Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to May 4, 1976. It starred Robert Young as the title character, a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, who made house calls and was on a first-name basis with many of his patients; James Brolin as his partner Steven Kiley, a younger doctor; and Elena Verdugo as Consuelo Lopez, Welby and Kiley's dedicated and caring nurse/office manager.
Barbara Gittings was a prominent American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine The Ladder from 1963 to 1966, and worked closely with Frank Kameny in the 1960s on the first picket lines that brought attention to the ban on employment of gay people by the largest employer in the US at that time: the United States government. Her early experiences with trying to learn more about lesbianism fueled her lifetime work with libraries. In the 1970s, Gittings was most involved in the American Library Association, especially its gay caucus, the first such in a professional organization, in order to promote positive literature about homosexuality in libraries. She was a part of the movement to get the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality as a mental illness in 1972. Her self-described life mission was to tear away the "shroud of invisibility" related to homosexuality, which had theretofore been associated with crime and mental illness.
That Certain Summer is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was considered the first sympathetic depiction of gay people on American television. Produced by Universal Television, it was broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 1, 1972, and received a number of television awards and nominations. The movie was also recognized as being the first network drama to depict a stable, same-sex couple; the first to depict a gay parent; and the first gay themed show to win an Emmy, with Scott Jacoby winning for his performance. A novelization of the film written by Burton Wohl was published by Bantam Books.
"The Homosexuals" is a 1967 episode of the documentary television series CBS Reports. The hour-long broadcast featured a discussion of a number of topics related to homosexuality and homosexuals. Mike Wallace anchored the episode, which aired on March 7, 1967. Although this was the first network documentary dealing with the topic of homosexuality, it was not the first televised in the United States. That was The Rejected, produced and aired in 1961 on KQED, a public television station in San Francisco.
The Rejected is a made-for-television documentary film about homosexuality, produced for KQED in San Francisco by John W. Reavis. Notable as the first documentary program on homosexuality broadcast on American television, KQED first aired the film on September 11, 1961. Later syndicated to National Educational Television (NET) stations across the United States, it received positive critical reviews.
A zap is a form of political direct action that came into use in the 1970s in the United States. Popularized by the early gay liberation group Gay Activists Alliance, a zap was a raucous public demonstration designed to embarrass a public figure or celebrity while calling the attention of both gays and straights to issues of gay rights.
"The Outrage" is a 1974 episode of Marcus Welby, M.D., a long-running American medical drama on ABC. The episode tells the story of a teenage boy who is raped by his male teacher. The episode, which originally aired October 8, 1974, sparked controversy and anger for its equation of homosexuality to pedophilia. "The Outrage" was targeted for protests by LGBT rights groups and several network affiliates refused to broadcast it.
"After It Happened" is a 1988 episode of the NBC television series Midnight Caller. The controversial episode tells the story of a bisexual man who is deliberately infecting people with HIV, including series lead character Jack Killian's ex-girlfriend. Activists for HIV/AIDS awareness and LGBT rights disrupted filming, citing concerns over the negative portrayal of bisexual and HIV-positive people and fears that the show would make people with AIDS the targets of violence. Series executives made some changes to the script in response to these concerns, but activists were still displeased.
"Flowers of Evil" is a 1974 episode of the American police procedural television series Police Woman. The episode features Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson going undercover at a nursing home to investigate a murder. She uncovers a trio of lesbians who are robbing and murdering their elderly residents. The episode, the eighth of the first season, originally aired on November 8, 1974.
"He's a Crowd" is a 1991 episode of the American legal drama L.A. Law. In it, attorney Michael Kuzak defends a man with multiple personalities accused of murder, attorney Rosalind Shays helps her lover Leland McKenzie help a client, attorney Arnie Becker's divorce proceeds and attorneys Abby Perkins and C.J. Lamb work together to raise Abby's profile at the firm and find themselves sharing an intimate moment. It is the 12th episode of season 5 and was written by David E. Kelley.
Jodie Dallas is a fictional character from the 1977 American sitcom Soap. He was played by Billy Crystal. The son of central character Mary Campbell, Jodie works as a television commercial director. Jodie was among the first gay characters on American television. Despite being gay, Jodie fathered a child through a one-night stand, and many of his storylines throughout the series centered on his involvement with women. Jodie had relationships with two other women but maintained throughout the series that he was still gay. The series ended with Jodie, as the result of hypnotherapy, believing he was an elderly Jewish man.
"The Boys in the Bar" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American situation comedy television series Cheers. It originally aired on January 27, 1983, on NBC in the continental U.S.) and on February 10, 1983 in Alaska. It is co-written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs and directed by James Burrows. This episode's narrative deals with homosexuality, coming out, and homophobia. It was inspired by the coming out story of former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player, Glenn Burke. In this episode, Sam's former teammate, Tom—portrayed by Alan Autry—reveals his homosexuality and Sam slowly becomes supportive of him. The bar's regular customers express their disdain toward Sam's support and fear that because of Sam's support of Tom, the bar will become a place full of homosexuals. The episode's Nielsen ratings at its initial airing were low but improved after subsequent airings on NBC. This episode has received more attention since.
Lesbian Feminist Liberation was a lesbian rights advocacy organization in New York City formed in 1972.
In the 1990s, more LGBTQ characters began to be depicted in animated series than in any of the years before. The depiction of LGBTQ characters changed significantly compared to previous decades. Some of the most prominent Western animated series during this decade which featured LGBTQ characters were South Park, King of the Hill, Futurama, and The Ambiguously Gay Duo. The representation in 1990s series would also influence series in the 2000s.
A Question of Love is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film directed by Jerry Thorpe and written by William Blinn. The movie is based on a true legal case in which a lesbian mother fought for custody of her children against her ex-husband who claimed her lifestyle was immoral. The film stars Gena Rowlands and Jane Alexander as the lesbian couple, Clu Gulager as the ex-husband, with Ned Beatty and Bonnie Bedelia as the custody lawyers. It premiered on November 26, 1978, on ABC, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Film.
