Jodie

Back when Ellen Degeneres's character on her sitcom came out, the character was regularly referred to as prime time's "first openly gay character." I thought I was the only one who remembered Jodie Dallas, Billy Crystal's character on Soap.

When fans greet Billy Crystal at the Broadhurst's stage door, they're as likely to dish about his old sitcom as they are "700 Sundays."

"I get a lot of men who are now 40, but were 12 or 13 at the time and who found a positive role model in Jodie on 'Soap,'" Crystal said at the GLAAD Media Awards in the Marriott Marquis, where he was a top honoree.

Crystal rose to fame in the 1977-81 comedy playing Jodie Dallas, TV's first openly gay character.

At the time, gay groups accused him of promoting stereotypes, while religious zealots slammed ABC for airing the show at all. The hullabaloo died down after Crystal's character won the audience over.
When fans greet Billy Crystal at the Broadhurst's stage door, they're as likely to dish about his old sitcom as they are "700 Sundays."

It's stunning how stagnant/backwards the Reagan years were, and how we were once again "shocked," years later, by a gay character on the tube.