Billy Crystal Portrayed First Openly Gay Ma Character on TV — si the 'Soap' Story

Contents:

• IS DIXON DALLAS GAY? REVEALG THE TTH ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATN!
• ‘COME FROM AWAY’ ACTOR MIX HISTORY AND EMOTN TO HIS GAY CHARACTER
• BILLY CRYSTAL PORTRAYED FIRST OPENLY GAY MA CHARACTER ON TV — SI THE 'SOAP' STORY

IS DIXON DALLAS GAY? REVEALG THE TTH ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATN!

Mike eventually enurag Edh to be strong for her fay, but ’s clear her crisis of fah isn’t rolved when the closg creds Dallas, Soap (1977-1981)A young Billy Crystal played Jodie Dallas, one of the first recurrg gay characters on Amerin TV, this s send-up of daytime dramas. Steven Carrgton, Dynasty (1981-1989)Dynasty helped lnch the glzy nighttime soap era of the 1980s, and Steve Carrgton was one of prime time’s first major gay characters as the son of tyon Blake Carrgton. ’”Ellen Man, Ellen (1994-1998)Every gay person of a certa age remembers where they were when Ellen’s “The Puppy Episo” aired 1997—the two-parter that saw Ellen DeGener’s character e out as a lbian, cidg wh the edian’s own real-life g out.

Ultimately, the equent aths of LGBTQ characters on TV lead to anized cricism of what was dubbed the “bury your gays” Tman, Will & Grace (1998-2006)Jack McFarland (Sean Hay) got the big lghs on this top-rated NBC s, but Will Tman (Eric McCormack) was the ground unterpot to Jack’s flamboyance.

‘COME FROM AWAY’ ACTOR MIX HISTORY AND EMOTN TO HIS GAY CHARACTER

” Brian Kney, Queer as Folk (2000-2005)If Will Tman showed Ameri that gay men uld be more than jt their sexualy, Gale Harold’s Brian Kney was a vorac sexual beg wh ltle e for social nventns.

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

“Shane was the only non-femme ma character, and seeg her have ternal stggl that weren’t jt about beg gay was so important to queer kids, ” Jacquele Toboni, who -starred wh Moeng on the 2019 reboot The L Word: Generatn Q, told Vogue. The character was later rurrected, and Will has regularly appeared on Days of Our Liv and s spoff Peack seri, Beyond Burset, Orange Is the New Black (2013-2019)By the send of the 21st century, gay and lbian reprentatn was fairly entrenched on televisn, but trans people were still largely visible.

Played by Vcent Schiavelli (Fast Tim at Ridgemont High, Ghost), Peter was met wh risn by, among others, the Gay Activists Alliance, which took issue wh the character’s flamboyance. Five episos to All The Fay‘s ne-season n, and nearly three s before Will & Grace arrived on the scene, seri creator/social trailblazer Norman Lear already had LGBTQ reprentatn on the bra when he troduced Ameri’s first gay s character the form of Archie’s old iend Steve (played by the late Phil Carey).

In the 1971 episo, -penned by Lear and Burt Styler, ragg bigot Archie was forced to reckon wh his prenceived notns about homosexualy (not only was Steve a former lebacker, but, like Archie, he was a stnch nservative! Relig groups took umbrage wh the ABC s’s cln of (among other topics) a gay character, while LGBTQ anizatns were ncerned about the portrayal beg stereotypil and/or nflated wh transsexualism, based on the scripts for early episos.

Though Blake’s send-olst child was touted as the first openly gay ma character a primetime drama, the handlg of Steven’s sexualy — largely amed as a stggle, and a tra he often had to nceal — was joyls and imperfect to a pot that origal portrayer Al Corley vated the role. The Fox sudser may have done Doug Savant’s character dirty wh that off-screen ath the fal season, but Matt will still be remembered fondly as one of the first openly gay ma characters on a work TV drama. Rickie provid an unapologetilly lorful and rg prence as his perplexed pal Angela navigated her high school’s social circl, but Cz’s portrayal went even eper, wh storyl about homophobia and abe wh Rickie’s own fay.

Will & Grace s heyday ma great stris for gay reprentatn, and Will Tman — his small, subtle way — helped nudge that progrs forward, makg safe for gay men to play the “straight man, ” as were. Though not daytime soaps’ first gay character — AMC‘s own Lynn Carson (played by Donna Pw) and One Life to Live‘s Billy Douglas (Ryan Phillippe) were among her precsors — the dghter of none other than man-mag Eri Kane (played by dtry in San Lucci) ma the biggt real-world headl when she me out as a lbian a pivotal 2000 storyle, and Emmy-wng portrayer En Riegel rose to and surpassed the challenge.

Few characters on Fox’s mil dramedy were as well-veloped and fully realized as Santana, who evolved om a qutsential mean girl to a plex, beloved gay character durg the show’s six-season n.

Santana’s arc h so many beats that were important and fluential for LGBTQ viewers: Her relatnship wh Brtany was among TV’s sweett, most scere portrayals of young love (regardls of sexualy); like many gay teenagers, she was nonted wh tolerance om her clost fay after g out; and even as Santana’s sexualy remaed a re facet of her character, she wasn’t pigeonholed to exclively Very Special Storyl. From vatng on a gay cise to servg as the print of the Malibu Stacy Fan Club, Smhers has never been anythg other than himself — and he’s got the growg list of ex-boyiends to prove .

Nearly a after High School Mil 3 attempted to pass Ryan off as straight, Disney Channel troduced s first openly gay ma character Cys, one of Andi’s bt iends (played by Joshua Rh, above left). Due to the show’s subject matter, and then-ntroversial characters (cludg two prostut and a gay uple named Gee and Gordon), was the first time ABC cid to display a warng at the openg of one of s shows, utng viewers about the mature them. In one of his first rol, Billy Crystal played Mary’s son Jodie Dallas, an openly gay man who was havg a secret love affair wh a closeted, profsnal quarterback and nsirg transng to beg a woman.