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
- MISTER ROGERS' SURPRISG RELATNSHIP WH HIS GAY COSTAR OFFICER CLEMMONS
THREE'S COMPANY MA ME THE GAY MAN I AM TODAY
Did Roper or Furley ever fd out that Jack wasn't gay? Three's Company * was mr roper gay *
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.
MISTER ROGERS' SURPRISG RELATNSHIP WH HIS GAY COSTAR OFFICER CLEMMONS
) 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). And the relatnship between the two men — one black, the other whe; one gay and sgle, one straight, married, and a father to two children; one trovert, one extrovert — would bee somewhat of “a marriage.
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). ” and my gay ass, gay of the fay, Miss Fay Homosexual had to be like ‘he was WHAT?
Apparently he never ed the word, but an terview where he was asked if he was gay he said somethg like ‘I'm not gay, but I suppose if you look at attractn as a kd of le…I would probably be somewhere the middle' and like. Apparently he never ed the word, but an terview where he was asked if he was gay he said somethg like “I'm not gay, but I suppose if you look at attractn as a kd of le…— ProblemsofaBookNerd (@CeceEwg_) March 3, 2019. Rogers ran the gamut, om claims that he had an earlier reer as a Mare sniper or Navy SEAL (he did not serve the ary any pacy), to the accatn that he was a nvicted child molter (no crimal rerd of any kd has e to light), to mblgs that spe a half-century-long marriage to the same woman, he was actually gay (ntrary to all available evince).