EXCLUSIVE! Wesley Eure of TV's "Land of the Lost" Comes Out

The story of Eure’s life – being cast to replace David Cassidy on The Partridge Family right before the show was canceled, for example – has always been interesting. But now that he’s opening up about being gay, his story also includes the stuff of even the richest of memoirs: his 70s love affair with Richard Chamberlain, his behind-the-scenes firing from Days of Our Lives, his relationship with some of the most famous closeted gay men in the Hollywood, and his touching thoughts on being a closeted teen heartthrob.

There’s even a “gay” story behind the gold chain he wore under his attractively unbuttoned shirt on Land of the Lost!

Eure attending the Land of the Lost movie premiere (May 30th, 2009)

Photo credit: Valerie Macon/Getty Images

AfterElton.com: I'm sure you hear this all the time, but a lot of the guys in our office had crushes on you!
Wesley Eure: [laughs] Thank you.

AE: As we understand it, this is the first time you've ever spoken to the press about being gay.
WE: Yeah, absolutely. I live my life very open. All my life, even when I was on Days of Our Lives and stuff, I had a fairly famous lover, and I never made it a secret. I never talked about it because it never seemed important.

Then during the AIDS crisis, I lost most of my friends. One of my best friends in New York was one of the first to pass away. We took care of John for a year, a bunch of us friends took turns. People thought I was crazy, and John said, "Aren't you afraid?" And I said, "John, if I'm going to die by taking care of you, it would be my honor." So when he passed away, I was holding him.

Afterwards, I said the thing I can do is honor my friends and my community, so I've been raising money ever since. We do a huge event, LalaPOOLooza, you can go online and check out the videos on YouTube. It's outrageous. Eighty-five performers, synchronized swim teams, Greg Louganis came this year, Bruce Vilanch, both mayors of Palm Springs the last few years have been there, we had Ann Walker from Sordid Lives, Kaye Ballard. It's just a lot of fun.

AE: Were you ever in the gossip rags in the 70s?
WE: Oh, yeah.

AE: With insinuations?
WE: They were pretty good about that. I remember there was a book on gay men in Hollywood back in the 70s, and my name was listed.

AE: I'm sure that must have been terrifying.
WE: It was. Richard Chamberlain and I were boyfriends for a year, before he met Martin [Rabbett, his long-term partner]. We lived together, he was at my place. We broke up. He met Martin, who he's with now for all these years. He's talked about it, or else I wouldn't. It's great for him. It broke my heart. I was destroyed. I was a kid, and he was a much older guy.

I remember, they were going to out him. I was starring in a play, and somebody said, "There's a magazine guy who wants to talk to you." And I said, "Great. Bring him to the dressing room after the show." It was this smarmy looking guy and a friend of his, they come in and he says, "What do you know about Richard Chamberlain being gay?" It took the wind out of me, and I was like, "What are you talking about?" And he goes, "Well, he came out in a Paris magazine."

And I said, "Well, if Richard is gay, then I wish him a great deal of happiness." And he said, "Well, we heard you were very close to Richard." So I said, "Richard and I are very good friends and I wish him a lot of luck, and my God, if he is and he's talking about it, that's terrific." I wouldn't answer their questions. I remember when they left my heart was beating so fast and I was terrified.

The next week, it was all over the tabloids. The Enquirer, The Globe, everyone's cover was Richard. I called a friend of mine who worked with the National Enquirer, I was panicked, "Please, what can I do? Am I going to get outed?" It was like the end of my life, I thought. He said, "I'll make some calls," and he squelched it. I remember that weekend, when the gossip papers came out in the grocery stores, I went to the store in Florida and I was shaking, and I grabbed one, and sure enough, on every couple was, "Richard Chamberlain is gay." I bought all three of them and read through the articles and didn't see my name, but I was shaking.

It was that kind of fear. It's immobilizing. It was a horrible experience, and I'm certainly very, very proud of Richard with his book and what he wrote, and he's had a great life with Martin, and he's a terrific guy, an amazing man. But that's the kind of fear that existed, and still exists today. As much as we can come out, as much as we say it's okay. Neil Patrick Harris came out and it didn't hurt him, but that was a choice he made.

AE: Exactly.
WE: It should be a choice. It should not be forced on anybody. It's like being a doctor and getting your license and all going through all the finances, and then somebody going, "Nope, I don't think you should have license, give it back." It's exactly that feeling.