Hollywood’s (Very, Very Wild) “Gay Cheers” Turns 25: An Oral History of The Abbey – The Hollywood Reporter

Contents:

• HOLLYWOOD’S (VERY, VERY WILD) “GAY CHEERS” TURNS 25: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ABBEY
• INDIANAPOLIS GAY BARS: 7 SPAC MA FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY
• THAT GAY EPISO: HOW SAM MALONE SHOWED ACCEPTANCE IS MACHO ON ‘CHEERS’
• REMEMBER THAT ONE TIME HARVEY FIERSTE MA ‘CHEERS’ A LTLE GAYER?
• SNDALS’ FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE MAK ITS “GAY CHEERS” REPUTATN FEEL ACCURATE INSTEAD OF EYE ROLL-INDUCG
• REMEMBER THAT TIME TV’S ‘CHEERS’ ALMOST TURNED TO A GAY BAR? — WATCH
• GOLD COAST, THE QUTSENTIAL QUEER DIVE BAR, WAS THE “GAY CHEERS” OF WT HOLLYWOOD
• HOLLYWOOD'S (VERY, VERY WILD) "GAY CHEERS" TURNS 25: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ABBEY
• LTLE JIM’S, THE FIRST GAY BAR IN BOYSTOWN, CLOSG FOR GOOD
• WE’RE REMEMBERG THAT TIME ON ‘CHEERS’ WHEN DIANE PHED BACK AGAST GAY PANIC

HOLLYWOOD’S (VERY, VERY WILD) “GAY CHEERS” TURNS 25: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ABBEY

CheersCast & crewUser reviewsTriviaEpiso aired Jan 27, 1983TV-PG30mWhen Sam publicly supports an old teammate who has e out of the closet, Norm and the gang are aaid that "Cheers" will bee a "gay bar. "When Sam publicly supports an old teammate who has e out of the closet, Norm and the gang are aaid that "Cheers" will bee a "gay bar. Three men e to the bar and is assumed that now that Sam has accepted his iend, the guys are gay.

The inic gay hotspot loted near the rner of Robertson and Santa Moni boulevards Wt Hollywood has hosted Osr wners (Elizabeth Taylor watched om her wheelchair as trans star Candis Cayne high-kicked durg her weekly one-woman show), pop superstars (Lady Gaga showed up a bra and panti to give fans an exclive listen to her third album, Artpop, before s official release) and gay glterati (Elton John! Opened 1991 as a zy ffee shop offerg prso and k, The Abbey, which was fanced by Cooley on cred rds orr to serve an almost exclively gay clientele (many of whom he handpicked om nearby Alholics Anonymo groups), quickly beme a meetg place for lol branch of AIDS advocy groups like ACT UP. This marked the begng of the Abbey’s brandg as an unofficial headquarters for gay rights advot that would ntue through Prop 8 march and subsequent celebratns 2008, when same-sex marriage was legalized California.

“Part of the secret is om day one, I’ve always had the policy that everyone is wele, ” says Cooley, scribg the Abbey’s embrace of gay, straight and -between ctomers. I was jt experiencg that I was beg gay.

INDIANAPOLIS GAY BARS: 7 SPAC MA FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY

It was the first real “hang out and do work” ffee shop that was WeHo and was gay. This was the gay versn of that. Everybody played a part — my part was “gay guy who go to the gym but also reads Balzac.

” I always felt like gay Lana Turner, that I’d be disvered there, wh my book and my latte.

The lbians and gays were so romantic then; they would buy ros and start kissg. But as gays, we uldn’t have that same fun.

THAT GAY EPISO: HOW SAM MALONE SHOWED ACCEPTANCE IS MACHO ON ‘CHEERS’

HUVANE The bar was beg cricized bee wasn’t gay enough. She celebrated many Gay Pris here the banas the back.

MICHELLE VISAGE, TV personaly and RuPl’s Drag Race judge I thk what separat the Abbey om everyone else is ’s like the gay Cheers — everyone knows your name. When I got to be a ltle known — the gays love to e up to you.

REMEMBER THAT ONE TIME HARVEY FIERSTE MA ‘CHEERS’ A LTLE GAYER?

” It’s not jt for gay, ’s not jt for straight — ’s for everyone.

Gay bars offer LGBTQ+ muny members a place to go which they n be fortable and treated as humans, they ’s important that the spac rema open, as a bs and to the public, so people and outsi of the LGBTQ+ muny n enjoy the bars and experience queer culture, said Alexanr, stage name Duchs Morngstar.

SNDALS’ FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE MAK ITS “GAY CHEERS” REPUTATN FEEL ACCURATE INSTEAD OF EYE ROLL-INDUCG

This gay bar has been bs sce 1980.

