Seinfeld—”Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” Friends— The mother of Ross’s child leaves him for a woman.
It really started in the 60s, when there were people on tv who were not openly gay, but were definitely “flamboyant.” I think of Alan Sues on Laugh-In, Charles Nelson Reilly, Paul Lynde, Jonathan Harris on “Lost In Space,” and others. In the 80s there was Jim J Bullock on “Too Close For Comfort,” and it has gone downhill from there. I’m sure that I’m missing some, but those are the ones I remember. Heck, even Gilligan may have been a little light in the loafers, as he constantly spurned Ginger’s advances. Robert Reed was a surprise.
jonathan Harris was married for 64 years and had a son. These days, though, I suppose someone with that track record could be gay.