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After season three aired on The CW, fans have been wonrg where Steven Carrgton is. Hailg him as the first gay character, viewers want him back

Contents:

DYNASTY’S JOURNEY OM GAY PANIC TO GAY PRI

Origal Dynasty Star Jack Coleman on playg the first gay character a primetime drama, a new stage show honorg the TV soap, and much more. * gay dynasty *

The TV show Dynasty featured a gay in (and her son). But for years, spe the show’s anythg-go nature, there was one thg that Dynasty uldn’t get away wh: showg a happy homosexual. Puttg a gay man on one of the most inic and popular shows of the was a long, multi-year fight — both on-screen and behd-the-scen — but was nothg pared to the battle took to keep him there.

The story of Dynasty’s ntroversial gay son starts back 1979 wh, of all thgs, the oil crisis.

'DYNASTY' STAR GORDON THOMSON COM OUT AS GAY

* gay dynasty *

And the son, Steven, who’s hidg his homosexualy om his nservative dad. ” There had seldom been any recurrg gay characters on primetime TV — there was Jody on Soap, a fotten barfly on The Corner Bar, and gut-player Lori Shannon as Beverly LaSalle on All the Fay.

Dynasty’s pilot posns Steven ont and center, wh a climactic scene which Blake nonts his son about beg gay. He mands that Steven “straighten yourself out, ” hurls slurs at him, and sists that Steven never brg homosexualy to the hoe. There was so much stigma around homosexualy then that for many queer people, was simply easier to acquice and pretend they’d gone straight — pecially around fay.

Over the 1970s, there had been a steady rise gay characters, acpanyg the growg queer liberatn movement.

‘I’M GAY’: GORDON THOMSON, DYNASTY’S ADAM CARRGTON, COM OUT—AND TRASH CW’S REBOOT

Between troducg one of the first out gay characters to mass dienc and offerg up scen of unfettable mp, the 1980s prime-time soap, whose early episos were filmed at Filoli, achieved inic stat, pecially among LGBTQ+ dienc. * gay dynasty *

) But the rise gay visibily on televisn ran to a brick wall late 1980s wh the electn of Ronald Reagan. There were over a dozen gay characters on TV 1979, but by 1981 there were almost none. He’d appeared on a gay-ish episo of The Love Boat a year earlier, and had lots of ias for where he uld take one of TV’s only gay characters.

And then there was Newt Dieter, a gay muny lear who was often sought out by TV producers to vet their scripts. His job was to make sure Dynasty didn’t ploy any offensive trop; for example, he advoted for a rctn the number of f-slurs, as well as removal of the somewhat ls egreg phrase “gay schmay. So when this pilot fally aired, was wh a lot of liberate work on the part of creators, the producer, the actor, and even a gay muny lear to make sure they got the Steven character right.

And bee of the sudn reluctance to put gay characters on TV the wake of Reagan’s electn, Dynasty wound up beg one of the only shows of s time to even attempt a storyle like this. Dynasty eely showed Steven gettg gay bashed, he jt uldn’t have have a gay kiss. Season 1 ends wh Blake on trial for murr, which provis ample opportuny for him to reerate his homophobia.

 PRI MONTH 2020 STEVEN CARRGTON DYNASTY FIRST GAY CHARACTER TV ABC 1981 SHOW THE CW REBOOT 2017

Offerg scen of unfettable mp and troducg one of the first out gay characters to mass dienc, the primetime TV seri Dynasty achieved inic stat, pecially among LGBTQ+ dienc. * gay dynasty *

The show’s settg up a real-life legal tactic known as a “gay panic fense, ” whereby a person argu that they were so upset by the prence of a homosexual that they beme, for legal purpos, temporarily sane, and therefore no longer legally rponsible for their actns. A study 2020 found that gay and trans panic fens rulted urts rcg charg 33% of s where was ed.

Blake was origally gog to be found not guilty until Newt Dieter tervened, aghast that the show would pict the killg of a gay man as havg zero nsequenc. Executiv noted that Steven appealed to women viewers, and wanted the producers to end the gay storyl and pair him wh women — sentially they wanted a py of the popular Bo character on CBS’s D of Hazzard.

Like this post about gay TV history?

