courtesy of a friend…
short version: you might not know this, but merv griffin apparently passed away the other day. he was 82. but what’s interesting is that apparently, merv was gay. long version here.
commentary: as i read the article, i was progressively more and more enraged, esp when they touched on his ties with the reagan administration, but i remembered an exchange i had with a friend: i haven't ever had to live with a lie like that, and i was raised several decades after him so my views on these things are colossally different than him. so while i hate his silence, i don’t feel right judging him for it.
ed
silverwhisper posted on Aug 14, 2007
| views: 415
Comments
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Zayda said on Aug 14, 2007....
mr. z. mentioned griffin's passing to me the other day. i meant to post something, but it slipped my mind in the midst of everything else. -
uniquely-ironic said on Aug 14, 2007....
I had no idea he had passed away. As far as being gay, well, I'm not surprised. Whatever decisions he made in his life, they're all history now. -
moonstone said on Aug 14, 2007....
Wow, really? He was gay? Not that it matters, but he sure did keep that a secret for a long time! I had no idea, and I'm admittedly addicted to tabloid magazines. I didn't realize he'd died either. I need to start reading the news more often. Thanks for posting this. -
wombat said on Aug 14, 2007....
I had heard that he passed away, but did not know about his private life. I have never heard it mentioned. -
CreativeWoman said on Aug 14, 2007....
I am the same as wombat. I heard he passed away, but I had no idea about his private life either. I remember watching his talk show/variety show when I was young.
CW
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the_infernal_optimist said on Aug 14, 2007....
I read about his death, but I don't generally blog that type of thing, and I didn't see any mention - in the article I read - of his sexuality one way or the other.
That is infuriating (that he had the ear of the President and didn't take advantage of it when he could've possibly made a positive difference for the gay community), but at the same time, I feel bad for him to a degree...not bad enough to excuse his remaining "closeted" entirely, but I do have a certain amount of compassion there. It couldn't have been easy.
~Infernal
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Suddenrain said on Aug 14, 2007....
I don't know the whole story on his sexuality, but I believe he had the right to his privacy. If he chose not to expose his private life or orientation, that's his business. That's between him and God or whoever he chose to share it with. People seem to feel they own celebritys and their lives. They need their privacy also. They don't like their private lives on display for ridicule any more than some on SC do. See how what someone says can effect some people? Look at Evil_twin. Some people are just more private. I say...RIP Merv. -
botoni said on Aug 14, 2007....
Although I respect the right of anyone who chooses to remain closeted for whatever reasons they may have. I see in this the powerful undertow that draws someone to do the unconsciounable. I d like to believe that perhaps he had some very private and positive influence behind the scenes. There is a a cost to being out of the closet just as much as there is a cost to being in the closet. -
wombat said on Aug 14, 2007....
I think we all have our own "closets." They just have different types of doors. -
silverwhisper said on Aug 15, 2007....
super z: i was honestly surprised that you didn't, but i know how busy you've been lately.
u-i: sadly, some of his decisions continue to ripple through people's lives--read the article and you'll see why i say that.
moonstone: you're welcome. i didn't know that, either: when i mentioned it to the mrs, she looked at me and was very surprised as well. :>
wombat: yeah, apparently nobody else did, either.
CW: it was hard to grow up and not see his shows on TV. what surprises me is that it was apparently well-known in the business.
infernal: yeah, i'm kinda torn about it myself.
suddenrain: yet he wasn't particularly quiet about it--evidently, he often had pool parties with lots of beefcake. at some point, you'd think it would have become general knowledge. there was so much good he could have done...
botoni: i'd like to believe he was a quiet force beind the scenes, too, but it's likely we'll never know for certain.
ed -
Actorguy said on Aug 15, 2007....
