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American Television Part 1 is the
first in a special two part series. Click here
to view part 2. |
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Margaret
Cho |
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American Television
Dramas have made significant strides in their portrayals of
homosexuals, though cable networks have been more daring than the "big
three" broadcast networks. |
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American Television
News Programs have historically covered glbtq people and issues
inadequately, though there have recently been signs of improvement. |
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American Television
Situation Comedies have consistently reflected the presence of
glbtq people, often in distorted and stereotyped ways, but occasionally
in ways that acknowledge our humanity and complexity. |
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American
Television Soap Operas
on network television have been limited in their treatment of gay
relationships. Recently, however, gays and lesbians have created their
own soap operas to tell the convoluted stories of lesbian and gay
entanglements. |
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American Television
Talk Shows are both promising and problematic for glbtq people.
They have brought queer issues to public awareness, but they have also
presented glbtq people as stereotypes and freaks. |
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Raymond Burr
(1917-1993) will always be identified with Perry Mason, the character
he played in a long-running courtroom drama series, but he is
especially significant for his response to the pressure he faced
as a gay actor in a homophobic culture. |
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Colonel Margarethe
Cammermeyer (b. 1942), the highest ranking official in the U. S.
military to acknowledge her homosexuality while in the service, was the
subject of the Emmy award-winning 1995 television movie Serving in
Silence, which starred Glenn Close. |
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Richard Chamberlain
(b. 1935) is an actor who has excelled in film, on stage, and on
television. He first achieved television stardom playing the title role
in the long-running series Dr. Kildare in the 1960s. |
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Margaret Cho
(b. 1968) experienced an emotional and professional disaster in her
television show All-American Girl but bounced back to become a
widely praised comedic talent. She received the first Golden Gate Award given by
GLAAD. |
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Noël Coward
(1899-1973) was an accomplished playwright, actor, composer, and
lyricist and a frequent guest on American television programs
during television's early years. |
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Ellen DeGeneres
(b.1958) will always be remembered for coming out on Ellen, her
own sitcom, in 1997, but her continuing successes as a comedian
and talk show host promise that she still has a long career ahead. |
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Documentary
Film, sometimes commissioned by PBS or cable networks, has been
used by the queer community to resurrect historical memory and to
permit the marginalized to bear witness, as well as to build an image
base that reflects our diversity and counters distorted
representations. |
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Arthur Dong
(b. 1953) is a documentary filmmaker whose works include several films
that examine the roots of anti-gay attitudes. His film Family
Fundamentals, which focuses on families who reject their
homosexual children, was broadcast on PBS in 2003. |
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Wayland Flowers
(1939-1988) used a puppet he named "Madame" to present a campy gay
point of view to mainstream television audiences from the 1960s until
his death. Ultimately, Madame became far more famous than her creator. |
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The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is an
influential watchdog group dedicated to promoting accurate
representations of the glbtq community in the media. |
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Rock Hudson
(1925-1985) first earned fame as a tall, dark, handsome movie star in
the 1950s and 1960s. Later in his career, he became a successful
television actor with roles on popular television programs including
McMillan and Wife and Dynasty. |
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In the Life
is America's only nationally broadcast gay and lesbian newsmagazine.
The program began in 1992 as a variety show, but has since evolved into
an acclaimed public-affairs program. |
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Photo
Credit: Photograph of Margaret Cho by Austin Young, courtesy
Ken Phillips Publicity Group. |
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