Tears Over the Death of Princess Diana (August 31, 1997)

 

Princess Diana's life was cut tragically short when she was killed in an auto accident in Paris late Saturday night on Aug. 31, 1997.  She was only 36 years old.  And although we're not British subjects, her death cast a pall over Labor Day weekend here in the U.S.  Indeed, grief over Diana's death reverberated throughout the world.

 

 

 

Diana was especially beloved by the gay community because of her AIDS charity work.  Ten years before her death she visited a newly opened shelter for gay men with AIDS and shook their hands - the first high profile celebrity not afraid to touch AIDS victims.  She further endeared herself to gay men because of her sense of style and the ability to rise above the adversity she encountered while married to Prince Charles.

 

 

 

The Pet Shop Boys wrote a beautiful dirgelike song (with a beat) called Dreaming of the Queen.  It tells of a dream in which Queen Elizabeth and Diana discuss, over a spot of tea, the futility of love.  It was from PSB's album Very which was released four years before Diana's death.  In 2000 I saw the Pet Shop Boys in concert at Radio City Music Hall where I saw them perform this song.  Behind them on stage was a video showing the hearse bearing Diana's coffin, its windshield wipers famously working overtime to clear flowers thrown by the millions along the funeral route.   

 

 

 

 

 

(I was spending Labor Day weekend out in Fire Island when I heard the news about Diana's death.  I've written a blog post about what I remember of that night on my history blog "History As You Experienced It".)

Boy Crushes on Male Singing Stars of the 1960s & '70s

 

A number of years ago I wrote a post about male stars of TV shows in the 1960s and '70s who I fancied when I was a kid.  Now, in this post, male singers from that era who roused my innocent attention get the spotlight.  For the most part I watched these singers when they performed on popular variety shows such as Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams or American Bandstand.  As you'll see, I didn't have one type; some singers had masculine swagger, some possessed long-haired sexiness, while others exuded cool sophistication.

 

DENNIS EDWARDS (The Temptations)

The lasting memory I have of Edwards as lead singer of the Temptations was his performance of their hit song from 1969, I Can't Get Next to You, on the Andy Williams Show.

 

 

LEVI STUBBS (The Four Tops)

Stubbs' voice is strongest on hits of the Four Tops such as Bernadette, Standing in the Shadows of Love, Baby I Need Your Loving and Shake Me, Wake Me.

 

 

CAT STEVENS

The ethereal Stevens was a prototype for the 21st century's metrosexual.  I was attracted more to his looks than to his songs.

 

 

JIM MORRISON (The Doors)

Like Cat Stevens, I liked Morrison's mop of unruly hair and his feline sexiness (Mic Jagger of the Rolling Stones was very similar, but he just didn't do it for me).  Favorite songs of his are Love Her Madly, Touch Me and Riders on the Storm.

 

 

KEITH POTGER (The Seekers)

Potger was one of the three musicians of the Australian group The Seekers (biggest hit was Georgie Girl) who backed up singer Judith Durham.  Unlike Jim Morrison's brooding presence, Keith had a sunny disposition.  

 

 

 

LARRY RAMOS (The Association)

Ramos always seemed to have a kind persona.  Born in Hawaii, he reminded me of a former boyfriend of mine who was from Ecuador.

 

 

TED BLUECHEL (The Association)

Even before he grew his hair long and grew facial hair, Bluechel's clean cut was equally appealing.

 

 

EDWIN STARR

Most famous for his anti-war song from 1969, War (What is it Good For?), Starr had a club hit during the disco era with Contact.  Other songs of his that I like include Headline News, Twenty-Five Miles and HAPPY Radio.

 

 

MARVIN GAYE

His duets with Tammi Terrell and Diana Ross were especially beautiful.  His cool persona brings to mind that of Barack Obama.  Sadly, he died the day before his 45th birthday (shot by his father).

 

 

 

MIKE NESMITH (The Monkees)

Nesmith was goofy-cute rather than debonair or sexy.

