MAY 16, 1997 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 23

ON THE AIROFF THE PRESS

Is another character and actor coming out on Ellen?

by John Graves

By now you should know that Ellen DeGeneres' new partner is actress Anne Heche, currently co-starring in Volcano. Heche actually came out in the May 5 edition of People magazine, in an article about the lovers and the famous coming out episode of Ellen.

The article also reveals that Heche's father, a fundamentalist Baptist church musician, was revealed to be gay after he died of AIDS complications when Heche was 14 years old. There has been so much media coverage of DeGeneres and Heche and the Ellen show I cannot reprise it all here.

USA Today was notable for several multipage articles, and not so notable for its "Who cares?" editorial. Although most reports say Heche has only played heterosexual roles, readers of this column might remember that I noted her memorable portrayal of a lesbian in the film Wild Side, which has been airing on cable this past year. If you haven't seen Wild Side yet, catch it the next time it airs or pick it up on video.

DeGeneres and Heche made quite a splash being quite open about their love when they were invited to attend the White House Correspondents Association dinner recently. The pair caressed and kissed each other even as they were being interviewed by the press at the dinner party, attended by President Clinton. USA Today said that, "They petted and mugged. They stroked and cuddled. They clutched hands and never let go."

By the way, I hope you all enjoyed the Ellen coming out show as much as I did. I laughed and I cried as I began re-live some of my own life experiences as Ellen acted them out. As I watched, it seemed to me that DeGeneres was also re-living her own life experience. Although I admire DeGeneres' courage in coming out, I am more in awe of her brilliance in letting us all experience her real-life coming out process through her art. DeGeneres has a unique ability to get the audience to really feel her emotions while lifting their hearts with laughter. I thought this show was DeGeneres and television at their best.

The Nielsen ratings, despite predictions to the contrary from the homophobic right, said the rest of America may feel the same way. The coming out episode of Ellen was the number-one rated show of the week with a 23.4 share which translates to 22.7 million homes or about 42 million people. Thank you Ellen DeGeneres, may your love and your life be blessed.

If you were able to stay up late you may have seen the famous lesbian couple on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and, if you really stayed up late, you might have caught co-star Clea Lewis on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I almost fell over when Lewis, who plays ditzy Audrey on Ellen, walked on stage wearing a black shirt emblazoned with a huge pink triangle. It seemed as if Lewis was going to say something about herself, but

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O'Brien kept interrupting her and focused solely on other topics rather than on Lewis' personal life. The next morning, as expected, I got a call from GayWaves correspondent Kim Jones, who wanted to discuss the nowfamous episode and the talk shows and interviews that accompanied it.

Kim, who had not seen the Conan O'Brien show, asked me if I, like her, had picked up any special "gay vibes" on the Ellen show when Audrey jumped up and hugged Ellen to offer her congratulations for coming out. I said yes I had, and told her about Lewis' appearance on the O'Brien show. Both of us went hmmmm. Is this a sign of another character or actor on Ellen is coming out?

On the second show, when Ellen Morgan comes out to her parents, Audrey at one point exclaims, "Am I the only one who reads the Lesbian News?" Stay tuned!

Don't forget, Ellen is still considered "on the bubble" of shows that may get cancelled. Write to the network and show your support. Urge ABC to renew the show for next season and ask them to let the lesbian and gay characters develop fully and naturally. Write to Jamie Tarses, President, ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Century City California, 90067.

Sadly, TV Guide reports that actor Chis Bruno, who portrays openly gay schoolteacher Michael Delaney on All My Children, has decided not to renew his contract and is leaving the show.

"I feel commitment to this character, but I'm also restless," Bruno said.

All is not lost, however, as Bruno went on to say, "I've agreed to return on a recurring basis-Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever the writers need me for. I'll carry this torch for ten more years if they want. But I need to move forward in my career."

"When Michael came out, there was a lot of viewer outrage," said Francesca James, the show's executive producer. "So when we gave him a love interest, we thought they'd really go nuts-but they didn't. From that standpoint this is a victory."

Bruno said the most gratifying response "has come from 16-year-old gay kids saying, 'Thanks to Michael, I don't feel so alone. I now have a strong, positive role model.'

Asked if would have agreed to a kiss scene, Bruno replied, "In all honesty, I don't know. It's something I'm not comfortable with--but then, anything in my life that's been good for me e happened because I stepped out of that comfort zone." Bruno's next role is also gay-a bisexual comedy film called My Boyfriend's Girlfriend.

I tried to monitor all of the major newspapers while I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C. recently. Lesbigay issues are a hot topic there right now, especially since the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, N.C.) commission cut all arts funding because of "perverted" art-specifically a production of Angels in America.

I was pleasantly surprised to find objective reporting and supportive editorials and

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letters to the editors in all of the papers I monitored. In fact, the Myrtle Beach Sun News said that a proposed city ordinance there banning employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was obviously needed simply because some of the commissioners and county officials were opposed to homosexuality. The editorial concluded, "While many residents, local government workers and managers--as well as City Council members-may oppose homosexuality, such an orientation cannot be the basis for not hiring or promoting someone.”

Finally, it's gratifying to see lesbian and gay parents and families beginning to emerge

on television. We all saw the birth of a new child to lesbian parents on NBC's Friends, now, Mad About You parents-to-be Jamie and Paul have asked Paul's lesbian sister Debbie and her lover to be listed as guardians for their child. Meanwhile, over on ABC's NYPD Blue, lesbian police officer Abby and her lover Kathy want to have a child, so they've asked Detective Medavoy to be a sperm donor, and he's accepted.

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, a lesbian-gay public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Fridays at 7 pm. Dave Haskell and Jim McGrattan also contributed to this column.

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