Robert Reed, aka Mike Brady, was gay. So was Rock Hudson. And so are Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, who all kept the fact that they were homosexual for years. No one knew that Reed or Hudson, who both played straight in their respective acting careers, were gay until it, er, came out that they were suffering from AIDS (Hudson died in 1985 from AIDS complications; Reed died of colon and bladder cancer in 1992, but also suffered from AIDS). Etheridge, DeGeneres and O’Donnell each announced their homosexuality well into their established careers.

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Tiffany_Elle/2010/06/03/shhh_hollywoods_best_kept_secrets

Robert Reed, aka Mike Brady, was gay. So was Rock Hudson. And so are Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, who all kept the fact that they were homosexual for years. No one knew that Reed or Hudson, who both played straight in their respective acting careers, were gay until it, er, came out that they were suffering from AIDS (Hudson died in 1985 from AIDS complications; Reed died of colon and bladder cancer in 1992, but also suffered from AIDS). Etheridge, DeGeneres and O’Donnell each announced their homosexuality well into their established careers.

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Tiffany_Elle/2010/06/03/shhh_hollywoods_best_kept_secrets

I'll certainly agree with that. I had no idea until it was announced he had AIDS, but then, I didn't realize that he had walked out on the last episode either.