Gay characters the post-Stonewall era go a lot wir and eper than ‘Will & Grace’ and ‘Ellen.’
Contents:
- LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’
- 10 MILTONE MOMENTS GAY TV HISTORY
- TV'S GAY CHARACTERS, BEFORE AND AFTER ELLEN
- WHEN HOLLYWOOD STUDS MARRIED OFF GAY STARS TO KEEP THEIR SEXUALY A SECRET
- 14 TV SHOWS THAT BROKE GROUND WH GAY AND TRANSGENR CHARACTERS
LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’
* history of gay characters on tv *
As a Vulture say about a groundbreakg “All the Fay” episo noted, “In a moment where crics pot to ss as a medium that helped change public opns about gay rights, we should remember that the procs didn’t beg wh ‘Will & Grace’ or ‘Glee. Long before that, though, there were signature, cludg the 1971 episo of “All the Fay” which the bigoted, homophobic Archie Bunker was stunned to disver that an old buddy was gay.
In 1972, Hal Holbrook played a divorced dad hidg the fact he was gay om his son “That Certa Summer, ” nsired one of the first sympathetic pictns of gay characters on televisn.
10 MILTONE MOMENTS GAY TV HISTORY
Longtime TV cric Dan Avery charts the history of gay, queer, and transgenr reprentatn popular Amerin seri om 1971 to today, om Ellen to Pose. * history of gay characters on tv *
The 1980s brought AIDS to the nversatn, wh movi such as “An Early Frost, ” an NBC movie about a gay lawyer who mt break the news about his AIDS diagnosis to his parents. The same thg happened when ABC’s “thirtysomethg” beme the first seri to pict two gay men bed together 30 years ago, a dynamic that ed work officials to thk twice about approvg such storyl.
The fay wel her warmly, but as Beverly (out of drag) and Archie’s son--law, Mike, walk to the subway, they are btally attacked by gay bashers, who beat Beverly to ath.
TV'S GAY CHARACTERS, BEFORE AND AFTER ELLEN
Can you gus which nostalgic TV show troduced the first gay character back 1972? * history of gay characters on tv *
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.
WHEN HOLLYWOOD STUDS MARRIED OFF GAY STARS TO KEEP THEIR SEXUALY A SECRET
’”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.
14 TV SHOWS THAT BROKE GROUND WH GAY AND TRANSGENR CHARACTERS
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.
Will’s ep, though platonic love for Grace (Debra Msg) ronated wh many viewers, and the show’s unapologetic pictn of a smart, succsful gay man searchg for love ted untls more.