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

AE: Was the issue that you were too public on your private life?
WE: No one would ever say because that would be a lawsuit. It was all kept under the table, but through the makeup artists who worked on Days of Our Lives, I'm still in touch with a lot of the people from the show, the real reason was because I was gay.

AE: Looking back, does it feel to you like things are getting better in Hollywood?
WE: What's amazing to me is that when I was in Hollywood, I knew some of the major movie stars of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, the gay people. I knew Rock Hudson, I knew a whole bunch of others. I'd go to parties at private homes when they couldn't go anywhere. I remember Jacques Mapes and Ross Hunter, the famous movie producer. Their story was unbelievable.

They told me one night, Jacques Mapes was his boyfriend for forty-plus years. They were at a private party in Hollywood. One was Tyrone Powers' lover, and the other was Errol Flynn's lover. They were at one of those big Hollywood parties back in, I assume, the 30s or 40s, and they were the two prettiest boys in town on the arms of these celebrities, and he said, "I remember, I was at the top of the stairs, and there was Jacques. Our eyes met, and we left the party, dumped our famous boyfriends, and we've been together ever since."

Jacques Mapes was a famous set designer, he did Singing in the Rain. They were together for many years, but there was this whole subculture, a hidden culture. I used to go, and the most famous people you can imagine were there. Then I had my generation that was sort of coming out of that as the gay rights movement started in the 70s. I was terrified of it. I wouldn't be caught dead at a parade or a bar. Unfortunately, if you wanted to be with another guy, it forced you to dark places, which was the shame of it all.

Then I had to lie, and not tell the truth for so long. It did affect my career. I did lose jobs. I was a victim of homophobia and all the sadness that came with that. Then the AIDS crisis came, and God bless this community. It was one of the most, not only energizing, but mobilizing forces that brought this community together. We have to thank the lesbians so much, because they were the forefront, they took over.

Now, I look at Neil Patrick, and Lance Bass, and all these things begin to unfold. And I think, "Jeez, if only my celebrity had been during this time when I could have been more who I was instead of having to hide." It takes so much energy to lie. It was exhausting. I'm telling you, so exhausting. Everything you do, you watch everything you say, every interview. Oh, I hated it. I think about what could have been, but I'm very proud of our community and all the people who have stood up and have opened the door for what's going on now.

AE: It's all part of a process. I think every generation is a little more visible than the one before. You have to judge the person's actions according to the era in which they lived.
WE: Exactly. I know some very famous gay men who are still in the closet, and if they came out, they wouldn't work.

AE: Yeah, I think people are a little glib about, "Oh, just come out. Look, Neil Patrick Harris came out and it didn't affect his career." And that's great. I think we all acknowledge that he's changed, and is changing, everything, but it's not that simple.
WE: It's not. There was a guy I knew named Rob Eichberg. Rob started Experience Weekend and Coming Out Day. I knew Rob in grad school, and we were very close for a while. Then Rob started Experience Weekend, and he was like, "You've got to come." And I said, "Rob, I can't let people know who I am!"

Then he started outing people. He was one of the first people to start outing everybody. I was furious, and I said, "How dare you do you this to people!" And he said, "No. Everybody needs to see that there are gay people around, that they know gay people." And I said, "You have no idea what you're doing. These poor guys that have spent their lives in hiding to get to this point where they have some success and they're earning a living, and gone through all these obstacles, and in one statement, you're jeopardizing their ability to ever work again. If you out a plumber, he can move to another city and fix pipes. If you're a public figure and you out them..." And he looked at me and said, "You're right. I won't do it again."

AE: I hear you had a cameo in the new Land of the Lost movie that got cut.
WE: We did. We did a cameo with Will [Ferrell] at La Brea Tar Pits, Kathy [Coleman], who played Holly, and I.

Danny McBride, Will Ferrell and Anna Friel take over the roles of
Will, Rick and Holly in the movie remake of Land of the Lost

AE: Why was it cut?
WE: They changed the entire ending. They spent weeks and weeks and millions of dollars filming at the La Brea Tar Pits, then they cut it all. It just wasn't working. They cut all of that. I was part of the ending. Then they reshot a scene with Matt Lauer, which is great. That scene is really funny. Matt Lauer is just terrific in this movie.