 

 

TEDDY PENDERGRASS

Pendergrass exuded sex.  By far his best song as a solo artist, in my estimation, was Close the Door.  He also had great songs leading Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (Bad Luck, Wake Up Everybody, Satisfaction Guaranteed). 

 

 

SAM COOKE

Another cool and debonair act in the Marvin Gaye mold.  And like Gaye, his life, unfortunately, was cut short by a bullet (at the age of 33).

 

 

DENNIS WILSON (Beach Boys)

Wilson turned crazy as the years went by and he died young (39).

 

 

 

JOHNNY MATHIS

He eventually came out, but like Barry Manilow, it was no great surprise.  Besides Chances Are, his holiday song Sleigh Ride is high on the list of my favorite songs of his.

 

 

 

NINO TEMPO

Nino was paired up with April Stevens; their one hit song was Deep Purple from the early '60s.  His appearance reminds me of the Italian fathers who lived in the town I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

 

Recapping 2020's Oscar Telecast: Not So Gay

 

According to Nielsen 62% of the viewers to 2020's Academy Awards telecast were women, so since the Oscars are considered the gay Super Bowl should I infer that the remaining 38% were gay men?  The rating for the telecast dropped 20% from last year (6 million fewer viewers).  Perhaps it was due to the alienation of two viewing groups - those who were upset over the under representation of women and blacks in key awards categories, and those who become tired of the constant harping about this under-representation. 

 

Besides a dearth of women and blacks in the major awards categories, the same absence seem to apply to those of the LGBTQ persuasion. Unlike the previous three years (when we had Green Mile; Bohemian Rhapsody; The Favourite; Call Me By Your Name; and Moonlight), there were no Best Picture nominations with gay themes.  Furthermore, there weren't a lot of gay "moments" in general during the telecast.  So what gay moments were there?  

• Janelle Monae shouting out that she's queer
• Elton John performing and winning Best Original Song
• A Verizon Wireless commercial with a coming out theme
• Billy Porter in all his fabulosity  
• Judy, the movie about Judy Garland, won the Oscar for Best Actress

 

And now for some highlights/observations:

 

• As Janelle Monae made her on-stage entrance at the start of the show, she noticed that the middle button on her blouse had come undone and buttoned it as she sang without giving it a second thought.

 

 

• Mindy Kaling and Kristen Anderson-Lopez stood out in their vibrantly colored gowns in yellow and green.

 

 

 

• Bradley Cooper usually attends the event with his mother so I was curious about the fellow sitting next to him, but was unable to find any mention of him in news reports the next day.  It seems the only Bradley Cooper chatter was about him being in the presence of his ex, Renee Zellweger.

 

 

• I chuckled when I saw Diane Keaton's coat because it was similar to a lost glove I spotted on a fence in my neighborhood a few weeks ago.

 

 

• Timothee Chalamet "owned" his offbeat formal wear.

 

 

 

• Taika Waititi, winner of Best Adapted Screenplay for Jo Jo Rabbit got my Oscar for Sexiest Man On Stage, with Oscar Isaac a close second, and Mahershala Ali third.

 

 

• Disney chairman Bob Iger was in the audience, but may have been upstaged by another attendee, Amazon's Jeff Bezos.  (However, Iger's seat was much farther forward.)

 

 

 

• Did anyone else think that female conductor, Eimear Noone, bore a striking resemblance to actress Leslie Mann?

 

 

 

• A touching commercial from Verizon Wireless aired in the middle of the telecast.  It featured a young guy who said that he couldn't talk about his homosexuality face to face with his family, but after moving to New York his mother signed the family up for Group Chat, and now the things they couldn't say to each other in person were a lot easier to say when sent in a text.  He closed his story with, "I've never lived further away from my family, but I've never felt more connected to them."

 

.

