That Certa Summer Broke Ground for Gay Coupl on TV

hal holbrook gay

An ABC TV Movie was a groundbreakg (if imperfect) step forward for gay reprentatn on screen back 1972.

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THAT CERTA SUMMER BROKE GROUND WH MART SHEEN AND HAL HOLBROOK AS A GAY COUPLE

Into the Wild: Directed by Sean Penn. Wh Ee Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harn, William Hurt, Jena Malone. After graduatg om Emory Universy, top stunt and athlete Christopher McCandls abandons his posssns, giv his entire $24,000 savgs acunt to chary and hchhik to Alaska to live the wilrns. Along the way, Christopher enunters a seri of characters that shape his life." data-id="ma * hal holbrook gay *

On November 1, 1972, That Certa Summer beme the first televisn-movie to offer a sympathetic portrayal of homosexualy and, wh an all-star st of Hal Holbrook and Mart Sheen, was a pretty big story, wrten by Emmy award-wng duo William Lk and Richard Levison, revolv around the divorced Doug (played by Holbrook), his partner Gary (played by Sheen), and Doug's teenage son Nick (played by Stt Jaby). The Amerin Psychiatric Associatn wouldn't remove homosexualy om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs until 1973. Where the topic had been broached popular culture prevly, was hardly ever done a way that appeared to ndone a homosexual liftyle.

Even wh the support of executive Barry Diller, the wrers were forced to clu Holbrook's above quote that some people saw homosexualy as a sickns. Both Holbrook and Sheen were relatively new to Hollywood and, as is so often mented upon today, were advised agast playg gay characters. Now I was gog to play a gay guy and that was like nsired a reer enr.

"Such exasperatn is certaly shared on a much wir level today than 1972, wh actors nstantly manverg qutns about the effects of beg open Hollywood or playg gay rol. Televisn had not tackled a gay theme so sensively – or directly – before, and the film beme a mor classic.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* HAL HOLBROOK GAY

Today In Gay History: Hal Holbrook & Mart Sheen lovg partners That Certa Summer .

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