Wanna give a big shout out to all the closeted LGBTQ+ people this pride.. You’re valid and we all love and support you.. You’re gonna make it through this. You’re gonna figure everything out. You’re gonna get out of your bad situation. And i’m so proud of you! You are strong! And beautiful! And JUST AS V A L I D! ! ! ! Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise ❤
Actor Dick Sargent appeared on the 1970s game show “Tattle Tales” with comedian Fanny Flagg as his partner. The show quizzed celebrity couples about secrets in their relationship. But both Sargent and Flagg had secrets they wouldn’t have never revealed on the program - they were both gay.
Sargent is best known as “The Second Darrin” in the sitcom “Bewitched”, replacing Dick York at the start of the 6th season (1969). York needed to leave the show due to severe back problems.
Personally I preferred Sargent over York as Darrin. York was too crabby. While I think Sargent and co-Star Elizabeth Montgomery showed more affection to each other.
Oddly enough “Bewitched” echoed the plight of gays and lesbians who had to hide their true selves to better fit into society. And the show was no stranger to gay actors - there was campy Uncle Arthur played by Paul Lynde and even Maurice Evans, who played Samantha’s father, was been rumored to be gay.
Sargent continued to act on television after “Bewitched” ended with 50+ film and TV credits through 1993. He also developed a 5 year relationship with producer Albert Williams.
In 1989, Sargent was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and initially the prognosis was good. But later his health began to deteriorate. He knew some might think he was suffering from AIDS, so in 1991 he decided to publicly reveal he was gay on National Coming Out Day. He said he was also motivated to help present a positive role model to young gay men who struggle with their sexuality.
The next year he and close friend Elizabeth Montgomery were asked to be Grand Marshals of the Los Angeles Gay Pride parade.
Sargent succumbed to cancer in July 1994, at age 64. He was survived by his partner Williams.
Will Geer, who would become best known as Grandpa in the TV show “The Walton”, was a political activist as a young man.
In the 1930s and 1940s Geer was actively involved helping to organize social protest and union organizing in New York and California. During this period he became friends with folk singers Woody Guthrie and Will Seeger (both of whom would later entertain and inspire millions with the American Western Folk music.
In 1934 he met and married Herta Ware, an actress and political activist. There were married for 20 years and had two daughters.
Geer also met actor Harry Hay and the two became lovers. Hay credits Geer for inspiring his own activism - gay right. Gay would go on to help organized Mattachine Society, Gay Liberation Front, and Radical Fairies. Geer was involved with Hay during his marriage with Ware.
Due to his political activism and membership in the Communist Party, Geer was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. He refused to “name names” of other members and was Blacklisted. Lack of work afterwards as other pressures drove Geer and Ware to divorces by 1954.
Creatively, the 1950s were a drought creatively for Geer, but as the McCarthy era ended, he was cast by director Otto Preminger in the 1962 film “Advise and Consent”. This led to more and more roles, His working drought over, Geer began appearing in more films and television.
(My personal favorite is the thriller “Seconds” from 1966 where Geer plays the mysterious leader of a company that forces men to be “reborn” and discard their original identities. The films starts Rock a Hudson.)
By 1972, Geer was cast in the television series “The Waltons” about an American family struggling during the depression but their love of each other hold them together. The series was enormously popular.
As others have pointed out, Geer was gay, a commie, and America’s Grandpa.
Will Geer fell in 1978 with respiratory issues. He died at home surrounded by family and friends who sang to him - Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”
NOTE: Apparently there is some discussion whether Will Geer was bisexual. The only source supporting this was by Harry Hay 12 years after Geer’s death. Since Hollywood was extremely closeted during Geer’s life, and because I thought Hay’s had many gay rights accomplishments of his own, what would he gain by lying about Geer.
I came across a post that stated actress Corby was a lesbian. Corby was best known for playing Grandma Walton, first in the TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), and for 6 seasons of the TV series… plus various followup TV movies. A real life stroke could keep her down - after she recovered she was back on the show.
I was curious, so I decided to do a little research on the web. My first source was Wikipedia. While not necessarily accurate on all topics, it usual sites source if something was published in an article, book, or public statement. But I didn’t find anything about Corby being a lesbian.
A vague reference came in a paragraph about Corby’s marriage in 1934 to Francis Corby, a film director. He was 20 years older than her and they divorced in 1944 without having children. Curiously it add “In 1954, Corby met Stella Luchetta”. The source is from the LA Times that provides the added detail, “She is survived by her friend of 45 years, Stella Luchetta.”
“Survived by” comments are usually reserved for relatives and in Hollywood “friend” can be code for partner or lover.
I searched further. A couple blogs mentioned Corby swore like a sailor and smoked off camera. Most made said she and Luchetta were lovers. Some added Corby’s last words were “love you” to Luchetta. No references, no news article, no biography.
One blog allowed readers comments and many were incredible homophobic.
“I feel like my childhood has been a big ole lie”
“She was a clean decent woman NOT a Fag!”
“They were Not Queers. None of them! They were the decent people you saw on screen.”
So here are the “facts” as I’ve been able to find them:
Corby married an older man in 1934 and divorced him in 1944. (One source said they separated shortly after the marriage but waited to divorce.)
She met Stella Luchetta in 1954. But most accounts they soon moved in together as “friends”.
Corby suffered a stroke in 1976.
At this point Luchetta was referenced as a “caregiver”.
That’s not much to go on. Nearly all gay actors of her generation couldn’t come out due to the homophobia and impact on their careers. Those that did, didn’t come out until their senior years. So it’s no surprise that if Corby was a lesbian, she would have stayed in the closet.
My personal opinion is that yes, Ellen Corby was probably a lesbian. Unlike her homophobic “fans” I hope that Ellen found love with Stella.
I get so tired of hiding who I love. Every day, I want to just scream it from the rooftops and love who I love, outloud. I want to post pics of my BF and me like it’s common knowledge and no big deal. Our polycule’s 6 year anniversary is coming up, and I want to show off cutesy pics of the 4 of us and tell our story.
I want to not give a shit about what people think, the judgement we would inevitably get, or the friends I’d probably lose (but were they real friends anyway if they don’t love me for who I am?).
While not out to most friends and family, we don’t hide it in the general public. I always hope that someone runs into us somewhere and the cat is out of the bag. I want to say, “yep, THISISUS, we’re all happier than a fat kid with cake, and we’re no different than yesterday when you didn’t know we were romantically involved.” It seems so unnatural and weird to love someone so much but just “be friends” in so many settings and to so many people.
