In 1997, DeGener chose a very public fom — her televisn s — to announce, "I'm gay." The entertaer's reer has tracked the seismic shift public opn on gays and same-sex marriage.
Contents:
- THE HIDN GAY LIV OF 'THE WALTONS' GRANDPARENTS ELLEN CORBY & WILL GEER SPE THEIR MARRIAG
- THE REAL REASON ELLEN DEGENER DECID TO COME OUT AS GAY ON TV
- READ THE 'YEP, I'M GAY' ELLEN DEGENER INTERVIEW FROM 1997
- ELLEN DEGENER ON COMG OUT AS GAY: “I DIDN’T THK I WAS GOG TO COME OUT, PERD”
- HOW ELLEN DEGENER HELPED CHANGE THE CONVERSATN ABOUT GAYS
THE HIDN GAY LIV OF 'THE WALTONS' GRANDPARENTS ELLEN CORBY & WILL GEER SPE THEIR MARRIAG
Ellen revealed that the shownners were "livid" when they found out about her plan to e out as gay. * ellen being gay *
However, they were gay real life and were volved homosexual relatnships.
| Source: Getty ImagWILL GEER'S GAY LIFE, ACTIVISM, AND MARRIAGE Meanwhile, she lived a siar life to her long-time -star Geer, "Will Geer, who got blacklisted durg the anti-munist wch hunts, had a male lover. " His partner was Harry Hay, a gay rights activist, but their relatnship later end.
THE REAL REASON ELLEN DEGENER DECID TO COME OUT AS GAY ON TV
The April 14, 1997, issue of TIME featured a s-down wh the edian, who nfirmed that her s character was gay—and so was she. * ellen being gay *
Geer opted to marry 1938 after beg both a Party activist and actively gay for at least four years. It remas unclear whether his marriage to Ware signaled an end to his same-sex sexual activy or if the mician married bee he believed the Communist Party strictly prohibed homosexuals om jog. Hay was the founr of gay liberatn and created the first morn gay-rights anizatn 1950.
At first, no one wanted to jo him formg a polil anizatn for homosexuals. He spent two years searchg among the gay men he knew Los Angel.
Ellen revealed that the shownners were "livid" when they found out about her plan to e out as gay. " DeGener thought that there had been gay characters on TV before but there hadn't been a character who disvered their te sexual orientatn late life. It was on the April 14, 1997, ver of TIME magaze that Ellen DeGener, then the star of the s Ellen, nfirmed somethg she’d been buildg up to for s: “Yep, ” as the ver put , “I’m gay.
READ THE 'YEP, I'M GAY' ELLEN DEGENER INTERVIEW FROM 1997
She would be playg the first gay lead character on Amerin work televisn. Penney, ironilly, as that pany would later hire DeGener for an ad mpaign that would turn draw s own ntroversy — and the natn bated whether the show would “legimize” a facet of life that was still margalized, or if merely proved that homosexualy was already accepted by enough of the populatn that such a plot twist was possible.
ELLEN DEGENER ON COMG OUT AS GAY: “I DIDN’T THK I WAS GOG TO COME OUT, PERD”
TIME: So, for the rerd, are you yourself gay?
” I never wanted to be the spokperson for the gay muny.
TIME: Is beg gay somethg you stggled wh? My first gay experience was lerally someone else’s ia–I was eaked out even by the thought of . When Ellen DeGener me out as a gay woman back 1997, she was one of the first to break the Hollywood mold.
HOW ELLEN DEGENER HELPED CHANGE THE CONVERSATN ABOUT GAYS
“It was sry and crazy and what me out of listeng to what I had been sayg to myself was, ‘Would I still be famo, would they still love me if they knew I was gay? The AIDS epimic was at s height, and while there was already a burgeong gay-rights movement, a lot of homosexuals were not ready to e out of the closet.
"What's wonrful about her, as a cultural figure, is that worked so wonrfully alongsi polil activism, " says Jsi Halem, a edian and gay-rights activist.