Gay Cable Network history: How Lou Maletta’s programmg changed LGBTQ history.

Contents:

• THE FOTTEN GAY CABLE NETWORK THAT CHANGED LGBTQ HISTORY
• LARRY THE CABLE GUY ON GAY RIGHTS: 'IT A'T AFFECTG MY LIFE' (VIDEO)

THE FOTTEN GAY CABLE NETWORK THAT CHANGED LGBTQ HISTORY

Lou Maletta was termed to get gay life—om porn reviews to polil verage—on TV. 25, 1982, rints of Woodstock, New York, turned on their TVs to fd gay porn airg on their lol public accs statn.

The program, technilly a review of gay pornography lled Men & Films, clud a clip of two naked men kissg bed. The ntroversy soon attracted natnal attentn: Playboy and NPR vered the town’s cri to censor Men & Films, and the Village Voice asked, “Do nstutnally guaranteed eedom of exprsn extend to public accs TV shows pictg nsentg gay mal gettg on wh, pardon the exprsn, equally nsentg u?

Men & Films was created early 1982 by gay entreprenr Lou Maletta. On the show, which first aired on Manhattan Cable’s racy leased accs Channel J, Maletta terviewed gay porn stars and reviewed slightly eded X-rated clips om newly released vios of gay pornography. To support his programs, he lnched the Gay Cable Network, one of the first productn pani dited to creatg LGBTQ televisn seri.

LARRY THE CABLE GUY ON GAY RIGHTS: 'IT A'T AFFECTG MY LIFE' (VIDEO)

GCN shows clud Be Our Gut, a satire of 1950s game shows hosted by drag queen Sybil Bncheon; Candied Camera, a queer variety and sketch show siar to Saturday Night Live; In the Dungeon, an rmatnal seri about New York’s leather and BDSM scene; Sixth Floor Harrison, one of the first scripted gay soap operas on TV; and Gay USA, a news show that offered LGBTQ polil mentary, on-lotn verage of LGBTQ events, and terviews wh LGBTQ artists, activists, and public tellectuals. GCN programmg received numero mendatns and awards, cludg om the Coaln for Lbian and Gay Rights, the Gay and Lbian Prs Associatn, and the GLAAD Media Awards. ” The typil narrative has that between the 1950s and 1980s, gay characters on TV were few and far between, and were picted primarily stereotyp or nuendo.

… [He]was verg AIDS on the show when no one else was, ” said longtime Gay USA -host Andy Humm, who joed the GCN team as a volunteer 1985. After watchg the health of a close iend rapidly terrate followg an AIDS diagnosis (the disease was known as gay-related immune ficiency at the time), Maletta cid to expand Men & Films to clu weekly LGBTQ news and health segments.