LGBTQ on televison in Oregon
Television in Oregon started broadcasting in 1952. “Portland’s first television station, KPTV, broadcast its first programming on September 20, 1952. KPTV, which originally broadcast on channel 27, was the world’s first commercial UHF band television station (The Oregonian, 19 September 1952).
Television, as we all know spread into homes faster than radio, and by 1971 CBS’ All in the Family made LGBT history when it introduced the first gay character in primetime in 1971, revealing that Archie Bunker's bar buddy Steve was gay in the episode, ‘Judging books by covers’. For Oregon, it was reported in the July 1972 issue of The Fountain, Page 3, that KGW was going to carry a rerun of a Perspective program which had been produced by Neil Hutchins (The Fountain editor, photographer, member of The Second Foundation) and gay folksinger Don Burton.
The following month, The Fountain reported on Page 15, July 1972. The headline read: “GAYS BIT HIT ON PRIME TIME TV.” “Since the interview was show on the 5":30 local news, this was the first time gays had spoken for themselves on prime time television.” That statement is still trying to be verified, but around this time a major television movie was shown which presented the first same-sex couple in That Certain Summer. In it, a gay male couple live in secret until one of the man’s sons discovers his father’s relationship.
Page 20, September 1972 issue of The Fountain, KING-TV Broadcast Executive Meets Gays.
It appeared that the tide was changing with regard to what was put on television. In the October 1972 issue of The Fountain, page 4 an article appeared “NETWORK TEVELVISON DRAMATIZES GAY LIFE”. And not soon after, Page 3 The Fountain, in January 1973 reported in bold letters, “GAYS ON PRIME T.V. again”
What seemed almost remarkable was what was reported on page 6 in The Fountain, February 1973 – “KGW-TV Features Gay People Week”.
Then, a major televison show Marcus Welby,MD had an episode that caught many attention; March 1973 – Page 20, 21 of The Fountain newspaper, “Marcus Welby MD – “Straightens Gays’” below is only a portion of the article. And then, “A Gay Youth in AN American Family.”
Television coverage expanded to Salem (Oregon) per an article in The Fountain dated April 1973, page 2 “Gays on Salem TV” [LEFT] and [RIGHT] Northwest Gay Review, reported in their November 1974 issue page 8 – “The Outrage” was an OUTRAGE [a portion of the article is included]
The medium of television was being used for public service announcements as well. [SEE BELOW LEFT] reported in the Northwest Gay Review, June 1975 issue page 4 – “Project Aware”. In March 1976, Northwest Gay Review page 5 – MEDIA NEWS Lesbian Program. [See BELOW RIGHT]
At KATU Channel 2 - Portland, Oregon host Jack Faust above LEFT Photo by Neil Hutchins Anne Shepard, George Amy, Jonathan Nicholas. At same time, photo to the left, Robert Dunn in leather.
Check out video from VHS around this time.
By the early 1990s, there was a local cable access show that changed the landscape such as airing the 1983 Lesbian & Gay Pride Parade per the Cascade Voice newspaper, October 1982 page 42 “GAY TV PROGRAM SCHEDULED” [SEE ABOVE RIGHT] and that was NIGHTSCENE. That is in another portion of the MEDIA tab.
There were other landmark television moments:
*1977 Norman Lear’s “All That Glitters” ran for one season, but it had 65 episodes and ran 5 nights a week.
*1986 - “The Golden Girls” first lesbian character in a sitcom.
*1991 - “Rosanne” first bi-sexual character in a sitcom.
*1997 - Ellen Degeneres comes out on TV in “Ellen”
In the December 1990 issue of Mandate was an article “The History of Gay on Television” - see below
For more history, check out these Wikipedia pages:
List of pre-Stonewall riots American television episodes with LGBT themes
List of 1970s American television episodes with LGBTQ themes