• It was ironic that the best thing about the movie Rocketman, the performance of the actor who portrayed Elton John (Taron Egerton), was overlooked for an Oscar nomination, yet its bland song won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

 

 

• Last week I was enthralled by the stunning 50-year-old J-Lo as she performed her physically demanding halftime routine at the Super Bowl, and a week later 82-year old Jane Fonda looked equally stunning as she closed out the ceremonies.  But why did she bring her coat with her - was coat check full?

 

 

Now, some final comments ...

 

• King & Queen of the prom.

 

 

• Regal ...

 

• Elton must have had a spare pair of eyeglasses.

 

 

• Where have you gone, Dolores Claiborne?

 

 

• The most touching moment of the night was actress Diane Ladd's reaction upon hearing the name of her daughter, Laura Dern, as winner of Best Supporting Actress.

 

 

 

• Greta Gerwig vied with Mindy Kaling for most exquisite necklace.

 

 

• And lastly, as Salma Hayek so amusingly put it, she finally got to hold an Oscar on onstage.

 

 

 

 

NetFlix Sitcom, "Special" Adds Another Layer to the Gay Experience

 

We've come a long way.  It appears gay story lines have become so commonplace that to make a show more unique an additional trait needs to be added to a gay character in order to gain viewer attention.  That's the case with the sitcom Special, in which the gay lead character, Ryan, has cerebral palsy; the show premiered this April on Netflix.  Ironically, revealing that he had CP is what causes Ryan angst, not the fact that he's gay.  Because of its premise I was afraid it might be too treacly for my taste, but I found myself quickly charmed by it its lead and the show's light and breezy sensibility - with touches of drama added to the mix.  Ryan has a wonderful shy smile and a quirky sense of humor.  Each episode is just 15 minutes long, so, like a bag of potato chips, it was easy to watch Season One's eight episodes in one sitting.  (Believe it or not, this was my first time binge-watching a show.)  Two of the actors in leading roles are openly gay, Ryan McConnell (the show's creator, who plays Ryan) and Augustus Prew (Carey).

 

 

Augustus Prew as Carey

The show has somewhat of a Disney-fied sheen to it and brought to mind High School Musical in that it portrayed the world in an idealized way, e.g., Ryan is able to rent his own place in pricey LA despite having no income, the body-beautiful gay Hollywood boys are relatively friendly and approachable, and Ryan didn't seem to experience much discomfort the first time he had anal sex.  Also, his mother begins dating the next-door neighbor, a retired fire fighter who looks like he walked off the Silver Daddies website.

 

Patrick Fabian as next-door-neighbor Phil

 

Happily, the show was recognized by the Emmy Awards committee, getting three nominations in the Shortform Comedy or Drama category: Best Show and two nods for Best Actress (Jessica Hecht, who plays Ryan's mom, and Punam Patel, who plays his best friend from work). 

 

Favorite Gay-Oriented SNL Sketches

 

I've watched Saturday Night Live off and on since its first season in 1975-76 (when I was a freshman in college). Now finishing up its 44th season, the show is approaching 1,000 telecasts - which translates into more than 10,000 comedic sketches.  Despite this huge inventory I don't recall any sketches with a gay angle until the early '90s.  What follows are nearly two dozen that I get a kick out of, the majority being from the past ten years.  Some have an out-and-out gay storyline, others have a gay sensibility to them, or a character who's gay (or seemingly gay).

 

 

THE ACTRESS

From the latest season, guest host Emma Stone plays an eager actress who plays the role of jilted wife in a gay porn video.  The guy who plays her husband is a skeevy-looking character; the godson looks like Taylor Lautner (remember him?).  (Season 44, 2018-19)

 

 

LAWYERS MEET BOSS'S 'GAY-FAMOUS' NEW WIFE

An established lawyer (played by Larry David) introduces colleagues from his law firm to his "gay-famous" new wife.  (Season 43, 2017-18)

 

 

OLIVE GARDEN

The director of an Olive Garden commercial shoot requests a lesbian kiss between Scarlett Johansson's and Leslie Jones' characters.  (Season 42, 2016-17)

 

 

