Kids the Hall Guys Talk Hollywood Homophobia and Gay Rights

Contents:

• BCE MCCULLOCH EXPLAS HOW 'THE KIDS IN THE HALL' KEPT THEIR GAY COMEDY EDGY IN THE 1980S
• THE KIDS THE HALL’S STT THOMPSON USED GAY PROVOTR BUDDY COLE AS AN ESSENTIAL MEGAPHONE
• KIDS THE HALL ALUM STT THOMPSON ON HANNIBAL AND WHY BEG GAY IS NOW BORG
• HOW MANY OF THE KIDS THE HALL ARE GAY?

BCE MCCULLOCH EXPLAS HOW 'THE KIDS IN THE HALL' KEPT THEIR GAY COMEDY EDGY IN THE 1980S

It was a time when homosexualy was much ls mastream than is today, but that didn't stop the edy seri om airg sketch that tackled gay humor head on. Durg a nversatn wh HuffPost Live's Ricky Caleri on Wednday, "Kids" star Bce McCulloch attributed the succs of those sketch largely to the terplay between gay -star Stt Thompson and his straight lleagu:Bee Stt was one of the first openly gay people on TV and was our troupe, I thk ma richer.

And also the fact that we weren't a gay edy troupe -- not that there would be anythg wrong wh beg a gay edy troupe -- but I love that here I am, a heterosexual man, drsg up, kissg Stt on the lips the mid '80s, and we're all dog , mak kd of richer. '" Though the world is more sensive about gay slurs today, McCulloch said the b still works. But when me to the LGBTQ+ muny, a very polarized view was still reflected the Canada though, a gay sociale ma to the CBC airwav: the vehement "macho queen", Charl Budrick (Buddy) Cole — a character created by Stt Thompson jt before he joed the Kids the Hall troupe.

Canadian" and a keen observer, no nonsense monologist who addrs stereotyp, tells outrageo stori and shar his trigug life experienc — all the while pokg fun at everythg and everyone cludg his own sexualy and the gay muny. Kids the Hall st members, Stt Thompson and Bce McCulloch talk to CBC Comedy about Buddy Cole and what he did for Thompson (who himself intifi as gay), the impact of Buddy's unnny abily to nonchalantly brg important issu to light and how the character, that at the time of s ceptn was not endorsed by the general public, was actually All terviews were adjted for ntext, clary and watchg edi is 'important medice'Bce McCulloch: I had met Mark McKney Calgary and we had worked together a different edy troupe.

THE KIDS THE HALL’S STT THOMPSON USED GAY PROVOTR BUDDY COLE AS AN ESSENTIAL MEGAPHONE

BM: He me about at the time when, the early '80s, wasn't that easy to talk about homosexualy and crazy gay stori.

So he kd of took on a larger than life character and I thk part of was to not be aaid to be kd of a feme gay man wh crazy wild stori. For a gay man om my generatn, everythg was about hidg, everythg was about provg that you are a man and that you weren't a f-g. I was workg very hard to hi all of the thgs si of me that gave away to the world that I was gay.

KIDS THE HALL ALUM STT THOMPSON ON HANNIBAL AND WHY BEG GAY IS NOW BORG

Bee for my generatn, was absolutely adly to be known as gay.

Particularly my generatn, all gay character were basilly the difference wh Buddy is, he ridiculed. ' He was talkg about gettg gay bashed and havg a lover and would be funny bee wasn't heavy. He played fun, he played for the fun and I thk that's why even if people didn't realize that Stt Thompson (the actor) was gay, they me on board.

HOW MANY OF THE KIDS THE HALL ARE GAY?

I thk we even won over some people who weren't that gay posive 1984 wh that character, you what I also liked is that he wasn't a gay man who was jt an terr signer. He didn't shy away om big topics and I thk gay characters often [at the time] were jt nsired fastid men. The backlash (CBC Comedy)Wrg and portrayg a character that was unapologetilly gay the early '80s was a bold move as the stigma and vlence agast the LGBTQ+ muty, which to this day has not fully dissipated, was prevalent.

Most of the backlash me om the gay muny.