Jump to content

Closeted (gay) actors formerly on the soaps


DNBursky

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Anyone who doesn't understand that Susan Flannery intentionally remained closeted should read what Rita Mae Brown said when she outed her in her memoir, RITA WILL. And, I'm sorry if some people have a problem with the word "closet" in this context. I do not. Although I am open to new terminology. And, if anyone here in this thread is interested in datalounge type gossip, then, I'm sure they can find their way there. As far as I am aware, most gay soap actors remained closeted as far as fans were concerned possibly because they feared losing their jobs, possibly because they feared losing their fanbases, or for whatever reason, which is their own to know & none of our concern. Meanwhile, many fans knew & everyone at their shows knew & they lived comfortably open in their own communities. This is not rocket science. It's just the way things were done. I am in no way critical of them for that. If someone else is, they'll have to support that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 509
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

This is so out of the closet though Contessa. 

Most of the people we are talking about, did theater too. Everyone in the theater community knew and over there they had to deal with a different, sometimes more mature and sophisticated audience. Soap press was something completely different. 

Heck, even Billy Haines was not in the closet back in the day. He was comfortable living his life around friends and co-workers almost 100 ago. 

So this thread is more or less about gay and lesbian people on soaps.  And I should stop talking talking before this thread is closed down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Few roles, not few actors

Please register in order to view this content

  To be more specific I should've written, 'one of the few roles for older gay actors on soaps...'

Also, while I don't want to engage in who was f%*$ing whom, I still think there is an interesting discussion to be had about what percent of closeting was the actor's choice, versus the production's choice, versus the soap press's choice.  Because I don't believe that they were equally complicit.  Furthermore, I think each case was very different.

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I read the last few pages...

I don't want to argue or go into an argument. From what I understood here in the topic, I agree mostly with what @Sapounopera said in all their posts. That's how I feel about the situation, but I can understand other POVs too.

I, myself, as a gay man coming from a terribly homophobic home country and raised in a terribly homophobic household... consider myself completely out of the closet, but I haven't screamed it out of the windows. And to this day I have gay friends who tell me... Are you ashamed if you don't want to go to this and that... pride event... Which I'm always shocked to hear. And my answer is always this - I've been in the organization of a huge pride event and just because I was not front and center, that doesn't mean I was not part of it. A very crucial part of it.

So yes, only the people that know me, KNOW. I am married to a man, but even if I was married to a woman, I would not be shoving my private life into people's faces. My partner had a stalker that stole all his pictures and was making fake profiles with them... and I have learned from him that private info is private info. So yeah, we keep the lovey-dovey facebook pics at a minimum... I have met people who's first question to me was Are you gay... Well, no need to say that we didn't become friends.  

I also understand that famous people coming out and saying they are gay has benefited the community and has bring so much freedom and joy to so much people, just by their courage and example. And I applaud them for it. But not everyone needs and can do it. And yes, that doesn't in my book, mean they are in the closet. I have always perceived that... once my mom and dad know... I'm out. But again... this is different to different people and different society situations. 

 

 

 

Edited by Maxim
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't think LGBTQ+ actors were relegated to just one type or stereotype. 

Okay, where are these twisted villains being a barrier to young love?

GL, William Roerick, Henry Chamberlain

GL, Chris Bernau, Alan Spaulding

AMC, GL, Matt Bomer, Ian, Ben Reade

GH & other, Ian Buchanan, Duke Lavery

various, Joel Crothers

Y&R, AW, William Grey Espy, Snapper, Mitch

DAYS, B&B, Susan Flannery, Laura, Stephanie

AMC, Amanda Bearse

AW, Dack Rambo, Grant Harrison

AW, Connie Ford, Ada

EON, Dennis Parker

Y&R, DAYS, Greg Rikaart ... okay, maybe Leo

ATWT, Y&R Christian LeBlanc

AMC, Jonathan Bennett

plenty more 

Edited by Contessa Donatella
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Leslie and her family are from Chicago? Anita's background also includes being a former Chi-Town native? Might they connect this and go somewhere with it?
    • Honestly who's to say Leslie even birthed Eva, I mean she's a liar, I wouldn't believe a word she says about Eva being Ted's(or hers)
    •   1. 11/1/83 cast/set list:  

