Rosie O'Donnell warned Ellen DeGeneres
not to come out gay on her ABC comedy Ellen.
That's just one of the fascinating
facts about LGBT television included in a provocative program titled
I Want My Gay
TV: The LGBT History of Television airing Sunday on SIRIUS XM
radio.
“I remember when Ellen called me and
said she was going to come out on her ABC show,” O'Donnell, who is
openly lesbian, said. “I said to her, 'You're nuts. You're going
to ruin your career.'”
The 1997 coming out of Ellen Morgan on
the ABC comedy series Ellen is just one of the milestones
discussed in the must-hear documentary.
But don't fret if you don't have access
to SIRIUS XM, because much of the program's content has been added to
a just-launched interactive web feature by the Paley Center for the
Media.
The featured titled I
Want My Gay TV! combines exclusive video clips with audio
excerpts from the radio program. Content from six of the
documentary's twelve segments are available at the website.
Among those speaking on the evolution
of gay characters on television are comedienne-talk show host Rosie
O'Donnell, writer Bruce Vilanch, actor Dan Butler, actress Lucy
Lawless, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and
supermodel RuPaul.
I Want My Gay TV: The LGBT History
of Television airs Sunday from 6-9PM ET on OutQ, SIRIUS channel
109/XM channel 98.