LESBIAN MAKE-OUT SESSION IN KITCHEN

While her husband and his friends are watching the Super Bowl, oblivious to what's happening in the kitchen behind them, the sister of one of the friends (played by Kristen Stewart) seduces the dutiful wife who's preparing Totinos frozen pizzas.  (Season 42, 2016-17)

 

 

THE SECRET LIFE OF A DENTIST

This sketch, featuring Scarlett Johansson and Kenan Thompson, brought us to a memorial service for a dentist who, unbeknownst to his wife, composed deep club tracks.  (Season 42, 2016-17)

 

 

CHERRY GROVE LESBIANS

This sketch is a tune-in promo about a reality series on Logo about lesbians and their summer share at Cherry Grove.  And it contrasts life there with life in the Pines, the high-energy gay community next door.  (Season 40, 2016-17)

 

 

MICROSOFT'S GAY ROBOT

Human-looking robots are introduced at a trade fair and the audience is puzzled why they've been programmed to be overtly gay (played by Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney).  (Season 42, 2016-17)

 

 

SARAH'S DESIRE

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler played two actresses who get acting directions to be more over-the-top in the their reactions to each other during a lesbian scene in a movie.  (Season 41, 2015-16)

 

 

GLORY HOLE RESTAURANT

A New York couple (Peter Dinklage and Aidy Bryant) take out of town friends from Columbus, OH to a trendy restaurant in the Meatpacking District that in the '70s and '80s was a seedy club whose attraction was its glory holes.  (Season 41, 2015-16)

 

 

WHISKERS R WE

This skit has two lesbians showing the assortment of kittens available at their shelter.  Kate McKinnon is paired with guest hosts that included Amy Adams, Charlize Theron and Tiffany Haddish.  (Season 40, 2014-15)

 

 

"DYKES & FATS" COP SHOW

TV promo for the buddy cop show Dykes & Fats (Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant) that is likely a tribute to the '80s show Cagney & Lacey.  (Season 39, 2013-14)

 

 

'TARGET LADY' MEETS HER FIRST LESBIAN

Kristen Wiig played the Target lady innumerable times and in this sketch she had her first encounter with a lesbian customer.  (Season 38, 2012-13)  

 

 

GAY SUMMER WEDDINGS

This parody pharmaceutical ad for Xanax for Gay Summer Weddings is prescribed to heterosexuals attending weddings of gay men who become depressed thinking how uninspiring their ceremonies were compared to those of their gay friends.  The ad concludes with a disclaimer that the drug is not needed for lesbian weddings.  (Season 38, 2012-13)

 

 

CLASSY SEXY ELEGNACE

This sketch is an ad for a CD compilation of vapid club tracks, with titles such as You're on Blast and This Is My Catchphrase (Spread It). And the sales pitch is, "So if you're a gay man looking to bring something you can make fun of to a party, this is the CD for you!".  (Season 38, 2012-13)

 

 

LIZA TRIES TO TURN OFF A LAMP

This sketch, featuring Kristen Wiig, is included because of Liza's position as a revered gay icon.  Of course, I found it hilarious, but as I watched I noticed there wasn't a lot of laughter from the audience; this lack of appreciation was probably because it had too few gay men in it.  (Season 37, 2011-12)

 

 

A RANDY LIBERACE

A series of Vincent Price holiday specials featured a randy Liberace (played by Fred Armisen) who laced his remarks with outrageous double entendres.  And a few of these sketches had appearances by Judy Garland (played by Kristen Wiig).  (Season 36, 2010-11)

 

 

JUST TWO REGULAR GUYS

Fred Armisen and Bill Hader occasionally appeared on Weekend Update as two regular guys who happen to be a gay couple.  One time they were Maine fishermen, another time goombahs from NJ.  (Season 34, 2008-09)

 

 

DATING ANDY SAMBERG'S DAD

Jonah Hill confides to Andy Samberg that he's dating Andy's dad.  (Season 33, 2007-08)

 

 

HOMOCIL

A parody ad for Homocil pitched a drug for easing parental anxiety disorder when they're confronted with the reality that their child is gay.  (Season 26, 2000-01)

 

 

GAY SUPERHEROES

The Ambiguously Gay Duo, from the early 2000s, was a cartoon about two superheroes (voiced by Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert).