      Please register in order to view this content

          The "11/2/83" video you posted of Ruth Buzzi's scenes includes Roman and Hope in them, meaning the video you posted is actually 11/1/83, since Roman and Hope aren't in 11/2/83.   2. The video you posted of "11/2/83" has scenes with Roman and Hope. As you can see from my cast/set list, Roman and Hope are not in the 11/2/83 episode (see above note):   4573...11/2/83: Cast: Mickey, Julie, Doug, Maggie, Neil, Don, Marie, Alex, Liz, Andre as Tony, Gwen, Chris, Eugene, Sandy, Letitia, Charlene, Mrs. Whiting, Wanda/Guard, Dave, Delia, Saleslady # 1, Saleslady # 2, Figure in Dark, Raven/animal, Cats/animals, Birds/animals.   2.  11/3/83 :My video collection starts with 11/4/83. so I don't have the 11/1/83 or 11/3/83 video, but in addition to the cast/set list for 11/3/83, here is also the parking clearance call sheet for that day, showing Ruth was not only in the cast/set list but did work that day:     They even had hired the animal trainer and all the animals for the day, so It's sort of a certainty that her scenes were not cut that day, or it would have been a big waste of the budget. 3. As for 11/7/83, I just fast-forwarded through that whole episode myself. Letitia is in it from start to finish. It's her big final episode where she is killed. She starts the episode saying "Eugene, are you there?" In the next act, Marlena shows up and meets Letitia's lion. Later in the episode, Letitia is killed by "Eugene" (the Salem Slasher in a Eugene mask).   So, as we can see from your own post, the 11/2/83 date you have listed on that video is incorrect, since Hope and Roman are in that video but not in the 11/2/83 episode.It seems the dates you have on all your early November 1983 episodes are incorrect.   When you post videos and suggest that my data is incorrect, do you not first compare who is in the scenes and see if that matches who is in the episode? You didn't do that with the "11/2/83" episode, which based on Roman and Hope being in it means that is actually 11/1/83. Best to do something like that first before suggesting my data and research is incorrect.
    • Within the Dupree family, I predict Vernon/Anita will be conflicted about what to do about Bill and his role in the whole Ted/Silk Press Sheila situation... especially since Bill knows where the particular bone about Martin is buried. Dani, Chelsea, and Naomi's reactions to what Bill possibly did isn't hard to guess.. but Hayley's reactions will be interesting to hear.  Especially given her recent pregnancy scare.. she might not be so much on Bill's side, or she'll totally surprise us and be totally on Bill's side.   Either way, I think Martin's secret will be the main focus in May sweeps.. with the fall out of the Eva secret playing out in the background... while the Joey/Vanessa/Doug thing continues to boil/develop.
    • Hotel was The Love Boat on land but a little soapier. I will forever maintain that Hotel was a time slot hit. I don't believe that 1983/84 Hotel was a better show than Knots Landing.
    • The Golden Girls key episodes by ratings September 14, 1985: The Engagement (series premiere), rating 25.0, #1 Season highs February 22, 1986: Adult Education, rating 25.2 October 4, 1986: Ladies of the Evening, rating 27.3 November 8, 1986: Isn't it Romantic, rating 27.3 February 6, 1988: My Brother, My Father; rating 24.6 November 26, 1988: Sophia's Wedding (Part 2), rating 24.3, #1 September 23, 1989: Sick and Tired (Part 1) (season 5 premiere), rating 23.5 January 12, 1991: Sisters of the Bride, rating 19.3 May 9, 1992: One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest (series finale), rating 18.9 Season lows October 19, 1985: The Triangle, rating 18.6 May 16, 1987: Empty Nests (season 2 finale), rating 17.8 February 20, 1988: And Ma Makes Three, rating 18.0 April 29, 1989: Rites of Spring, rating 18.7 April 28, 1990: All Bets are Off, rating 15.8 February 16, 1991: