Gay TV Stars/LGBTQ+ Actors: A Salute to Out-and-Proud Soap MVPs |

Contents:

• 10 GAY, BISEXUAL & QUEER SOAP OPERA STARS WHO ARE OUT — & OUTSTANDG
• BILLY CRYSTAL PORTRAYED FIRST OPENLY GAY MA CHARACTER ON TV — SI THE 'SOAP' STORY
• ALL THE OPENLY GAY MALE CELEBS WHO ARE OUT, PROUD & SMOK’ HOT
• WHICH SOAP OPERA STARS ARE GAY?

10 GAY, BISEXUAL & QUEER SOAP OPERA STARS WHO ARE OUT — & OUTSTANDG

The Amerin soap opera 'Soap' was the first to clu a gay character 1977 (the character Jodie Dallas), while the first openly gay character Great Bra's soaps was the show 'Brooksi' 1982 (the character Gordon Colls). The first Pri March New York Cy was held on June 28, 1970, one year after the Stonewall Uprisg, to honor the thoands of LGBTQ+ people who took to the streets to monstrate agast the discrimatn they faced hog and employment, the anti-homosexual laws agast gatherg bars or dance clubs, to even be out as a homosexual.

BILLY CRYSTAL PORTRAYED FIRST OPENLY GAY MA CHARACTER ON TV — SI THE 'SOAP' STORY

The ncept behd the ial march me om members of the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns who had been anizg an annual July 4th monstratn known as the Remr Day Pickets, at Inpennce Hall Philalphia, between 1965 and 1969.

ALL THE OPENLY GAY MALE CELEBS WHO ARE OUT, PROUD & SMOK’ HOT

The One Life to Live scene stealer — now and forever David Vickers to soap fans — announced durg a 2013 talk-show appearance not only that he was gay but that he’d bee a sgle father of two.

Though the rap in and Equalizer star told the New York Tim as recently as 2008 that “I don’t feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don’t re if people thk I’m gay or not, ” she fally end all the speculatn at the 2021 BET Awards when, acceptg a Lifetime Achievement Award, she thanked partner Eboni Nichols and the son that they share.

Four years after As the World Turns stopped spng, the actor who ma history as half of daytime’s first gay male kiss me out publicly an terview wh The Fight Magaze. The Grey’s Anatomy vet’s g-out wasn’t exactly the easit: His sexual orientatn was ma known after stmate Isaiah Washgton ed a gay slur on set, leadg to a wily reported altertn. The brother of movie star Chris Evans — beloved to soap fans for playg Oliver, half of One Life to Live’s “Kish” the late 2000s — me out as gay when he was 19.

WHICH SOAP OPERA STARS ARE GAY?

In 2011, Freddie Smh ma his Days of Our Liv but as Jt and Adrienne Kiriakis’ son Sonny, who returned to Salem an out and a proud gay man.

When Thom Bierdz returned to Young & Rtls as Phillip Chancellor III 2009, not only did he e back om the ad, but he announced to his fay that he was gay. In 1988, As the World Turns‘ Hank Ellt (Brian Starcher) beme the first male daytime character to e out as gay when he revealed that his partner was dyg of AIDS. Nearly a later, the show troduced soaps’ first gay superuple when sparks flew between Noah Mayer (Jake Silbermann) and Le Snyr (Van Hansis).

Over the brief year he was on, the character’s stggle wh his sexual orientatn clud alg wh his homophobic parents and a tmped-up sndal volvg Reverend Andrew Carpenter. In 2009, One Life to Live‘s Kyle Lewis (Brett Claywell) was an out gay lab tech Llanview who back llege had a relatnship wh Oliver Fish (Stt Evans).

On General Hospal, Lus Jon (Ryan Carn), the adopted son of Tony Jon and Bobbie Spencer, returned to Port Charl 2005 and announced that he was gay. " At a time when homosexualy wasn't discsed, Jodie Dallas me out as would be nearly 20 years until Ellen DeGener' character on her s "Ellen" me out 1994 -- as did the edienne -- but Crystal's portrayal of the assured and openly gay Jodie paved the Crystal onstage at the 'The Comedians' panel discsn durg the Televisn Crics Associatn prs tou r 2015 Pasana, California | Source: Getty ImagMEET JODIE DALLASJodie Dallas was one of the characters of the hilar ABC s "Soap, " a farse based on the plex and outrageo plotl and dramatic twists and turns of the ever-popular daily soap gay Jodie was a televisn mercial director his twenti livg wh his mother, Mary Campbell.

Jodie is love wh a pro footballer who is also gay, but ep the closet, and ends up turng his back on him out of fear of was only "Will & Grace" 1996 that another ma character a prime time TV program -- Eric McCormack's WIll -- is openly Crystal wh the st of "Soap" 1977 | Source: Wikimedia Commons/ ABC Televisn, Soap full st 1977, marked as public domaOut of speratn, Jodie has a one-night-stand wh a woman, and fathers a child.

Crystal revealed that he and the productn of "Soap" worked to make Jodie more realistic, and his stggl reflected many of the homosexual muny's challeng and are still valid today, more than 40 years TODAYThanks to Jodie, characters s and drama seri slowly me out of the closet. In the 80s "thirtysomethg" gay uple Rsell and Peter are shown layg chastely bed together -- but never seri like "Melrose Place" and "Friends" featured mor gay characters, but was only "Will & Grace" 1996 that another ma character a prime time TV program -- Eric McCormack's WIll -- is openly COMEDYCrystal, famo for his acute w and acerbic stand-up edy act went on to build an extremely succsful reer as an actor a seri of h edi, such as "Cy Slickers" alongsi Jack Palance who won the Osr for Bt Supportg Actor for his his many hs, Crystal unts "Analyze This, " wh the legendary Robert DeNiro, "Ameri's Sweethearts, " wh Julia Roberts, John Cack, and Cathere Zeta-Jon, and MIracle Max the cult fantasy, "The Prcs Bri. "Crystal immortalized some of the most quoted l of all tim cludg "men and women n't be iends, " but even Harry Burns didn't equal the massive impact his Jodie Dallas had on attus the may jt be that funnyman Billy Crystal's most endurg legacy is the life and tim of a slightly geeky gay man livg wh his mother, tryg to live a world tolerant of his differenc, and dog wh humor.