Arts & Entertainment
Oprah’s gayest shows
Talk show legend never shied from LGBT topics. Her last episode aired on Wednesday.
Oprah, even in her early years, never shied from LGBT topics on her eponymous show, which ended its run this week. (Photo courtesy of Harpo Productions)
Everybody knows Oprah ended her eponymous talk show this week, but one thing missed in the mainstream hoopla was how often and unabashedly she dealt with LGBT topics during her 25-year run.
Oprah and her flock have consistently denied speculation that she herself may be gay. Gay OWN talk show host Brad Lamm told the Blade in March the question has lingered so long he finds it “offensive.” Winfrey confessed frustration over the issue to Barbara Walters in a 2010 interview because its persistence, she said, implied dishonesty on her part.
A look back through the topics of the show’s 4,561 episodes reveals a bounty of LGBT guests, perhaps none more memorable than a 1987 landmark episode that found Oprah visiting Williamson, W.Va. (population: 5,600) to interview Mike Sisco, a gay man who’d contracted AIDS while living in Dallas and who’d returned home to his family in West Virginia.
Word had spread in the small town that Sisco had AIDS and hysteria ensued when he went swimming in a public swimming pool. Sisco told Oprah residents were fleeing “like people do in those science fiction movies when they see Godzilla in the street or something.” The mayor closed the pool and Sisco was ostracized.
Oprah interviews the late Mike Sisco in his hometown of Williamson, W.Va., in 1987. Sisco, who was gay and had AIDS, caused hysteria by swimming in a public pool. (Photo courtesy of Harpo Productions)
It was the height of AIDS hysteria when confusion about how the disease could be contracted was at its peak. Sisco said he agreed to do the show to help educate the public. Rumors were running rampant in the town that Sisco had been seen spitting on food at the local McDonald’s and on produce at a grocery store.
“Mike Sisco’s story is heartbreaking because it shows the reactions/actions of human beings when fear takes hold, when ignorance is abundant and when there is a mob mentality,” blogger Lola Nicole wrote. “[He] went to be with his family so they could care for him, so he could feel loved. He got exactly the opposite.”
Last September, as Oprah started her final season, she visited Sisco’s three sisters, Patricia, Tina and Anna. Sisco died in 1996 and controversy surrounded him until the bitter end — a family fight ensued about where he could be buried. In the ensuing years, his sister Anna had come out as a lesbian.
Oprah also interviewed several of the residents who’d been against Sisco’s presence in the original episode. Some said they’d wished they’d been more compassionate.
Oprah said her goal in doing both episodes was to remind people to be compassionate.
“I think that is the complete message of this whole series we did here today and 23 years ago,” she said at a press conference after the 2010 episode. “I understand people’s fear because in 1987 we still didn’t know everything and it’s understandable that people would have questions and what was represented here in Williamson really was a microcosm for the country. We used Williamson as a symbol for what was going on in the rest of the country.”
Other famous LGBT-related episodes include:
- Gay pianist Liberace made his final public appearance on the show on a Christmas Day episode in 1986. He died about six weeks later of AIDS-related complications.
- Ellen DeGeneres came out on a 1997 episode. Oprah also appeared on her sitcom as her therapist.
- A 2003 episode that had run without incident initially, was rerun in 2005 and caused a major controversy because a guest gave an explanation of rimming, albeit in a hetero context.
- A landmark 2004 episode called “A Secret Sex World: Living on the Down Low” brought the largely black phenomenon of married men having sex with men on the side to light. It became part of the national lexicon.
- Last November, singer Ricky Martin discussed being a gay father.
- In March, “Family Ties” actress Meredith Baxter discussed being a lesbian.
- A January episode was devoted to coming out.
- In May, 2008, Oprah interviewed Cher and Tina Turner at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Oprah idol Diana Ross also made a handful of appearances on the show.
- An October 2006 episode was called “Wives Confess They are Gay.”
- A March, 2009 episode was called “Women Leaving Men for Other Women.”
- The “Will & Grace” cast convened in May 2006 for a farewell episode.
- In July, 2010 former high school football quarterback Kimberly Reed discussed her late ‘90s sex change. Her documentary was shown at Reel Affirmations.
- And just weeks ago, Oprah interviewed Chaz Bono about his transition and new documentary and book.
Theater
Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre
10-day production marks kickoff of national tour
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org
The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.
“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.
Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.
Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”
Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.
He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”
Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.
RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.
BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.
MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.
That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.
BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?
MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.
BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?
MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.
I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.
BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?
MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.
BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?
MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.
Catfish Comedy will host “2026 Queer Kickoff Show” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at A League of Her Own (2319 18th Street, N.W.). This show features D.C.’s funniest LGBTQ and femme comedians. The lineup features performers who regularly take the stage at top clubs like DC Improv and Comedy Loft, with comics who tour nationally.
Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Arts & Entertainment
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71
Actress remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’
Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Home Alone,” has died at 71 on Friday, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.
O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both “The Studio” and “The Last of Us.” For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.
In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In “Schitt’s Creek,” she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.
In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”
Additional credits include “SCTV Network” (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Six Feet Under,” “Best in Show,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and “Dick Tracy.” O’Hara also lent her voice to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Chicken Little,” “Monster House,” and “Elemental.” O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of “The Studio,” which started filming earlier this month.
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