• The Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man scored a very respectable 6.3 million viewers in its debut. That's Alan Cumming helping to build a Tin Man-inspired Habitat for Humanity house. Presumably it comes insured against tornados.

• Out actor David Hyde Pierce has re-signed for another sixth months as the lead in Broadway's musical comedy Curtains, for which he won the Tony. His stint will now run through the end of August ... I guess I shouldn't be holding my breath for a Wet Hot American Summer 2?

• John Barrowman's co-host on Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's in-the-works reality competition to find the UK's best choir will be singer and talk show host Charlotte Church.

• Some pranksters thought adding a bunch of gay jokes to Australian Idol Guy Sebastian's Wiki page was funny. How crass. See, guys, here in the States we gay-bait the hosts and judges, not the contestants. Oh, alright, we gay-bait everyone.

• "Ask a Gay Man" ... well, gay man William Sledd is getting a pilot for a Bravo series tentatively titled Hey, Bitches! Let's hope it works out better for him than it did for Perez Hilton with his Bravo pilot. Wait, did I just say that?

David Hyde Pierce, whom AfterElton.com confirmed was gay a little less than two weeks ago, won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Curtains. His win is considered an upset as the out Raul Esparza was widely named as the front runner for his role in Company. Also of note is that Pierce thanked his partner Brian Hargrove during his acceptance speech. Pierce's doing so marks his highest profile yet as an out gay man and we applaud him for doing so. Check back shortly on the main page for our complete Tony Award coverage.

EDITOR'S UPDATE: For a complete story on today's news about David Hyde Pierce visit our mainpage.

Multitalented multidisciplinarian David Hyde Pierce (best known for playing Niles on Frasier) has found success on Broadway, on television, and on the big screen -- and although his sexuality has always been an open secret within the artistic community (much like Neil Patrick Harris), he has been reticent to speak to the topic publicly -- as is his right. In fact, our own Brent Hartinger did the first interview with Pierce after Frasier debuted and was told, "Basically, I don't talk about my personal life."

That's why it's so surprising to see reference made to his "partner" made in a recent AP story on Pierce that hit CNN.com recently, among other places. The story notes:

"He worked at Playwrights Horizons, the Public Theater, Shakespeare in the Park and a lot of regional theaters such as the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Chicago's Goodman and Long Wharf in New Haven, Conn. Pierce got to Los Angeles in the early 1990s when his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove, wanted to write for television."

The mention is buried a dozen paragraphs in, so it's very easy to miss -- to be sure that the reference is accurate and was intended, AfterElton.com contacted Pierce's representation, who confirmed that Hargrove is indeed Pierce's life partner.

It's interesting that this quiet yet enormous step was taken shortly after Pierce was essentially outed by Michael Musto in his "Glass Closet" article that accompanied Out magazine's controversial "Gay Power List" piece. Is this another situation where a gay celeb was pushed out before he was ready (see also: Lance Bass, T.R. Knight, Neil Patrick Harris)?

Whatever the cause, we want to applaud Pierce for feeling comfortable enough to have his sexuality discussed in stories about him (and on a more personal note, as a fan, I'm thrilled to have him on the team!). He's currently appearing on Broadway in his Tony-nominated role in Curtains, and I'm sure he'd love to be mobbed by his gay fans at the stage door! We're also hoping to do an interview with Pierce in the very near future.

(Hattip to Wayman!)