arnaz was gay. I don't know whether that's true or not, but she's been married to Laurence Luckenbill, who co-starred in "The Boys in the Band" for years. But I do remember hearing the rumor, which I couldn't quite believe.

by Anonymousreply 120January 29, 2020 2:59 AM

R116, Jose Chung! Excellent episode; thank you for the reminder!

by Anonymousreply 121January 29, 2020 4:02 AM

R120. not true. Very straight- gay friendly. Larry way straight too.. Crazy smart. Nice guy. They have children. My one off-bway credit (costume dept) was a play he was in . He said the Boys in Band was great experience- the cast was toast of town. That’s all i recall. (I know it’s a nothing post - just would be surprised if she ate puss)

by Anonymousreply 122February 2, 2020 6:16 PM

There were a lot of guys that seemed gay, like Paul Lynda and Alan Sues and Charles Nelson Reilly, but the first actual out man on television that I saw was definitely Lance Loud, God rest his soul.

It was fascinating to see that in my high school years; he was out and the world didn’t end, and I was out shortly thereafter.

by Anonymousreply 123February 2, 2020 6:25 PM

probably Bruce Vilanche on Hollywood Squares (reruns(?) I was a kid).

by Anonymousreply 124February 2, 2020 6:28 PM

I remember thinking Rip Taylor and Ann B. Davis seemed like a strange couple when I was a kid watching the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. But I couldn't put my finger on why.

by Anonymousreply 125February 2, 2020 7:07 PM

R87, actually George Takei was a surprise. I didn't hear a rumour about him until his marriage was mentioned in the news. God bless George, he's terrific.

I'm surprised he doesn't do comedy or host SNL, he's very funny.

by Anonymousreply 126February 4, 2020 1:28 AM

Amanda Bearse and Dan Butler don't get enough credit for being out there on their own.

by Anonymousreply 127February 4, 2020 1:42 AM

Richard Simmons.

Black guy in Revenge of the Nerds

by Anonymousreply 128February 4, 2020 1:46 AM

Me. In my parents home movies.

by Anonymousreply 129February 4, 2020 1:47 AM
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