In the 1985-86 season of Saturday Night Live, comedian Terry Sweeney made history by becoming the first (and still the only) openly gay cast member of the landmark late-night comedy show.
But the achievement was more notable even than that: Sweeney was also the first out actor with a regular role on broadcast television ever.
And what did he get for his bravery? Despite the fact that Sweeney had performed one of SNL's bonafide break-out characters (a parody of a particularly vapid Nancy Reagan), he was unceremoniously fired, along with most of the rest of a cast that also included Robert Downey, Jr., Joan Cusack, and Randy Quaid, at the end of a season that was widely regarded as a failure.
As an out gay actor at the height of the AIDS crisis, Sweeney didn't work again for ten years.
But Sweeney was a survivor, eventually finding work as his first love,...
But the achievement was more notable even than that: Sweeney was also the first out actor with a regular role on broadcast television ever.
And what did he get for his bravery? Despite the fact that Sweeney had performed one of SNL's bonafide break-out characters (a parody of a particularly vapid Nancy Reagan), he was unceremoniously fired, along with most of the rest of a cast that also included Robert Downey, Jr., Joan Cusack, and Randy Quaid, at the end of a season that was widely regarded as a failure.
As an out gay actor at the height of the AIDS crisis, Sweeney didn't work again for ten years.
But Sweeney was a survivor, eventually finding work as his first love,...
- 1/5/2011
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
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