A Look Back at Gay History: 1997
Jan 19, 1997 - Madonna wins a Golden Globe for her role as Eva Peron in Evita.
Feb 16, 1997 - Tonight's episode of The Simpsons, titled "Homer's Phobia", finds Homer trying to disassociate himself from a new acquaintance (voiced by John Waters) when he learns he is gay.
March 19, 1997 – The play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, directed by Moises Kaufman, opens.
March 26, 1997 - The TV movie Breaking the Surface, starring Mario Lopez as Greg Louganis, airs on USA Network.
April 7, 1997 - Ellen Degeneres comes out in this week's issue of TIME Magazine with the famous cover headline of "Yep, I'm Gay".
April 20, 1997 - The TV movie In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve, airs on PBS.
April 25, 1997 - The comedy Romy & Michele's High School Reunion opens in theaters and features 32-year-old Alan Cumming in his first American movie role. He played the nerd who became successful and fabulously wealthy as an adult.
April 30, 1997 - The coming-out episode on Ellen, a beacon of controversy, draws a large audience.
June 15, 1997 - The first Folsom Street East festival is held in New York, sponsored by the group Gay Male S&M Activists.
June 20, 1997 - My Best Friend's Wedding opens in theaters, co-starring Rupert Everett as Julia Roberts' gay best friend.
July 12, 1997 - Prison drama Oz debuts on HBO.
July 15, 1997 - Fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot to death outside his South Beach mansion.
Aug 31, 1997 - Princess Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris.
Sept 19, 1997 - The comedy In & Out, about a teacher (played by Kevin Kline) who's unaware of his sexual orientation until he's outed on national TV, opens in theaters. Tom Selleck plays a gay TV news reporter.
Oct 6, 1997 - Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain is published in The New Yorker.
Nov 8, 1997 - Bill Clinton delivers the keynote address at HRC's annual dinner, the first sitting president to speak before a LGBT organization.
(If you'd like to read gay milestones from other years, double click here.)
Comments