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Kev Maxen, Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach, is the first male ach a major U.S. men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. * gay dynasty *

Read more: The Story Behd the Gayt Week TV History How Barney Miller’s Gays Defeated ABC’s Network CensorsWhy Do Gays Love The Goln Girls? Ra Moreno vs Hollywood: The Other Wt Si Story Rumble How M*A*S*H Predicted the Rise and Fall of Don't Ask, Don't Tell What Mak Disney Villas So Gay? The Gay Magic of The Nanny The Straighteng of Chandler Bg How Bewched Went Gay Whout Ever Sayg "Gay".

Durg a brief heterosexual experiment, Steven had a baby, and Blake is termed to take ctody — he feels that a gay man n’t possibly raise a child.

That’s where the seeds are planted for the show’s next major gay twist. That year, another Aaron Spellg seri, The Love Boat, featured a gay uple; Kate and Allie troduced a lbian landlady, and even Night Court had a gay episo. This was happeng, part, bee the last few years gay activism had bee much more urgent and visible, particularly around HIV.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

But as queer activism got bigger, lour, and more prent than ever Amerin life, and was gettg harr and harr to rema stuck that old tradn of pretendg homosexualy didn’t exist. A recurrg gay uple on a primetime show was a big al — not gut stars, not sassy bt iends who are only there to support the straight characters’ stori, but two ma characters formg a relatnship as part of the re storyle. Bee HIV was largely affectg gay men, nservativ saw as an opportuny to ramp up the hostily toward gays.

Pat Buchanan, a close Reagan ally, wrote an op-ed, “The poor homosexuals… they have clared war upon nature, and now nature is exactg an awful retributn.

DYNASTY’S JOURNEY OM GAY PANIC TO GAY PRI

While activists grew lour and lour, Reagan retreated to that old-fashned way of alg wh gays — ignore them, hope they’ll go away, and if they don’t, make them suffer. When he meets a closeted gay man named Bart Fallmont, the son of a senator, Steven unsels him to give up his secrets and live openly; and a surprise turnaround, Blake unsels Bart’s father to accept his gay sun. Now he not only unrstands his gay son, but he’s helpg other men of his generatn to end the bigotry and li that only served to tear fai apart.

The show was nceled the followg year, leavg unanswered qutns about what fate befell the gay son — qutns that were fally answered two years later a rnn special. As the Dynasty rnn to a close, we see all the Carrgtons together — opulence, drama, shoulrpads, and all, wh the gay son and his partner a happy part of the fay. It’s a huge shift om where the show began 12 years earlier, when Blake was prepared to banish his son, kill his boyiend, and take his child rather than allow homosexualy unr his roof.

In a new terview wh the Daily Beast, the 72-year-old, who played the homophobic villa Adam Carrgton the ’80s soap opera, out as gay for the first time. I’m probably as homophobic as any gay man alive bee of my background.