Silver: I did not know he was gay but I'm not surprised that he stayed in the closet. A good friend of mine recently passed away. He was in his late seventies and had been in an openly gay relationship for more than 50 years. Imagine being an openly gay couple in the fifties! The stuff they went through was truly horrific....death threats....crosses burned in their lawn....and on and on for many years. He said the only thing he regrets is that his partner (who died 10 years ago) did not survive long enough for them to be legally married. He was an amazing man. -
silverwhisper said on Aug 15, 2007....
actorguy, i'm sorry to learn this about your friend and i'm sorry for your loss. for so many years, the cry was "gays are too promiscuous for marriage", and now it's "they can't be married, it'll destroy everything!" i wish those idiots would make up their damned minds.
ed -
cankwhiteboy said on Aug 15, 2007....
I forgot he was gay, but I remember something about the host of Dance Fever making a big ruckus about dating Merv or someting. -
skald said on Aug 15, 2007....
Yes this came in the Icelandic papers and TV too. Just thought you might like to know. -
rightwingwizard said on Aug 15, 2007....
There are some industries where one can be open about his sexual proclivities with his peers and associates and no one takes much notice or makes an issue out ot it. The entertainment industry is chief among them. One rarely hears of an entertainer 'outing' a gay associate. This is perhaps the only saving social grace of the industry.rww -
one_wired_kitty said on Aug 15, 2007....
I was talking with my granny about this and she mentioned that "back in her day", it just was NOT something that was discussed. -
Mamie said on Aug 15, 2007....
I heard about Merv's passing and I too had seen his talk show when I was little. I wonder if he never came out , not because of himself, but perhaps his partner asked him not to...we'll never know will we? People are so judgemental, it is ridiculous. thanks for the post, Mamie -
RELICOLONY said on Aug 15, 2007....
This ranks right behind Rock Hudson's posthumous revelation about his gay life - quite shocking to me, then just a teenager, how such a macho man on screen could be such a big flop off it.
I think that episode rocked Hollywood, to say the least!
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cotteralladams3 said on Aug 15, 2007....
Who cares? It has nothing to do with his talent and personality. People should let that sort of thing remain personal, unless they want to reveal it. -
harriedpsychmajor said on Aug 15, 2007....
I don't think the fact that he was gay should be a news item. It's irrelevant to the nature of his death, and the fact that this surfaced after his death is another petty media spectacle. Questioning a celebrity's sexuality is a great way for tabloids and bullshit peddlers to get cheaply acquired gut reactions. Leave the man alone.
Ted Turner is gay too, by the way. Few people outside of Atlanta know that.
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paulwar said on Aug 15, 2007....
merv was gay. -
mOOn_platOOn said on Aug 15, 2007....
It seems to me that if someone comes out of the closet they are taking on a political battle, kind of like announcing you're going to get an abortion. It's difficult to judge anyone who choses not to devote their life and career and family to an international political issue. Taking a generic stand on an issue "I support the right to abortion" and making yourself a part of it "I'm getting an abortion" are two different things. You don't have to be gay to support gay issues. But if you get an abortion yourself and then stand against others having the same right, that's scary. You may not have to come out on the issue at all, but to actively work against your own "kind" is diabolical. Griffith is accused of doing just that. -
silverwhisper said on Aug 15, 2007....
cwb: really? how odd!
skald: i was fairly certain it would make the news pretty much everywhere, to be honest, but thanks!
rww: fair point, sir.
1WK: that honestly surprises me--you'd think there would be scads of condemnation, wouldn't you?
mamie: he was a very powerful man. i feel that if he wanted, he could have handled things if he really wanted, to be honest.
relicolony: i remember hearing about that and not understanding the fuss at the time...
cotterall: way not to read the article.
harried: that he did nothing despite his ties to the reagan administration when AIDS was on the news every moment in the 80s to me is news. JMHO.
paulwar: thank you for re-stating the now obvious.
moon platoon: he isn't merely accused of it.
ed -
mOOn_platOOn said on Oct 14, 2009....
OHmmm. Apparently this is the first post I ever commented on that still exists. Isn't that weird?O -
silverwhisper said on Oct 16, 2009....
seriously? that really is odd!
ed
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