The bs has sce remaed a part of the gay bar Our Place routely hosts drag performance nights, featurg artists such as Sage Summers, Heather Bea and Brooklyn Burroughs, and drag pageants. English Ivy's -owner Sam Stt said about 80% of the bar's clientele are regulars, llg the bar a "gay Cheers, " referencg the bar the 90s s "where everybody knows your name. The eatery loted the Sat Joseph neighborhood is not a dance club, but rather a “gay-therg” place for members of the LGBTQ+ muny and alli, acrdg to s webse.

REMEMBER THAT TIME TV’S ‘CHEERS’ ALMOST TURNED TO A GAY BAR? — WATCH

By night is Almost Famo, an “everyone bar, ” which do not market self as a gay bar but ters to queer people, said assistant general manager Jam Alexanr, stage name Duchs Morngstar. “You n e to this environment and be queer and feel like you’re safe but ’s not your typil what you would thk gay bar feel, ” said show director Myke Dobbs, whose stage name is Lady Dumpster.

For many years, Zonie’s has been one of the ma plac to see profsnal performers and one of the few gay bars to host open stage nights for amatr artists.

GOLD COAST, THE QUTSENTIAL QUEER DIVE BAR, WAS THE “GAY CHEERS” OF WT HOLLYWOOD

"Are there any gay bars we missed? There’s a good reason why Walker’s Pot is fondly referred to as "The Gayborhood" – the near South Si neighborhood has been home to many gay people, fai, bars and rtrants for s.

HOLLYWOOD'S (VERY, VERY WILD) "GAY CHEERS" TURNS 25: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ABBEY

Today, the LGBTQ bar scene is still gog strong – primarily on and around Send Street – and ntu to offer fun, safe spac for everyone, gay or straight. Here are 10 Milwkee gay bars to check out durg Pri Month or whenever:.

This Is It opened 1968, makg one of the top 10 longt-nng gay bars the untry, and possibly one of the top five. Referred to by the owner as "The gay 'Cheers' of Milwkee, " Woody's has stood proudly on the south-end of the Gayborhood for 22 years. Loted Riverwt, Art Bar is gay-owned and gay-and-straight iendly, but also serv as a hub for Milwkee's art scene, pool scene and as a neighborhood gatherg place.

Cheers‘ first gay-centric episo is all about judgg a book by s ver — lerally. This fictnal book kicks off a wave of gay panic Cheers, the bar where everyone knows your name and also your sexualy — or so the regulars thk.

LTLE JIM’S, THE FIRST GAY BAR IN BOYSTOWN, CLOSG FOR GOOD

Halfway to the first season of Cheers, wrers Ken Leve and David Isaacs ed the real life g out of Los Angel Dodgers and Oakland Athletics player Glenn Burke as spiratn to tackle homophobia an episo tled “The Boys the Bar. When ’s revealed that Catcher’s Mask is about Kenrson’s double life as a womanizg athlete and closeted gay man, the bar be home to a major moment for Boston’s gay muny. Once the photos of bar-owner Sam wh major league gay Tom h newspapers, the regulars —led by Norm (Gee Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger)— fear that Cheers will bee a gay bar.

Norm worri that Cheers will go the way of Vo’s Pub, a bar that me out after they hosted one Gays for the Metric System meetg. Norm, who brags about havg gaydar, surveys the bar and se no gay men: “Looks like a straight crowd to me. Too ugly to be gay.

After all, as she explas, Cheers has always been equented by gay men — and there are two the bar at that very moment. The panic tensifi when a pair of plsibly gay men (mtache, leather vt, skny tie) enters the bar. It turns out that those aren’t the boys Diane meant, and she reveals that the two gay men “have had a wonrful time watchg [the regulars] make plete idts of yourselv.

WE’RE REMEMBERG THAT TIME ON ‘CHEERS’ WHEN DIANE PHED BACK AGAST GAY PANIC

A big baseball player n be gay (much to Carla’s disappotment), and those mtached guys skny ti might jt be really to Hall & Oat. Norm’s “spot ’em a e away” gaydar don’t work bee ’s powered by unrmed stereotyp. Addnally, Cliff, Norm and Carla’s gay panic stems om their secury.

Norm and Cliff, two schlubby guys that don’t exactly meet the hyper-mascule ial, puff out their chts when their (flty) gaydar pgs. They lob accatns about each other’s virily and they tt the maybe-gays by shoutg about “bagonzas” on TV. Carla grip that gay men are petn for her: “If guys keep g out of the closet, there isn’t gog to be anybody left to date and I’m gonna have to start datg girls.