 

 

SCHMITTS GAY BEER

This commercial parody from the early 1990s for Schmitts Gay Beer had Adam Sandler and Chris Farley surrounded by Speedo-clad eye candy.  (Season 17, 1991-92)

 

 

STUART SMALLEY

Although it was never established with certainty that he was gay, self-help coach Stuart Smalley gave off a strong gay vibe (he was portrayed by SNL writer Al Franken, well before he became a US Senator).  In his sketches from the early '90s he interacted with guest hosts, with his session with NBA legend Michael Jordan likely the best known.

 

 

LYLE, THE EFFEMINATE HETEROSEXUAL

From the early '90s came a spoof of a sitcom called Lyle, the Effeminate Heterosexual (Dana Carvey).  This turned the tables on the stereotypical fey gay man by ascribing those traits to a straight man (and we all have a few friends like Lyle).  (Season 17, 1991-92)

 

 

 

Finally, perhaps you noticed that I didn't include Bill Hader's character Stephon as a favorite.  Although he was funny the first few times, I soon found his character tiresome, doing the same shtick (which included cracking up at what was on the cure cards) when he appeared on Weekend Updates.

 

 

Remembering '30 Rock's' Gay Characters: Devon, and Jonathan, and D'Fwan - Oh My!

 

 

NBC's madcap sitcom 30 Rock aired for seven seasons (2006-2013) and won the Emmy for Best Sitcom in each of its first three seasons.  Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, the show's cast of characters were neurotic and quirky New Yorkers, all of whom worked on a weekly sketch-comedy show that was similar to SNL.  And like any worthwhile show, a number of its characters were gay.  There were three:  Devon Banks, who was a thorn in Donaghy's side (Donaghy was played to perfection by Baldwin); Jonathan, Jack's highly protective executive assistant; and gay stylist/reality star D'Fwan.  Jack was the alpha male and the three were often in a tizzy over him.

 

DEVON BANKS - Jack Donaghy's arch-nemesis (played by Will Arnett) was always trying to usurp Jack's leadership position at the NBC-like conglomerate. There was a lot of sexual tension between the two, and their fast-paced dialogue was full of hilarious double entendres (enhanced by Devon's breathy voice).  My favorite is when Devon, during a heated discussion, tells Jack that "you're going down" and Jack responds, "No, Devon, I don't do that".  Devon's partner's name was Cashmere (he was never seen).

 

 

JONATHAN - Jack's fiercely loyal executive assistant, who Devon once referred to as "that fancy little fellow".  He brought to mind Mr. Burns' second in command, Smithers, on The Simpsons.  Although he was usually shown in the background at his desk and had a few lines each episode, he had the most screen time of the three gay characters.  (He was played by openly-gay actor Maulik Pancholy).

 

 

D'FWAN -  In the show's final season, D'Fwan became the star of his eponymous reality show (played by Titus Burgess, who later became well known for his role as Titus Andromedon on Netflix's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt).  Convinced that Jack was closeted, D'fwan changed his mind when he saw him dance.

 

 

OTHER GAY TOUCHES

KENNETH PARCELL - An NBC page from Georgia, he was more or less asexual, and is perhaps the 'Q' in LGBTQ (aka "questioning").  In one episode Jack used Kenneth to try to seduce Devon, who had a crush on Kenneth.

 

 

COLEEN DONAGHY - Jack's hyper-critical, self-centered, mom was played by gay icon Elaine Stritch.  Another icon, Patti LuPone, appeared in one episode as the mother of one of the writers.

 

 

LIZ LEMON (Tina Fey's character) - In one episode Liz, fed up with her poor track record with men, tried to be a lesbian but was rebuffed by one she had befriended.

