You can always distinguish between gay and heterosexual Boomer boys by asking: Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie?Jeannie (1965-70) offered the sexist fantasy of a man whose semi-nude, subservient genie called him "Master," while Bewitched (1964-72) offered. . .well, witches. Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) has married the mortal Darren (Dick York, left, followed by Dick Sargent), who forbids her to use witchcraft -- but she apparently finds suburban housework infinitely more satisfying.
Or at least that's what she claims to the endless array of relatives who pop in to announce that they've just been to a fabulous party in the South of France or to the ostrich races with the Maharaja of Eyesore.
"I've got a secret" plotlines in the 1960s could always be read as metaphors for the gay experience -- especially when the secret involved so much fabulousness -- and the message, in spite of Darren's sputtering about not using witchcraft, was "be true to yourself. . .accept who you are" -- but there was more for gay kids in Bewitched. A lot more.
2. The disdain with which the witch community approached Sam's "unnatural" love for a mortal can be seen as a metaphor for 1960s race relations -- miscegenation laws were still being enforced in some states until 1967 -- but also for a same-sex relationship.
3. There was a never-ending parade of teen idols, including Bill Mumy, Craig Hundley, and Boyce and Hart.
5. Several actors were themselves gay, including Maurice Evans, Paul Lynde, and Diana Murphy (half of the twins who played daughter Tabitha). And others were gay allies.
(See Dick Sargent, Cary Grant, and Groucho Marx in the Same Bed; Maurice Evans Hooks up with Walt Whitman
Bewitched was the inspiration for many "I've got a secret" series infused with gay symbolism, such as Out of this World and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
As you probably already know, Agnes Moorehead was always rumored to be gay. When asked about the topic, she never confirmed the rumors, but also never denied them. The information was quietly "scrubbed" from her Wikipedia page a couple of weeks ago, but there were apparently several authors who questioned her about it.
ReplyDeleteWhen Elizabeth Montgomery joined Dick Sargent for that Gay Pride Parade in 1992, she was asked by the press, why she was there. Without missing a beat, she responded "For the love of Dick". Wonderful, funny woman.
ReplyDeleteWitchcraft seems to have always been a metaphor for gay- if you look at "Bell Book and Candle" the obvious inspiration for "Bewitched"- the witches in that film lived in Greenwich Village, had stores that sold "exotic" merchandise. The film ends up with the "witch" loosing her powers in order to get married- in other words you better hide your true self in you want to fit into 1950s suburbia.
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