On the ABC edy's 40th anniversary, Michael Montlack reflects on how he learned to be gay om a straight actor playg a straight character pretendg to be gay.
Contents:
THREE'S COMPANY MA ME THE GAY MAN I AM TODAY
Did Mrs. Roper know that Jack was NOT gay? Three's Company * mr roper gay sign *
Camp Straight: Which certaly helps when pretendg to be gay. " Chivalro Pervert Cure Your Gays: Mr. Fx Yay: Jack mt pretend to be gay ont of the landlords so that he n live wh two femal.
MR. ROPER HAS A GAY AWAKENG
Mistaken for Gay Nice Guy The Pratfall: Punny Name: Jt repeat his name slowly until you get the joke. Roper mak a crack about him beg gay (or sometim jt to get rid of him), Jack gets his own back by pretendg to flirt wh him. Roper fds out Jack isn't really gay the send episo, but go along wh the chara her hband's prence for the rt of their time on the show.
Luckily, there's hardly the void of gay role mols many of experienced g up the 1970s and '80s. Who would show me the gay way? But that imagery led to an even more alien notn: Were those the only kd of gay people the world?
Jack Tripper appeared on the screen 1977 (the 40th anniversary of the first episo is this March): boyishly handsome, adorably clumsy and generally ordary most ways, except one -- he was pretendg to be gay orr to live wh two female roommat. This was certaly "a step that was new" but not pletely unfaiar to a boy pretendg to be straight orr to live peacefully an unwelg (and John Rter, who played him, for that matter) wasn't queer, but the fact that he had the dacy to even label himself gay was astoundg.