 

 

GRETA JOHANSSEN - As played by SNL alum Rachel Dratch, Greta was an all-business cat wrangler who had a crush on Liz.

 

 

Some TV Game Shows That Trigger My Gay Sensibilities

 

Although my viewing of game shows is limited to the times when I'm visiting my mother, I find them mildly entertaining, especially The Price Is Right, Jeopardy, Let's Make a Deal and Wheel of Fortune.  Perhaps it's because they serve up a steady diet of eye candy, whether it's the on-screen "talent" or the contestants. It's a very different viewing environment from when I was a child.  Unlike the boyhood crushes I had on some of the actors from shows in primetime, hosts of game shows in the '60s and '70s were a rather bland lot, such as Jeopardy's Art Fleming, Dick Clark from The $20,000 Pyramid, Hugh Downs from Concentration, or The Match Game's Gene Rayburn.  (Let's Make a Deal's Monty Hall was the closest to being a bit cute.) 

 

Art Fleming

 

So what is it about the game shows I watch, that arouse my gay sensibilities?  Read on ...

 

LET'S MAKE A DEAL - Of the four shows, Deal's host Wayne Brady is the sexiest (with or without eyeglasses).  As for the rest of the show, I have no interest.

 

 

THE PRICE IS RIGHT - In the fall of 2012 the show began featuring male showcase models.  The ones I've seen are Rob, James and Devin.  Occasionally they appear bare chested, but even fully clothed they're a pleasure to ogle.  I also like host Drew Carey, who's good-natured and cute in a stocky way, a LEGO™ character come to life.  I'm also dazzled by the colorful sets.  Lastly, the show has a lot of cute male contestants as well, some who are busting out of their t-shirts as they jump around.  And it's not uncommon to hear them shouting out to boyfriends and husbands.  (And when this is happening on a show as main stream as this, there's no going back.)

 

Price is Right model James

 

Eye-candy contestant (sexual orientation unknown

 

Sexual orientation known as Anthony said hello to his boyfriend in the audience.

 

JEOPARDY - Has had its shares of gay contestants (or brainy types that give off a gay vibe) but they're usually not dressed that well, and can be a bit full of themselves (this applies to the straight contestants as well).  And despite aging, host Alex Trebek has always possessed a bit of sex appeal (although, befitting a show that celebrates book knowledge, he's a bit aloof).

 

Gay contestant John Presloid (Jan. 2019)

 

WHEEL OF FORTUNE - This one's all about Vanna.  Letter turner Vanna White is somewhat of a campy delight in her Cher-like gowns - and still looks amazing after nearly 40 years on the job.  Additionally, in episodes I've watched in the past 12 months, three contestants were members of San Francisco's Gay Men's Chorus.  As for the rest of the show, the host (rodent-like host Pat Sajak) and the contestants are sort of a sad lot, shouting out "Big Money!" as they spin the wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESPN Magazine's Body Issue - For Those of Us Who Love A Man OUT of Uniform

 

2019 marks the 10-year anniversary of ESPN Magazine's first Body Issue, which celebrates the musculature of athletes across the spectrum of professional sports (male as well as female).  Despite the athletes being photographed in the buff, these photos have more in common with Michelangelo's sculptures than Robert Mapplethorpe's images.  And although I would have preferred seeing more body hair, it's refreshing that a major sports magazine doesn't have any hang-ups about putting the bodies of athletes front and center for readers to admire.  (And kudos to the athletes who participate.)  Finally, both 2017's and 2018's edition included openly gay male athletes: skier Gus Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon. 

