Ask the AfterElton Flying Monkey! (June 10, 2008)

Q: When I was a teenager, there weren't very many gay men or women allowed on TV. An exception was Alan Sues, a flamboyant and sometimes funny comedian who shared the screen with Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in the late 1960s. Lily has, of course, come out since then, but what about Alan? – Art, Clovis, CA

Alan Sues

A: In the late 60s and 70s, there was a curious phenomenon on television of very effeminate, stereotypically gay-seeming men who camped it up mightily, often spouting thinly-veiled gay double-entendres, but who never openly discussed their sexuality. Players in this game included Paul Lynde, Rip Taylor, Charles Nelson Reilly, and, yes, Laugh-In’s Alan Sues, who was on the show from the second season through the sixth one.

As sensibilities changed and more people realized that gay people don’t literally have horns and a pointed tail, most people simply assumed these men to be gay. As a result, most of these folks never felt the need to come out, or did so at a very late date. Charles Nelson Reilly, for example, didn’t officially come out until his 2001 stage show Save it for the Stage.

Rip Taylor (left) & Charles Nelson Reilly

And despite their flamboyant on-stage personalities, these men came of age at a very different time and held different attitudes about being publicly gay. For example, when AfterElton.com contacted Charles Nelson Reilly’s friend Rip Taylor after Reilly’s death last year and we referred to them both as gay men, we got this somewhat bizarre response from Taylor:

Rip Taylor: You don't know me to summarize that I am openly gay. I don't know that you're not an openly heroin user. You see how that works? Think before you write. You can't help what you think, but you know nothing. Your assumptions are totally wrong. Except maybe what I heard about you... Ponder on that.

The point is, the Monkey can’t pinpoint an interview or moment when Alan publicly came out, just that books and articles have been referring to him as a “gay comedian” for years. But as Rip Taylor says, maybe our assumptions are totally wrong.

Q: I discovered Los Jornaleros (The Day Laborers) on Logo (AfterElton.com's parent company) one morning and, during the movie, discovered an actor named Cameron Graham. Such a natural, calm, quiet actor -- and so handsome -- of course I went right to IMDb and discovered that I had missed him on the first 2 seasons of Paradise Falls. Luckily, I have here! TV On Demand, so I'm catching up with the series -- and, once again, in all the over-the-top craziness that is Paradise Falls, he's a calm, quiet, natural presence. IMDb doesn't much information about him; can you tell me more, Monkey? -- DG, Chicago

Cameron Graham

A: “I began my career as a regular on the Canadian TV series Degrassi High,” Cameron tells the Flying Monkey, referring to a stint on that show back in 1991. “Since then I have worked on many television and film projects in Canada and the United States as well as several stage productions.” Sure enough, he’s had guest spots on shows like JAG, Relic Hunter, Goosebumps, and Animorphs.

Cameron tells the Monkey he’s often been told he looks like a young Martin Sheen, and once starred in a remake of an episode of The Outer Limits, “Valentine,” in a role that was originally played by Sheen.

Cameron currently lives in Toronto, where he grew up, and Los Angeles, traveling back and forth between the cities for acting work.

As for Paradise Falls, “It’s been a wonderful project to work on,” Cameron says. “We started it seven years ago and have done 104 episodes over that time. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with a great bunch of people on a very fun project. The fact that we shoot a majority of the project at a vacation resort in picturesque Northern Ontario makes the whole thing seem like a vacation rather than work.”

Next page! Gay theater both good and bad!