Gomer & Sgt. Carter - TV's first gay couple? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

PartyOfOne · 01-31-2012, 10:46 PM

I am 29 years old and nearly a lifetime fan of this program. I remember greatly enjoying it as a boy. Around the time I was a teenager, rumors spread that Gomer was what we would now call gay. It had never occurred to me before that. When it came out on DVD years later, it appeared there were several homoerotic moments. The one that standsout the most is the one where Gomer sends love letters to the Sgt. Carter. Obviously the producers could not make any character openly gay in the 1960s, but were the producers pushing the envelope here?

Retro4Life · 02-01-2012, 12:06 AM

With all due respect...no.

old grouch · 02-01-2012, 11:12 AM

Don't ask, don't tell???

Mr. Television · 02-01-2012, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old grouch

Don't ask, don't tell???

Lu Anne was probably shocked. lol

comedyfreak · 02-02-2012, 06:32 AM

No...They both had girlfriends and this was an innocent sitcom. You're looking way more into this than it needs.

TV_on_the_Porch · 02-02-2012, 06:41 AM

To quote that prolific troll from days of yore at Jump The Shark: wrong Gomer Pyle!

Leslie Eckhardt · 02-12-2012, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyOfOne

I am 29 years old and nearly a lifetime fan of this program. I remember greatly enjoying it as a boy. Around the time I was a teenager, rumors spread that Gomer was what we would now call gay. It had never occurred to me before that. When it came out on DVD years later, it appeared there were several homoerotic moments. The one that standsout the most is the one where Gomer sends love letters to the Sgt. Carter. Obviously the producers could not make any character openly gay in the 1960s, but were the producers pushing the envelope here?

In the far more innocent TV years of the 1960s, only one possible moment stands out in my mind that could be construed as referencing anything gay. In the 1966 pilot of the short-lived series "Occasional Wife", the protagonist's mother asks him concerning his still-unmarried status: "Are you..........eccentric?" The man replies "Of course not" and then promptly grabs his mother's purse as he rushes out of the house.

PartyOfOne · 02-22-2012, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

No...They both had girlfriends and this was an innocent sitcom. You're looking way more into this than it needs.

Yes, they had girlfriends, but they seemed happier with each other didn't they? The Sgt. was awfully sad in an episode were Pyle was transferred. Also you use the word "innocent" as if being gay is a crime of some kind.

PartyOfOne · 02-22-2012, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

Lu Anne was probably shocked. lol

I didn't get much out of the Lu Anne character. There really wasn't much chemistry there (if any, in fact). Is it just me or did Bunny look like Dusty Springfield?

PartyOfOne · 02-22-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

No...They both had girlfriends and this was an innocent sitcom. You're looking way more into this than it needs.

Also, isn't it possible that originally they were not intended to have girlfriends (they don't in the first season) and girlfriends were only forced on them by the censors?

Zoneboy · 02-22-2012, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyOfOne

Also, isn't it possible that originally they were not intended to have girlfriends (they don't in the first season) and girlfriends were only forced on them by the censors?

You could make the same argument for Roy Stuart (Corporal Boyle), did the brass at CBS find out he was really gay and brought back Ronnie Schell to take his place or was Stuart let go for other reasons?

PartyOfOne · 03-11-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

You could make the same argument for Roy Stuart (Corporal Boyle), did the brass at CBS find out he was really gay and brought back Ronnie Schell to take his place or was Stuart let go for other reasons?

I believe Roy Stuart got a movie contract around the end of the 4th season, but it is strange how Boyle simply vanishes.

jehobden · 03-12-2012, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyOfOne

I believe Roy Stuart got a movie contract around the end of the 4th season, but it is strange how Boyle simply vanishes.

Roy Stuart said in an interview once that he left the show because he had a contract to appear in movies produced by Nat Hiken, but Hiken died before he could make movies with Stuart. Stuart also said in this interview that his main claim to fame in the 70s was as the man whose feet caused his dog to faint in an Odor-Eaters commercial.

01-31-2012, 10:46 PM	#1
PartyOfOne Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 24, 2005 Posts: 162	Gomer & Sgt. Carter - TV's first gay couple? I am 29 years old and nearly a lifetime fan of this program. I remember greatly enjoying it as a boy. Around the time I was a teenager, rumors spread that Gomer was what we would now call gay. It had never occurred to me before that. When it came out on DVD years later, it appeared there were several homoerotic moments. The one that standsout the most is the one where Gomer sends love letters to the Sgt. Carter. Obviously the producers could not make any character openly gay in the 1960s, but were the producers pushing the envelope here?

02-01-2012, 12:06 AM	#2
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	With all due respect...no.
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

02-02-2012, 06:32 AM	#5
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,059	No...They both had girlfriends and this was an innocent sitcom. You're looking way more into this than it needs.
	__________________ www.facebook.com/comedyfreak

02-01-2012, 11:12 AM	#3
old grouch Member Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2010 Location: montana Posts: 1,877	Don't ask, don't tell???

02-02-2012, 06:41 AM	#6
TV_on_the_Porch anything good on? Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 879	To quote that prolific troll from days of yore at Jump The Shark: wrong Gomer Pyle!