 

Although there were hundreds of photos to choose from (a challenge I happily accepted) I managed to narrow them down to my two dozen favorite:

 

Baseball star Giancarlo Stanton (2013)

 

 

NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman (2017)

 

Rugby star Malakai Fekitoa (2017)

 

 

Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs (2017)

 

 

Figure skater Adam Rippon (2018)

 

 

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick (2013)

 

 

Speed skater Apolo Ohno (2011)

 

 

Hockey player Tyler Seguin (2015)

 

 

Football player Julian Edelman (2017)

 

Pitcher Matt Harvey (2013)

 

Tennis player Tomas Berydch (2014)

 

NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown (2016)

 

 

Pitcher Jake Arrieta (2016)

 

 

Mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor (2016)

 

 

Baseball star Yasiel Puig (2018)

 

NFL rusher Ezekiel Elliott (2017)

 

Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy (2017)

 

 

Hockey player Joffrey Lupul (2013)

 

Baseball player Bryce Harper (2015)

 

Football player Rob Gronkowski (2012)

 

Tennis player Stan Wawrinka (2015)

 

Soccer player Omar Gonzalez (2014)

 

 

Decathlete Ashton Eaton (2012)

 

NBA star Isaiah Thomas (2017)

New Sitcom "The Other Two" - When a Straight Roommate Isn't So Straight

 

A new sitcom premiered in the winter of 2019 on Comedy Central, called The Other Two.  Set in New York, it focuses on Cary and Brooke Dubek, the floundering twenty-something brother and sister of a 13-year-old YouTube singing sensation.  I decided to give the show a view because of its SNL/Lorne Michaels pedigree and was pleasantly surprised to find that Cary is gay.  What was even more surprising is that Cary's supposedly straight roommate, Matt, is always coming on to him.  An All- American type, with washboard abs and a great smile, Matt is amusingly nonchalant after each fleeting encounter with Cary.  While sitcoms with gay characters have become less of novelty, I can't recall one in which a straight character acts on his same-sex urges.   And the show isn't shy about showing them in a lip-lock or jerking off.

 

From the premiere episode, here they are "innocently" watching TV (remember, this is a sitcom, not a XXX video):

 

 

 

The roommate is played by Andrew Ridings who in 2010 was in an off-Broadway play Over the Top where he played a closeted gay man (in the role of his boyfriend was Tanner Cohen, who starred in the 2008 gay-themed indie film Were the World Mine).  Cary's co-worker, Curtis, is also gay.  The actor who portrays him, Brandon Scott Jones, played a bitchy bookstore clerk in the Melissa McCarthy movie, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

 

Drew Tarver plays Cary Dubek

 

Of course, the show has more amusing gay-oriented stuff going on than just the furtive relationship between Cary and Matt (whose story arc appears to have ended after Episode 3).  And while the show is funny, at the end of each episode I felt oddly diminished.  Perhaps it's because of how it depicts the vacuous, social media-centric world that Millennials and Gen Xers live in.  Also, Cary is somewhat of a "sad sack", who, despite being in his 20s, acts like someone much older in the way he cringes at his peers attachment to social media.    

And although Cary's roomie may be gone, for the time being at least, you might catch Andrew Ridings, in a much more chaste role, appearing in a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts which began airing in May/June.

 

 

The Other Two airs at Thursday at 10:30 after Broad City.

 

Other posts I've written about gay characters in TV sitcoms:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Modern Family

Roseanne

Will & Grace

Renowned Greenwich Village Gay Bar Co-Stars in Movie "Can You Ever Forgive Me"?

 

The Greenwich Village bar, Julius's, plays a prominent role in the true-life drama Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which stars Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant (both received Oscar nominations for their roles).  The bar is celebrated in the annals of gay history because it's where the famed 'Sip-In' took place in 1966 (three years before the Stonewall riot).  Throughout the movie Julius is where the main characters confide, plot and ultimately reconcile.  In total I'd say the bar has at least 15 minutes of screen time.  (Besides the bar, regular appearances are also made by a cat and a manual typewriter.)  Perhaps Hollywood might consider honoring Julius with a special Oscar for best use of a bar in a movie (after all, Judi Dench got an Oscar for less time on screen in Shakespeare in Love!). 