Older and Wiser, rating 11.6 October 26, 1991: Mother Load, rating 10.9 Ten highest-rated episodes October 4, 1986: Ladies of the Evening, rating 27.3 November 8, 1986: Isn't it Romantic, rating 27.3 January 3, 1987: The Sisters, rating 27.0 November 22, 1986: Family Affair, rating 26.8 January 10, 1987: The Stan Who Came to Dinner, rating 26.6 January 24, 1987: Before and After, rating 26.4 February 28, 1987: Whose Face is This, Anyway?; rating 25.8 September 27, 1986: End of the Curse (season 2 premiere), rating 25.6 November 15, 1986: Big Daddy's Little Lady, rating 25.3 February 22, 1986: Adult Education, rating 25.2 Ten lowest-rated episodes October 26, 1991: Mother Load, rating 10.9 September 28, 1991: The Case of the Libertine Belle, rating 10.9 October 19, 1991: Where's Charlie?, rating 11.0 February 15, 1992: Ebbtide VI: The Wrath of Stan, rating 11.3 February 16, 1991: Older and Wiser, rating 11.6 December 14, 1991: The Pope's Ring, rating 11.7 April 25, 1992: Home Again, Rose (Part 1); rating 12.3 October 5, 1991: Beauty and the Beast, rating 12.7 November 2, 1991: Dateline: Miami, rating 12.7 December 7, 1991: From Here to the Pharmacy, rating 12.8
    • The timing is strange, though. How far in advance would they normally be on location? The Achille Lauro hijacking was on October 7, 1985. Nancy had arrived in Egypt in the storyline by October 18. But the character of Hawk, Chris' Native American friend from Arizona, had already appeared onscreen by September and brought a letter telling Chris to be in Egypt by October 25th.  Why did they already have the link to Arizona before the reason to cancel the shoot in Egypt?  The dust and the jar it came in were from Egypt though. Nancy bought it there and sent it to Mac as a gift before she came back to the states and followed Chris to Arizona.
    • Actually that is not what happened. Nor is the timing right for it to have been. We learned from a WOST interview with Pete Lemay  in 2006, which can be found on YT, that it was Fred Silverman's idea to do the 90 minute show. I don't know how much you know about him but he had these amazing successes as head of daytime at both ABC & at CBS. Then he came to NBC where basically everything he touched turned NOT TO GOLD but to shite. Some of the most expensive shows ever produced up to that time were huge flops. Although even he, like a broken clock, could be right on occasion. However, as we know, he was not right about the 90 minute show. As a matter of fact, afterward,  NBC programmers, who worked FOR him, were asked why they did it & they were quoted as saying it was because they couldn't think of anything else to try. It was a stupid idea from a man who had reached the point where he was throwing anything at the wall to see if it would stick.
    • Tamara Tunie at Baltimore event May 10, 2025 https://www.lewismuseum.org/event/a-lewis-table-talk-with-tamara-tunie/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DJH0ZQayihs/ Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Baltimore lewismuseum

      Please register in order to view this content

      Clear your calendar for the Lewis Museum's post gala celebration! On Saturday, May 10 at 2pm, we're bringing the elegance, wisdom, and brilliance of Tamara Tunie to The Lewis! From her powerful performances throughout her career, to her bold new project “Beyond the Gates,” this is your chance to hear it all—up close and personal. Hosted by the always fabulous media personality LaDawn Black, this conversation will be real, inspiring, and unforgettable. Kick off your Mother's Day weekend and come on down to The Lewis. Come ready to be moved, motivated, and in great company! Saturday, May 10 2:00-4:00pm Reginald F. Lewis Museum Register today by visiting the link in our bio! #thereginaldflewismuseum #lewismuseum #thelewis #beyondthegates #tamaratunie #lawandordersvu                            
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy