Matt BaumeDid you ever hear about the time Madeline Kahn used a failing sitcom to introduce America to radical queer theater, convincing ABC to broadcast an appearance by one of the most subversive drag artists in the country? This is the story of how Charles Ludlam, Charles Pierce, and Charles Busch revolutionized queer theater, and how their influence can still be found on your favorite drag shows to this day.
The Time Madeline Kahn Put Drag on Primetime TVMatt Baume2020-04-28 | Did you ever hear about the time Madeline Kahn used a failing sitcom to introduce America to radical queer theater, convincing ABC to broadcast an appearance by one of the most subversive drag artists in the country? This is the story of how Charles Ludlam, Charles Pierce, and Charles Busch revolutionized queer theater, and how their influence can still be found on your favorite drag shows to this day.
http://twitter.com/mattbaume http://facebook.com/mattbaumeThe Inside Story of All in the Family: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of the BunkersMatt Baume2023-08-06 | All in the Family is one of the most controversial shows ever broadcast. It featured a typical American family, arguing over topics that most other shows didn’t dare go near, and shocked America as well as the network executives who tried to do everything they could to stop it. But while Archie, Edith, Mike, and Gloria were busy making TV history, behind-the-scenes feuds threatened to tear the cast apart -- culminating in off-screen fights that nearly led to the death of two beloved characters. This is the story of All in the Family and the Bunkers — the rise and fall and rise again a family that changed America.
And connect with me here: https://bsky.app/profile/mattbaume.bsky.social http://facebook.com/mattbaume http://instagram.com/mattbaume http://twitter.com/mattbaumeBehind the Most Shocking Shows of the 70s: Norman Lear & the Power of ComedyMatt Baume2023-07-09 | Today, Norman Lear and his shows are famous — or infamous, depending on who you ask. But in 1971, he was an obscure TV writer and producer. A college dropout and former Nazi hunter, Norman turned to comedy after World War II. And after years of writing jokes for some of the most famous comics on television, Norman decided it was time to for a show of his own. He tackled topics that other shows were afraid to go near — from sex to religion to homosexuality. Now, Norman says America may be facing its darkest moment yet ... which is why, with his over seventy years of experience, he’s back with some of his most ambitious projects to date. And he’s got a secret weapon for changing the world yet again.
And connect with me here: https://bsky.app/profile/mattbaume.bsky.social http://twitch.tv/mattbaume http://instagram.com/mattbaume http://facebook.com/mattbaume http://twitter.com/mattbaumeSneak peek & free stuff!Matt Baume2023-06-25 | ...I’m coming to see you! Book tour update:Matt Baume2023-06-02 | ...A Warning Label on my Life: The Story of Ellens Coming OutMatt Baume2023-05-21 | Ellen DeGeneres’ coming out episode was a massive TV milestone. The first openly gay lead character on a primetime sitcom, it opened the door for countless shows that followed. But not everyone was happy about it, and behind the scenes, some of Ellen’s biggest battles were with the executives in charge of the network. And that was only the start of troubles to come. This is the story of the most controversial coming-out in television history ... and the fallout that changed TV forever.
Subscribe to my newsletter: http://mattbaume.comOpening a surprise packageMatt Baume2023-05-20 | ...Unboxing my book, HI HONEY IM HOMO!Matt Baume2023-04-27 | ...Oh My! How George Takei fought the bigots and wonMatt Baume2023-04-16 | Star Trek’s Mister Sulu: The galaxy’s greatest helmsman, captain, and swordfighter. Although the future depicted by Star Trek is one of peace and freedom, for most of his life George Takei’s reality was the exact opposite. But like his character, George refused to take unfair treatment lying down. First as an actor and then as an activist, he took on some of the most powerful people and institutions in the world in a fight against inequality. And not only was he successful beyond his wildest dreams, but his journey from concentration camp, to space, to a real-life fight for civil rights helped push the world ever closer to a brighter future that was once the stuff of science fiction.
Join me over here: - http://twitter.com/mattbaume - http://instagram.com/mattbaume - http://facebook.com/mattbaume - http://twitch.tv/mattbaumeThe First Gay TV Movie: The Battle Over That Certain SummerMatt Baume2023-03-19 | Starring a young Martin Sheen and developed by the guys who created Columbo just a few years earlier, the TV movie That Certain Summer was a groundbreaking project that many thought could never be made. Before it was even filmed, the movie caused an uproar behind the scenes and in public. On one side were those who felt that it should be banned from the airwaves ... and on the other, a handful of brave writers, actors, and producers who fought to smash a television taboo. And when the dust settled, this broadcast helped bring about a TV revolution, and had an impact that even its creators couldn’t have anticipated. This is the story of That Certain Summer — one of the most important TV movies ever made.
Join me over here: - http://twitter.com/mattbaume - http://instagram.com/mattbaume - http://facebook.com/mattbaume - http://twitch.tv/mattbaumeTHE BIRDCAGE and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES: The Inside StoryMatt Baume2023-02-19 | The movie The Birdcage had a long, strange journey to America's big screen. To tell that story, we're going back in time to a French royal palace in the 1970s, where two comedians created a gay farce called La Cage Aux Folles ... then we'll meet a trio of revolutionary American artists mounting a nearly-disastrous Broadway spectacular in the 1980s ... before landing at a struggling movie studio in the 90s that gambled big on putting two gay dads in front of a deeply skeptical American audience. Get ready for the story of the writers, actors, and producers who carried a comic misadventure over decades and continents to show the world the true meaning of family values.
http://twitter.com/mattbaume http://instagram.com/mattbaume http://facebook.com/mattbaumeThe Secret Gay Love Affair Behind Alfred Hitchcocks RopeMatt Baume2023-01-15 | Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film Rope is famous for how it was filmed: To look like one continuous scene playing out in real time with no cuts. But there's something else that makes it an even more audacious film, which is the unstated fact that its main characters are a gay couple. Slipping queer characters past film censors in the 1940s was no easy task -- and in fact, they nearly didn't get away with it. And what Hitchcock didn't know is that during the making of he film, the writer was secretly having an affair with the leading man. Their clandestine romance lent a whole new level of real-life-danger behind the scenes of this iconic thriller. Because if their secret was discovered, they'd face the end of their careers -- or much, much worse.
Watch bonus videos here: http://patreon.com/mattbaume Get my newsletter at http://mattbaume.com Follow me for more pop culture history: http://twitter.com/mattbaumeThe Gay Actor Who Brought Batman to Life: Remembering Kevin ConroyMatt Baume2022-12-11 | One actor has inhabited the role of Batman more iconically than any other -- Kevin Conroy, the voice actor who holds the record for having played Batman for longer than any other performer, starting with Batman the Animated Series in the early 90s. There was a reason Kevin could relate to Batman like no one else: because for decades, he too lived a double life. Just like Bruce Wayne and the Caped Crusader, Kevin spent years split between worlds, hiding a secret identity of his own.
The following music was used for this media project: Music: Action Strike by Rafael Krux Free download: filmmusic.io/song/5300-action-strike License (CC BY 4.0): filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: orchestralis.netRemembering Leslie Jordan: A Lifetime of Laughter & Loving ServiceMatt Baume2022-11-20 | You probably recognize Leslie Jordan for his role on Will & Grace. But long before he became famous for that, he spent years toiling in thankless bit parts, suffering with shame and guilt for being gay, spiraling into drug and alcohol abuse that nearly destroyed him. It wasn't until one night in a jail cell with Robert Downey Jr that Leslie Jordan turned his life around, and embraced his true self for the first time at the age of 42, turning his one-time shame into the secret of his success.
Watch bonus videos on Patreon: http://patreon.com/mattbaume Pre-order my book, Hi Honey I'm Homo: http://GaySitcoms.comRemembering Kevin Conroy, Batman’s Iconic VoiceMatt Baume2022-11-12 | ...Proud to be a Gay Icon: Angela Lansburys Life & LegacyMatt Baume2022-10-30 | You probably know Angela Lansbury as the sweet grandmotherly Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote. ... Or you might know her as a sexy seductress from her early film roles. ... Or as a scheming villainess. But in real life, Dame Angela's life has been nearly as tumultuous as those of her characters. From fleeing the Nazis as a child, to marrying young only to discover her husband was gay, to rescuing her cat from a fire and her children from a gang of serial killers, to proudly accepting her status as a gay icon, Angela Lansbury lived a nearly century-long life of adventure, upheaval, and constant reinvention.
Get hours of bonus videos on Patreon: http://patreon.com/mattbaume Twitter: http://twitter.com/mattbaume Instagram: http://instagram.com/mattbaumeInterview With the Vampire, Anne Rice, & 150 Years of Gay VampiresMatt Baume2022-10-02 | Interview With the Vampire is one of the most influential vampire stories ever told, and also one of the gayest. Originally published as a novel in 1976, the book spawned 12 sequels, a wildly successful film (and one less-successful one), graphic novels, a Broadway musical, and now a TV series – each one dripping with blood, debauchery, and fanged monsters whose passion for each other spans centuries. But this tasty tale didn’t just spring into being by itself. The saga builds on queer vampire stories going back 150 years, through exploitation films of the 70s, early motion pictures, and Victorian novels full of forbidden gay encounters with creatures of the night. So, where did Interview with the Vampire come from, why was it such a hit, and how did an aspiring writer’s scandalous debut novel change vampire stories forever?
Music: Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Free download: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License (CC BY 4.0): filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: incompetech.comToo Gay for Television? How Charles Nelson Reilly Proved NBC WrongMatt Baume2022-09-18 | With 99 appearances on The Tonight Show, nearly two thousand game show episodes, and starring roles from Broadway to sitcoms to cartoons … for decades, Charles Nelson Reilly WAS television. But it almost never happened: At Charles’ first TV audition, an NBC executive took one look at him and said, "they don’t let queers on television.” So, how did Charles Nelson Reilly go from being too gay for broadcast to dominating the airwaves? This is the story of an iconic gay actor who went from selling his blood to make ends meet to being the most in-demand actor on television, thanks to a little help from Burt Reynolds, Broadway, and a haunted house.
Watch The Life of Reilly: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL59B9706770CC4F27Seinfelds Gay Crisis: Not That Theres Anything Wrong With ThatMatt Baume2022-07-31 | Of all of Seinfeld’s iconic catch phrases, one of the most iconic is made up of just seven little words: “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” It may be hard to believe now, but in its early years Seinfeld was a struggling show that was nearly canceled more than once -- and to make matters worse, there was a rumor following its creator and star. In the years before Seinfeld aired, gay rumors were a huge problem for celebrities, and just the sort of pressure that could spell disaster for a struggling show. So what did the creators of Seinfeld do about it? This is the story of how a struggling show confronted a risky rumor and coined one of TV’s most famous catch phrases … and how it almost never happened.
Thanks to GLAAD for supplying the footage of the 1994 award ceremony!Modern Familys Gay Dads Forced to Live in Sin!Matt Baume2022-06-19 | Despite being one of the most wholesome couples on television, when Modern Family debuted Mitch and Cam were the one household on the show that wasn’t allowed to get married. Getting these guys to the altar was a multi-year effort, both on-screen and behind the scenes, on the part of the writers, the actors, and ultimately the US Supreme Court.
Watch Modern Family streaming: amzn.to/3tLak3PHow Will & Grace Beat Ellens Gay CurseMatt Baume2022-05-15 | Following Ellen’s cancelation, many believed that any primetime show with a gay lead was cursed to fail. But not only did Will & Grace prove the critics wrong, it went on to become a colossal hit, putting beloved gay characters in front of millions of Americans every week for eight years — plus three more with a revival. But the show also came in for heavy criticism, particularly from gay viewers who said that it did real harm by deepening stereotypes, using slurs, and making queer people look bad. Across its run, Will & Grace racked up 18 Emmy wins, was one of the highest rated shows on television for years, and had an indelible impact on television, culture, and politics. But was that impact a good thing or a bad thing?
Watch bonus videos about Will & Grace's celebrity guests, how Sean Hayes nailed his audition, and more at http://patreon.com/mattbaume
Jim Colucci's Will & Grace book: amzn.to/3wfl0ZY Top of the Rock book about NBC history: amzn.to/3wfl0ZY Watch Will & Grace streaming: amzn.to/3weS3NTDynastys Gay Journey - Killer Dads, Shoulderpads, and the Kiss that Rocked HollywoodMatt Baume2022-04-10 | Over Dynasty’s nine-season run, the challenge of getting a gay man on television’s most popular show was nothing compared to the multi-year battle it took to keep him there. This is the story of the fights on-screen and behind-the-scenes over one of TVs first recurring gay characters, and the kiss that changed Hollywood.
MUSIC: On My Way by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/4163-on-my-way License: filmmusic.io/standard-license Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseSoap vs Censors: The Fight Over TVs Most Controversial SitcomMatt Baume2022-02-20 | Soap is half-hour sitcom about the world’s most dramatic family tackling taboo topics like sex … murder … cults … nymphomaniacs … ninjas … aliens … and a demon baby. But one of the most controversial elements: It was the first American sitcom with a gay character in the main cast, which touched off a huge fight before the first episode even aired. This is the story of the most controversial sitcom in TV history.
Get A.S. Berman's book about Soap: amzn.to/3I3GxIw Totally Trans podcast: totallytrans.buzzsprout.com Watch Soap episodes: tubitv.com/series/300007078/soap Steven Capsuto's YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UCT-uzyA8-dkyNpMBKXb8mZw/featuredWhy Do Gay Men Love The Golden Girls?Matt Baume2022-01-16 | Today it’s known worldwide as a beloved TV classic. But originally, it wasn’t even supposed to be a real show. Proposed as a joke at NBC, the concept was meant to be a parody of a sitcom, a premise too ridiculous to ever succeed… until one executive saw the potential, and assembled a dream team to pull it off — including a daring producer who had a history of pushing the envelope. So how did a show about four retirees that was never supposed to get made wind up becoming a worldwide hit? And what makes it particularly important to gay men?
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseRita Moreno vs Hollywood: The Other West Side Story RumbleMatt Baume2021-12-12 | I want to show you why I'm obsessed with Rita Moreno and you should be too. This is the story of how a little girl from a jungle cottage in Puerto Rico left home with dreams of becoming a movie star, how powerful men in showbiz stood in her way for decades, and how she overcame them and became an international star and producer of the new adaptation of West Side Story — a musical about immigrants much like her.
Be Kind Rewind's video about Rita Moreno and Overcoming "Otherness": youtu.be/eLEFmVC1VJc
Watch the Rita Moreno documentary: amzn.to/30o2Zvy Watch West Side Story: amzn.to/3dYYmLH Watch The Ritz: amzn.to/3pVxZMe Watch the Terrence McNally documentary: amzn.to/3ENONuN Read Rita Moreno's memoir: amzn.to/3EPKaQGWhen Gomer Pyle Married Rock Hudson: The Secret Life of Jim NaborsMatt Baume2021-11-28 | Over his 55-year career, Jim Nabors cultivated a wholesome, folksy persona, from playing Gomer Pyle on multiple sitcoms to appearing as himself on variety shows to singing every year at the start of the Indianapolis 500. But behind the scenes, Jim Nabors harbored a secret that would have scandalized the country and ruined his career if it was ever found out — and in fact, it nearly did when rumors spread about his relationship with another closeted actor.
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseHow Elvira Busted Through Hollywood to Become the Queen of HalloweenMatt Baume2021-10-31 | I don’t have to tell you that Halloween is gay Christmas, and the Queen of Halloween is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. For forty years, she’s made a name for herself with a plunging neckline, bawdy comedy, and a passion for scary films. With her seductive feminine figure and her flirtatious charm, Elvira seems scientifically engineered to attract heterosexual men. so why is she so beloved by gay men? And how did a shy farm girl from Kansas grow up to become the queen of Halloween?
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licensePaul Lynde: The Gay Uncle at the Center of Halloween’s Strangest DiscoMatt Baume2021-10-17 | The Paul Lynde Halloween Special is one of the strangest hours of television ever broadcast, a witchy fever dream of celebrities, songs, and sensuality. By the mid-1970s, Paul was known for humor that skewed adult, a persona based around being annoyed with children, and a string of failed sitcom pilots. So of all the people you could get to host a Halloween special ... why Paul Lynde???
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseHow Barney Millers Gay Couple Defeated the Network CensorsMatt Baume2021-10-03 | In 1975, TV producer Danny Arnold created Barney Miller, a sitcom set at a police station in Greenwich Village. Danny wanted to make sure the show reflected the setting — which at the time was the heart of gay culture in New York, and as a result the show had a lot of firsts for queer representation on TV. But it wasn't easy: Television was under pressure from Congress to clean up its act, and networks had decided to scrub their gay content. This is the story of how a producer who got his start on Bewitched teamed up with a gay activist to defeat one of the most powerful censors in Hollywood.
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseAlice & the Gayest Week in TV HistoryMatt Baume2021-09-19 | The gayest week in TV history happened in late September, 1976. It was the culmination of a year-long queer tidal wave that swept across the country, impacting music, film, theater, and particularly TV. We’re going to take a look at exactly how that happened, using the sitcom Alice as an example.
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseHollywood Montrose: Mannequin’s Gay HeroMatt Baume2021-09-05 | In the movie Mannequin and its sequel Mannequin on the Move, Hollywood Montrose defies the rules for sassy gay best friends. He’s a flamboyant femme hero who saves the day amidst bumbling heterosexuals, while also holding down a career and a love life and also besting multiple foes in combat -- making Hollywood Montrose the gay 80s hero we never knew we needed.
Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: filmmusic.io/song/3560-crinoline-dreams License: filmmusic.io/standard-licenseM*A*S*H’s Revolutionary Gay EpisodeMatt Baume2021-08-22 | On this 1974 episode of M*A*S*H, the secret is out about Private Weston. And now that the private’s gone public, the camp’s in an uproar about whether to turn him in. But he’s not the only one with something to hide on this episode of TV made in the 1970s ... that uses the 1950s ... to talk about the 1990s.
Watch MASH streaming: amzn.to/2W72Omg Read more about the Lavender Scare: amzn.to/3j4UfRiGay Bar Murder Mysteries, from Starsky & Hutch to Murder She WroteMatt Baume2021-08-08 | In 1977, the popular cop show Starsky and Hutch tackled a murder mystery centered around a Los Angeles gay bar, complete with a depiction of queer life that’s surprisingly nuanced for the late 70s. Then, less than a decade later, an episode of Murder She Wrote featured a similar storyline, but this time the setting is … well, not quite so realistic. So why are they so different? Well, something big happened in American culture between these two episodes that completely transformed TV gay bars. And it involved a presidential election, a pie, and messages from space.
Watch Starsky & Hutch streaming: amzn.to/3fHi6Vf Watch Murder She Wrote streaming: amzn.to/2VDADuF Read Steven Capsuto's book Alternate Channels: amzn.to/3ApLYgzRichard Hunt: The Gay Man Behind the MuppetsMatt Baume2021-07-25 | For over sixty years The Muppets have been entertaining kids and adults alike. You probably know their creator, Jim Henson, who brought everyone together, and you might be familiar with Frank Oz, Jim’s close collaborator. But there’s another Muppet performer you might NOT know — part of the core group who was there from almost the very beginning, and in the 1970s became one of the most famous gay men in the world… who nobody recognized.
Most of the direct quotes and details from personal interviews come directly from Jessica Max Stein's forthcoming full-length biography of Hunt. See http://JessicaMaxStein.com or patreon.com/Richard_Hunt_Biography to support the book!
Want to see the Muppet Show's queer guests? Check out these episodes: muppets.disney.com - Joel Grey - 1.01 - Jim Nabors - 1.04 - Vincent Price 1.24 - Rudolph Nureyev 2.13 - Elton John - 2.14 - Liberace - 3.09
More Muppet stuff to watch: - The Muppet Movie: amzn.to/2Wh1pZY - The Muppets Take Manhattan: amzn.to/3x7zbxo - The Great Muppet Caper: amzn.to/3iEFuTY - Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street: amzn.to/3x4FQIPStar Treks First Gay Ship-Mates? The Star-Crossed Romance of Garak & BashirMatt Baume2021-07-11 | On January 11, 1993, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced the first gay power couple of the 24th century ... Garak and Bashir. One’s a dashing young doctor. The other’s a simple tailor who might also be a spy. From the very moment they met, their chemistry was delicious. And fans wondered: would these star-crossed lovers find their way into each other’s arms on screen? With Garak and Bashir, Star Trek had a golden opportunity to be the first major franchise on TV to star a same-sex couple... so what went wrong?
GARAK/BASHIR EPISODES Season 1: Past Prologue - amzn.to/3k3qO39 Season 2: Cardiassians, Profit and Loss, The Wire - amzn.to/3xxzUJt Season 3: The Search, Second Skin, Distant Voices, Improbable Cause / The Die is Cast - amzn.to/2UxCLDr Season 4: Our Man Bashir, The Quickening - amzn.to/3AJP2W5 Season 5: In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light, Doctor Bashir, I Presume, Empok Nor - amzn.to/3hPseLG Season 6: In the Pale Moon Light, A Time to Stand - amzn.to/36uSbv4 Season 7: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges, What You Leave Behind - amzn.to/2TV1BwY
Thanks to everyone who helped me with research for this one: Chris at Wishful Thinking, and Tyler Albertario.John Waters, Divine, & the Trinity of TrashMatt Baume2021-06-06 | In 1960s Baltimore, an young puppeteer named John Waters picked up a movie camera and started making amateur underground movies. After years of playing to small cafes and midnight movie theaters, the country started to take notice when he released three groundbreaking films that I call The Trinity of Trash: Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Desperate Living. How did these filthy films give rise to an iconic Disney villain, an appearance on one of the most popular family sitcoms in the country, and a musical now performed in high schools around the country? I think it comes down to how John Waters manages to harness the power of shamelessness.
Get Pink Flamingos on DVD: amzn.to/3pu6s3B Get Female Trouble on Blu-Ray and DVD: amzn.to/3vYNKnb Watch Desperate Living: amzn.to/3uVWeu6 Watch Hairspray (1988): amzn.to/3z4wgHT Watch Hairspray (2007): amzn.to/3x5Xi01 Watch the documentary Divine Trash: youtu.be/iYXMeV7XWEM Watch John on The Simpsons: amzn.to/3galFml Watch The Little Mermaid: amzn.to/2T6aoM4Rocko’s Modern Life: Cartoons Coming out of the ClosetMatt Baume2021-05-23 | At first glance, Rocko's Modern Life looks like a sweet kids’ show. A plucky little wallaby and his quirky friends get into comic mischief around their surreal suburb. But in an effort to reflect … well, modern life, the show is loaded with adult humor and double entendres you may have never noticed. But as bold as Rocko was, there were still some topics that were too hot to approach directly...and others that would take decades to come home to O-Town.
Rocko's Modern Life: amzn.to/3bOy2TD Daria: amzn.to/3wrvCCq Gargoyles: amzn.to/3vh36mS King of the Hill: amzn.to/3oSc4EN South Park: amzn.to/3yAeGLF The Simpsons: amzn.to/349lguE Sailor Moon: amzn.to/3ubfljr Steven Universe: amzn.to/3fzpKQC Mystery Incorporated: amzn.to/3oGvgF7 He-Man: amzn.to/3f9QGr6 Ratatouille: amzn.to/3bOoKHb Arthur: amzn.to/3wsIKXK Spongebob: amzn.to/3wu93Nw The Orange Years, a great documentary about Nickelodeon: amzn.to/3hHakfU Duckman, if you absolutely must: amzn.to/2RI8Wil Way overpriced DVD of Biker Mice From Mars: amzn.to/3hMMnUkThe Nanny: Fran’s Fine with GaysMatt Baume2021-05-02 | In 1993, Fran Drescher took the zany antics of Lucille Ball and the sexy vamping of Mae West, and combined them with her own original spin as a flashy girl from Flushing to create The Nanny. The character was bold and audacious and lived in a world where queer people were a part of everyday life. At a time when most other sitcoms treated gay characters and stories as an awkward crisis or an opportunity for a Very Special Episode, what was remarkable about The Nanny is how unremarkable queer characters were in the world that Drescher created.
