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.
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THREE'S COMPANY MA ME THE GAY MAN I AM TODAY
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. ) that we did fact exist and uld even fd zy hom for ourselv: sunny beach muni wh fun sisterly iends and zany, if often backward, landlords who might actually prefer a gay tenant over a straight one.
MICHAEL MONTLACK is the edor of My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them (Universy of Wisns Prs). Roper that Jack was gay. Jack was, however, actually straight (the edy stemmg om havg to "play gay" provid much of the story for the s).