 

McCarthy and Grant play gay characters - biographer Lee Israel, and aging hustler/party-boy Jack.  And while the movie wasn't promoted as a "LGBT film", there is a steady amount of understated same-sex moments interspersed throughout the story.  For instance, Lee has a flirtation with a female bookstore owner and has a meeting with her ex, while Jack has a dalliance with a flirtatious waiter.  In addition, two other male characters who work at vintage bookstores give off a definite gay vibe (one of them is played by Stephen Spinella).  And AIDS rears its ugly head.  Although the movie is depressing, with shadowy interiors, gray skies and revelations about personal dysfunction, I enjoyed it a lot; Lee and Jack are two great character studies.

 

  

 

Now, back to Julius.  Located at the corner of Waverly Place and W. 10th St., it's a few minutes from my apartment as well as the Stonewall Inn and the Monster.  If I'm going to a bar the Monster is where I tend to go because it's just down the street from where I live (I've been known to run there without a coat in the wintertime) and it's much more spacious compared to Julius , so I can walk around its two levels and not feel conspicuous if I'm there alone.  Despite not going there all that often, Julius has a friendlier vibe (including the bartenders) and the drinks are cheaper.  (Although it's famed for its burgers I've never had one.)

 

 

Finally, besides its role in this film, Julius appeared in another movie I've seen, 2014's  Love is Strange (starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as a gay couple).  But there was just one scene filmed there (pictured below).  Thinking back to all the gay-themed movies I've seen (more than 100) I can recall just one other that had a scene in gay bar in New York.  It was 1999's Trick, and the main characters have an encounter with Miss Coco Peru, who offers advice while powdering her nose in the bathroom at the club Twirl that used to be on W. 23rd St.

 

 

  

LGBTQ News Headlines of 2018

 

 

January 17 - The limited series The Assassination of Gianni Versace (produced by Ryan Murphy) premiered on FX.  It starred Edgar Ramirez as Versace; Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan; Ricky Martin as Versace's lover; and Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace.

 

 

February 7 - Bermuda became the first country to repeal its law that legalized same-sex marriage.

February 7 - A revival of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (2003-2007), now simply called Queer Eye, premiered on Netflix.

March 4 - James Ivory won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Call Me By Your Name.

March 16 - The gay teen romance Love, Simon opened in theaters and became the eleventh highest grossing film with a gay theme or prominent gay character, taking in $41 million at the domestic box office.

 

 

March 25 - 25 years after its first Broadway run, a revival of Tony Kushner's AIDS drama Angels in America opens.

April 27 - A documentary about former Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, The Gospel According to Andre opened in theaters.

May 21 - Although he didn't win a medal for the US in the Men's Singles Figure Skating competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics, openly gay figure skater Adam Rippon won Dancing with the Stars: Athletes.

 

 

May 31 - A revival of Boys in the Band opened on Broadway in the 50th anniversary year of the play's original Broadway debut.

June 4 - In a 7-2 vote, the US Supreme Court ruled that a baker in Lakewood, Colorado could refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

 

 

July 9 - After a previous rainbow sculpture celebrating gay pride in Warsaw (the capital of Poland) was repeatedly vandalized, a new one was unveiled that is "unbreakable" - a hologram projected on a curtain of water, making it resistant to most forms of defacement.

 

July 20 - Eight years after his suicide, at the age of 40, a documentary about fashion designer Alexander McQueen opens in theaters.

July 25 - Cher is announced as one of this year's recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.

July 30 - Land O'Lakes Inc. named Beth Ford as its CEO, making her the first openly gay woman to head a Fortune 500 company.

 

September 18 - Sesame Workshop, the education organization behind the children’s program Sesame Street, issued a press release stating that the beloved characters Bert & Ernie “do not have a sexual orientation.”

November 6 - 43-year-old Jared Polis became the first openly gay person elected governor of a US state (Colorado).

November 22 - A same-sex kiss was aired on Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the first time. The kiss was between two female characters during the conclusion of a number from the Broadway show Mean Girls.