Where to watch the TV shows in this video: The Nanny is streaming here: http://hbomax.com Or get the complete series on DVD: amzn.to/3e7N2xm Friends: amzn.to/333MUsw Frasier: amzn.to/3nM3Ihm Maude: amzn.to/2Rc2aRs The Mary Tyler Moore Show: amzn.to/3eLxTB8 Laverne & Shirley: amzn.to/3ueQb44 Happily Divorced: amzn.to/334e1DZThe Straightening of Chandler BingMatt Baume2021-04-11 | Chandler Bing: Lovable loser or gay best friend? Long before he wound up with Monica — spoiler alert — the show Friends considered making Chandler the most prominent gay character in television history. Until they decided to straighten him out.
Watch Friends online: amzn.to/323mbf7 Watch Ellen streaming: amzn.to/3wKOCN7 Watch Seinfeld streaming: amzn.to/3t6xhfe Watch The Kids in the Hall streaming: amzn.to/3fZy6mp Watch old Edward Everett Horton movies streaming: amzn.to/3g1yqkK Watch that weird SNL sketch: youtu.be/xs_T07_XVFk Watch "The Darkness": youtu.be/qtj7LDYaufM Watch my salute to Hollywood's greatest sissies: youtu.be/dTzzc_KKRBwBewitched: It was Gay All Along?Matt Baume2021-03-01 | The sitcom Bewitched is one of the queerest shows I’ve ever seen — which is a little strange, since it’s about a straight couple. Just a few years later, Soap had gay characters; Mary Hartman Mary Hartman had a gay couple; MASH had a gay coming-out episode. Bewitched never had any of that. And yet … it somehow feels more queer than any of those other shows. So, why is that? Well, that’s what I want to show you.
Watch Bewitched streaming: amzn.to/2Pisad0 My Favorite Martian streaming: amzn.to/3uDvwaD The Munsters streaming: amzn.to/3q2403d Charlotte's Web streaming: amzn.to/2NM3xoz My Mother the Car on DVD: amzn.to/2OaoXvfWas Cloris Leachman Televisions First Beard?Matt Baume2020-12-30 | Gay San Francisco in the 1970s: A disco-fueled cauldron of sex, art, power, riots, and liberation. There was the grassroots rise of Harvey Milk; the seductive music of Sylvester, Queen of Disco; the bawdy theater of the Cockettes; the invention of the Pride flag; the first Gay Liberation march. There were countless revolutionary stories being told. And there was also Phyllis. Wait, who?
Phyllis: A short-lived spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Cloris Leachman played a widow who moved from Minnesota to San Francisco to start her life anew, at the same time that a real-life queer revolution was underway in SF. And she ran right into it.
Watch this episode of Phyllis: youtube.com/watch?v=85NuWb46NEE Watch The Times of Harvey Milk: amzn.to/3htADEj Watch the gay episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Season 3, Ep 17): amzn.to/2JynEEK Watch the gay episode of The Golden Girls (Season 3, Ep 9): amzn.to/38KvJif Watch "The Beard" episode of Seinfeld (Season 6, Ep 14): amzn.to/3n0l87V Watch the documentary about The Cockettes: amzn.to/3aWfYau Stream Sylvester's breakout album Step II: amzn.to/34QZX1BThe Bob Newhart Show & the Hidden Doctor Who Cured all the GaysMatt Baume2020-11-20 | The year was 1976, and America was grappling with the fact that homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness. And who was there to explain it to them? Everyone's favorite psychiatrist, Bob Newhart -- well, not really a psychiatrist, but he played one on TV. This is the story of how three very different groups managed to convince the psychiatry profession that everything they thought was true about homosexuality was wrong; and how The Bob Newhart Show explained the issue for millions of viewers.
