One of Atralia’s most regnisable news broadsters has died jt months after g out as gay.
Contents:
- ATRALIAN ANCHOR CALLS PARLIAMENT’S WAVERG ON GAY MARRIAGE 'COMPLETE BS'
- ATRALIAN GAY FORMER NEWS ANCHOR DI OF PANCREATIC NCER
- ATRALIA'S MOST FLUENTIAL GAYS
- WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY CHARACTERS ON ASIE TV? IS TE ‘GAY DON’T RATE’? FOUR SIRS WEIGH
ATRALIAN ANCHOR CALLS PARLIAMENT’S WAVERG ON GAY MARRIAGE 'COMPLETE BS'
Atralian televisn has been remarkably queer for a long time. In fact, LGBTQ+ characters and storyl filled Asie screens s before they did the US and UK. Now, one of the first openly gay men on Atralian TV is rearchg that history for a new documentary seri, Outrageo: The Queer History of Atralian TV.… * gay australian anchor *
Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer televisn newssters have a proment profile many untri around the world. Amerin Charl Perez of ABC News is one to particularly note - he published his book 'Confsns of a Gay News Anchorman' (2011) after his oral of beg fired om a posn Florida when he was intified as beg gay.
For example, France, there is L'associatn s journalist LGBT, and Ameri there is the Natnal Lbian & Gay Journalists Associatn.
Now, one of the first openly gay men on Atralian TV is rearchg that history for a new documentary seri, Outrageo: The Queer History of Atralian TV.
ATRALIAN GAY FORMER NEWS ANCHOR DI OF PANCREATIC NCER
In the 1990s and 2000s, broadster, journalist, and pop-culture mentator Andrew Merdo was one of the most visible gay men on Atralian televisn. Fifty years ago, when homosexualy was illegal, was ma to look rpectable on Atralian TV.
The year was 1972 and Asi were still watchg TV black and whe, but the ntent was groundbreakg, revolutnary, and gay-iendly. By parison, Amerin TV was barely dippg s toe to the gay subculture.
While s early episos were stgglg the ratgs, All In The Fay featured a gay character (played by Phil Carey) one episo. On the equally low-ratg s, The Corner Bar, an ocsnal gay character (Vcent Schiavelli) didn’t make to the show’s send season. Six weeks to the show, Don revealed he was gay and that bisexual Bce was his lover.
ATRALIA'S MOST FLUENTIAL GAYS
What’s remarkable about this storyle is that Bev apologised for her homophobia, blamg on “not beg sophistited enough”.
For the next five years, wh over 1, 200 episos, the gay man sat at the moral centre of the rnchit show ever seen on Atralian TV.
Dpe outrageo storyl volvg a knicker snipper and a pantyhose strangler, the “straight-actg” gay lawyer was posively “normal”, helpg out everyone and anyone who need him. Closeted gay men, livg suburbs and regnal towns all across Atralia, were thankg the actor for givg them hope and showg they weren’t alone; Don was a gay man who was rpected by his muny and adored by his iends. The key to this gay revolutn was that Number 96’s creator, David Sale, was gay himself.
WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY CHARACTERS ON ASIE TV? IS TE ‘GAY DON’T RATE’? FOUR SIRS WEIGH
He based Don on a man he met om a blokey oil firm, whom nobody uld pick was gay. Normalisg a gay man had never been done on televisn before. Instead, the magaze went to great lengths to never mentn their relatnship or homosexualy, promotg each actor dividually, while always mentng their real-life heterosexualy.
Amerin producer Bill Harmon, a straight man now aware of the impact their posive gay role mol was havg, told them that Don would never be turned straight. Number 96 was the first TV seri the world to feature a regular gay character (Don) and a bisexual one (Bce).