GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 5, 1997

ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

This TV coming-out was low-key, with no fanfare

by John Graves

Remember the gay colleague who had a crush on Chicago Hope's Dr. Shutt last season? Well, that gay story line didn't play out, but last month, one of the show's main characters, Dr. Hancock (Vondie Curtis-Hall), came out to Shutt as a gay man at the end of the show. Hancock's announcement lacked the fanfare of many other gay characters who have recently come out on television.

When asked by one of his peers on the show, "You know who you are, outside of being a doctor?" Hancock replied, “I'm a guy who does charity work, restores antique

Fantasy Fashions & Fetishes

Three Full

Color Catalogs!

Extensive Collection Includes:

•

Quality Lingerie ⚫ Leather

•

• Latex ⚫ Oils Games Erotic Toys

•

New Release XXX Videos at Below Market Prices.

Free Gift Wrapping at Your Request. Products discreetly shipped.

Send $4.95 (deductible from first order) to: Fantasy Fashions,

P.O. Box 19122, Cleveland, OH 44119, or order by phone 24 hours,

Local 216-461-4194 or Toll Free 1-888-216-8686 Must be 18 years of age!

cars, jogs ten miles a day, collects first editions, I'm gay."

Hancock's went on to tell his peers, "I got something else to tell you. I'm black."

The producers and writers of the show felt that his statement about sexual orientation was simply part of his character's nature development. Executive producer John Tinker said that he turned away a lot of reporters who wanted to do a story on Dr. Hancock's coming out. He felt that it was not a story, but a fact of life.

"Here's a man who happens to be gay. Here's a man who happens to be black. Here's a man who happens to be a doctor.

WEXLERS

FOOD AND SPIRITS

KIDS

WEXLERS

ALL

MAJOR CREDIT CARDS

4555 STATE ROAD

Cleveland, Ohio

ACCEPTED

398-9930

WEEKLY AND DAILY SPECIALS

CARRY OUT RESERVATIONS GIFT CERTIFICATES TAVERN & EATERY

HIV/AIDS. The mad resistance to gay and lesbian human rights. Depression, addiction, dependency.... Our fight against these forces proves our RESILIENCE. Admitting we can't do it all alone

proves our COURAGE.

Seven effective therapists to guide your journey of discovery with insight and heart.

BEGIN WITH OUR GIFT OF INSPIRATION CALL FOR A FREE PHONE CONSULTATION*

(614) 445-8277.

918 South Front St. Columbus, Ohio 43206 Fax/TTY: (614) 445-8283

A Center for

Affirmations: Psychotherapy

Individual, Couple

and

& Family Counseling

Nicholas Palumbo, ACSW, LISW

Clinical Social Worker

All rolled into one," Tinker said. "Those people exist and rather than make some story out of it, it's just the way it is, and wouldn't it be nice if we did not have to make a big deal out of it?"

Tinker said that the writers of the show have no plans to go out at this time and tell stories specifically from a gay black man's point of view.

"We won't announce it, but were not going to ignore that part of his life."

At the beginning of production for this season, the writers had discussed Hancock. He had never been on a date, and earlier in the season he turned down the advances of one of his female colleagues, Camille. Constructing Hancock as a gay character seemed like a very real and nature progression.

The show aired two weeks ago and the network has received no negative feedback. Chicago Hope has been nominated by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for its Eighth Annual Media Award for the category of Outstanding Television Drama Series.

Besides the consistently good ratings her sitcom has gotten this season, Entertainment Weekly reports that Ellen DeGeneres will soon star in an upcoming film, Goodbye, Lover. Her partner Anne Heche is at no loss for work either. Co-star of the soon-to-be released Six Days, Seven Nights Heche will also co-star in Force Majeure which began filming in November, and is the producer's choice to portray a pregnant wife in a film adaptation of the Scott Smith novel A Simple Plan.

Well, they've done it again—another lesbian kiss on Xena, Warrior Princess! In this latest storyline, the warrior princess flashed back to her ruthless past. A Chinese princess was hiding Xena from a warlord bent on killing her in a pond at her campsite. When the warlord hung around and Xena was running out of air, the Chinese princess suddenly ducked her head in the water and shared a breath of air with Xena in a long mouth-to-mouth lip lock.

People magazine reported in the Oct. 27 issue that the Motion Picture Association of America, which issues the G, R, etc. movie

ratings, consulted with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation before allowing the release of a coming-attractions "trailer" for the movie As Good as it Gets. They were concerned about Jack Nicholson's character, a homophobic New Yorker, using the word fag when introducing his gay neighbor to a friend.

GLAAD media representative Chastity Bono found the use of the word inoffensive in the context of the film, which has Nicholson's character overcoming his homophobia. The MPAA approved release of the trailer.

The same issue also included Seattle city council member and former film director Tina Podolowski, her partner Chelle Mileur and their two children in a feature story on the philanthropy of Microsoft's highest-paid employees.

The story tells how Podolowski and her partner created an organization which donates of books on gay and lesbian families to Seattle public school libraries. The group is now under fire from anti-gay groups.

NEA Today, a newspaper for members of the National Education Association, discussed several resources available to teachers to help them provide support for the lesbigay students in their classes. The information was printed to accompany an article in their October issue on high school student Jamie Nabozny, who successfully sued the Ashland, Wisconsin school system for failing to protect him from anti-gay harassment.

Illinois Rep. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., son of Rainbow Coalition leader and gay civil rights advocate Rev. Jesse Jackson, seems to be following in his father's footsteps. Rep. Jackson, in a series of guest columns in the Cleveland and Columbus African-American weekly Call and Post, thoughtfully and methodically exposes and explains the racist, homophobic and anti-feminist foundation of the Promise Keepers movement.

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, Jim McGrattan and Kim Jones also contributed to this column.

PARMA MARINE

RINKER • GLASTRON

CRESTLINER SEA NYMPH • EVINRUDE

VICKIE GOLDSMITH Sales

(216) 661-2104 (800) 886-BOAT Fax (216) 661-9455

2327 Brookpark Road Parma, Ohio 44134

Let them know...

216/331-2898

Westwood Associates

20800 Center Ridge Road #113 Rocky River, Ohio 44116

you saw 'em in the Chronicle!

Next time you call or visit a Gay People's Chronicle advertiser,

let them know where you saw their ad. Show your support for their support!