Weird ex-gay cures: youtu.be/onEP0r8ygAo Watch The Bob Newhart Show: http://amzn.to/38ToNB1TVs First Gay Husbands?Matt Baume2020-11-07 | Did you know there was a gay couple that decided to get married on TV in 1976? Almost no one remembers Howard and Ed on the show "Mary Hartman, Mary Harman," but they were American primetime TV's first complex, sympathetic couple, and their discussions of coming out of the closet and getting married were decades ahead of their time.
"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" is available to watch on DVD here: amzn.to/3eNrsgBRoseannes Big Gay TV KissMatt Baume2020-10-31 | Why do all these homosexuals keep kissing Roseanne? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, but there was only one thing on Roseanne’s lips in 1994 and that was Muriel Hemmingway, on one of the most controversial TV episodes of the decade. The sitcom Roseanne featured way more queer characters than other shows of the time, and was one of the gayest shows on television since the obscure '70s show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which in an unlikely twist featured one of the homosexuals who would go on to kiss Roseanne. If it wasn’t for Roseanne’s multiple makeouts, we might never have seen same-sex kisses on Dawson’s Creek, Buffy, Glee, and more... because TV executives in the 90s were convinced that a single gay kiss could destroy an entire network.
Watch episodes "Roseanne" streaming here: amzn.to/3pnRHPEDid Homosexuality Kill the Dinosaurs?Matt Baume2020-09-30 | Did homosexuality kill the dinosaurs? You might think you know the answer, but consider the perspective of the weird early 90s sitcom Dinosaurs, featuring giant Jim Henson puppets that tackled timely topics like war and drugs and racial prejudice — and yes they even had an episode with a thinly veiled metaphor for homosexuality, and parents who overcome intolerance.
Watch episodes of of "Dinosaurs" streaming here: amzn.to/38Aai4HLesbian Bride Surprise on Living SingleMatt Baume2020-09-01 | Before anyone had ever even heard of the show Friends, the Fox sitcom Living Single was all about a group of friends living together in a huge apartment in New York. It featured Queen Latifah, a lot of very '90s fashion choices, and on one episode, a surprise lesbian wedding. In contrast to same-sex-marriage episodes on other shows, Living Single's characters fully embrace their queer friends -- a shift that reflects something much bigger happening in American culture at the time.
Episodes of "Living Single" are available to stream here: amzn.to/3kg5GTKBallroom History: The 1960s, Paris is Burning, and TodayMatt Baume2020-07-28 | For over a hundred years, the ballrooms of New York have been host to extravagant, exciting, and sometimes secret queer dance parties. And by looking back at old documentaries like Paris is Burning & The Queen, and at new ones like Kiki, we can start to reconstruct the history of queer dance parties, and ask — after fifty years of ballroom, how much has changed… and how much is still the same as it was a century ago?
Kiki is available to stream here: amzn.to/32AwNCYThe Hidden History of Paris is BurningMatt Baume2020-06-30 | New York. 1987. The city is in the middle of a violent crime wave, income inequality in Manhattan is among the worst in the country, and a callous presidential administration is ignoring an epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of people. But inside the Imperial Elks Lodge on West 129th Street, a group of performers have gathered to get away from all that for just a few hours.
Last month we looked at the 1967 documentary The Queen, which captured a slice of New York drag culture right before Stonewall changed everything. Now, let’s jump ahead twenty years to Paris is Burning, the groundbreaking documentary that captured another small slice of hidden queer culture — right before everything changed once again.
Paris is Burning is streaming here: amzn.to/35mafYjThe Queen: NYC Drag Pageant Scene Before House LaBeijaMatt Baume2020-05-26 | One freezing night in 1967, drag performers from across the country gathered in a cramped theater for a pageant that would forever change the face of drag. And by a stroke of luck -- as well as some clever marketing -- a documentary crew happened to be there, and managed to capture a moment that foreshadowed the creation of New York drag houses and the ball culture that we recognize today from Paris is Burning and Drag Race.