DYNASTY'S ORIGAL ADAM CARRGTON COM OUT AS GAY"THE SHAME, THE BREATHTAKG LACK OF SELF-TEEM, HAS ONLY JT BEGUN TO SEEP OUT OF MY SOUL,” SAYS ACTOR GORDON {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}CELEBRIBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 25, 2017/7:59 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}DYNASTY/ABCBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 25, 2017 / 7:59 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"DYNASTY'S ORIGAL ADAM CARRGTON COM OUT AS GAY","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2017-09-25T11:59:11.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2017-09-25T11:59:11.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"DAN AVERY","ARTICLESECTN":"CELEBRI"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}GORDON THOMSON, WHO PLAYED TWISTED ADAM CARRGTON, ON THE ORIGAL DYNASTY, HAS NO LOVE FOR THE UPG CW REBOOT, LLG “TOTAL SH, AN ABOMATN” A RECENT TERVIEW WH THE DAILY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“WHY LL DYNASTY? IT’S NOTHG TO DO WH DYNASTY AT ALL. IT’S SULTG." THE 72-YEAR-OLD ACTOR SAYS. "IF THE AFTERLIFE EXISTS— DON’T, BUT IF DID—AARON [SPELLG] WOULD BE HAVG MAJOR FS HIS GRAVE. AND THE DIENCE THE CW IS AIMG FOR IS GOG TO THK ’S SH BEE IS SUCH SH THAT A CRETO 6-YEAR-OLD WOULD NOT BE TERTED. IT’S ABOMABLE.”PL ARCHULETA/FILMMAGICLOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 16: ACTOR GORDON THOMSON ATTENDS THE PREMIERE OF "WTERTHORNE" AT THE RENBERG THEATRE ON AUGT 16, 2015 LOS ANGEL, CALIFORNIA. (PHOTO BY PL ARCHULETA/FILMMAGIC){BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN THE DB PROFILE THOMSON OPENS UP ABOUT BEG GAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. BORN OTTAWA 1945, THOMSON ADMS HE ALT WH A LOT OF HOMOPHOBIA HIS FORMATIVE YEARS, SOME OF {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IT WAS NOT UNTIL I WAS NEARLY 30 THAT [HOMOSEXUALY] STOPPED BEG CLASSIFIED AS A MENTAL ILLNS THE U.S. SO YOU’RE ALG WH THAT. AND THE SHAME, THE BREATHTAKG LACK OF SELF-TEEM, HAS ONLY JT BEGUN TO SEEP OUT OF MY SOUL.”RON GALELLA/WIREIMAGEACTOR GEOFEY STT, ACTRS JOAN COLLS AND ACTOR GORDON THOMSON ATTEND THE 40TH ANNUAL GOLN GLOBE AWARDS ON JANUARY 29, 1983 AT BEVERLY HILTON HOTEL BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA. (PHOTO BY RON GALELLA/WIREIMAGE){BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AFTER DYNASTY, THOMSON STARRED ON SANTA BARBARA, AND NTU TO ACT TODAY. BUT HE WAS PART OF THE GENERATN OF GAY ENTERTAERS WHO KEPT THEIR SEXUALY A CLOSELY GUARD SECRET. AND HE STILL SEEMS UNSETTLED BY THE NEW OPENNS HOLLYWOOD, SUGGTG S NOT AVAILABLE TO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}LEADG-MAN TYP, HE SAYS, ARE "A SOURCE OF FANTASY."DYNASTY/{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IAN MCKELLEN AND DEREK JABI ARE WONRFUL PEOPLE, BUT PARDON ME, HOW MANY DIENCE MEMBERS FANTASIZE ABOUT FUCKG EHER ONE OF THEM? REALLY. IT HAD A LOT TO DO WH WHAT YOU LOOKED LIKE, I’M AAID."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HE'S ALSO NDID ABOUT NOT LIKG HOW THE '80S SOAP HANDLED STEVEN CARRGTON, HIS ON-SCREEN BROTHER AND THE SHOW'S RINT GAY. (STEVEN IS FORTABLY OUT THE REBOOT, AND SAMMIE JO IS A MAN.)DYNASTY/{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“I THOUGHT WAS BULLSH,” THOMSON SAYS. “AT THE TIME, THE AIDS CRISIS HAD A LOT TO DO WH PRSURE ON THE WORK. I KNOW THAT AL CORLEY QU BEE HE FELT THEY WERE NOT ALLOWG HIM TO PLAY THE PART HONTLY. AND THEY WEREN’T."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}STEVEN FLIP-FLOPPED BETWEEN STRAIGHT AND GAY OVER THE SHOW'S NE SEASONS, AND BARELY HAD MORE THAN A FIRM HANDSHAKE WH ANOTHER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IT WAS APPALLGLY HANDLED," SAYS THOMSON. "THEY OPENED A N OF WORMS AND WEREN’T TE TO , AND THEY ULD HAVE BEEN. THEY HAD GOOD ACTORS PLAYG THE PARTS. IT WAS A BIG SHAME. I’M VERY SORRY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

“When I was growg up [homosexualy] was a crime, and then classified as a mental illns...

While the drama will rema tact, the homophobia will be erased. The origal versn showsed homophobic sentiment when me to Adam’s gay brother Steven Carrgton (played by Al Corley), and patriarch Blake Carrgton’s attu toward him. I didn’t want to say, ‘Gus what everybody, the guy playg the father is gay.

” and “get on my high horse” and termate the ll, or—the unspoken alternative—would he fally say what he has not felt able to say all the years: that y, he is gay. Thomson’s experience sh an illumatg light on what life the closet for a celebry is actually like: the lculatns ma, benefs acced and sts Thomson is 72, his life has moved on, and he wants to talk about his life and out of the closet, and the “shame” of which he only now feels he is managg to rid will talk not jt about beg gay but Dynasty self (the origal show is beg released on Oct. ”) wh lead pat, or rapg his love Kirby (Kathleen Beller), and generally beg a sneaky, spible was also extremely sexy, whether a towel or gym shorts; most gay iends growg up the 1980s who watched Dynasty later said they were Jeff fans.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY DYNASTY

‘I’m Gay’: Gordon Thomson, Dynasty’s Adam Carrgton, Com Out—and Trash CW’s Reboot .

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