Bonus video! Why is this '60s movie such a who's-who of who's-gay?

This sounds a lot like the infamous episode of Father Knows Best, "Betty, Girl Engineer," which similarly introduces the idea of a teenage girl doing something gender nonconforming and then ultimately contains her back into a traditionally feminine box. (I've taught the episode many times in TV history classes, and it always gets a great conversation going among the students.) That kind of disruption --> return to status quo is typical of sitcoms, so it's interesting to see it play out here in a film/play, which isn't required to return to a status quo for next week. But I've always wondered about the cultural work stories like this are doing -- while it's disappointing to see the gender roles reinforced, it might have been one of the only ways to get disruptive content/challenging ideas on broadcast TV. Sort of a Trojan horse, as it were.

The character Billy De Wolf played in the Ban roll on commercial was famous, her name was Mrs. Murgatroyd. De Wolf in drag with mustache appeared as Mrs. Murgatroyd on talk shows through out he 1960s.

Mary Wicks was the nurse in “The Man Who Came to Dinner” with Monty Wooley, Ann Sheridan, and Bette Davis.

Don't remember that one, but I found it interesting. You got us all excited about it, and then you said it's not worth watching! Ha! Maybe it would be enhanced by an edible? Which makes me think I'd love it if you were the host of a weekly Svengoolie type show, only you'd be showing these old subliminaly queer coded films. You could talk about all the queer people who made the film etc... . BTW when my husband was fresh out of the closet in the early 70's, Richard Deacon hit on him at a party. Leave my hubby alone Mel!

Wasn’t Billy DeWolfe the magician who lost his magic hat to Frosty the Snowman?

I get that it is totally irrelevant in the context of this video, but I was disappointed not to hear you mention “Quarterback Princess,” the TRUE story of a girl who plays football and starring Helen Hunt.

"Kiss me quick! *muah*"

"although being heterosexual, he was incredibly talented". hahaha I'd love that on a t-shirt

Most middle aged movie goers would probably know Mary Wicks from the Sister Act movies, that's true, but I would also think that 90s kids like me would know her voice best from the Life with Louie cartoon show (where she voiced Louie's grandma), and especially as Laverne, one of the three sentient gargoyles from 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was also her last role, with the film being released 7 months after her death. In my humble opinion, there was no better Disney movie from it's Renaissance period (from 1989-1999) than this one. The animation from that movie is truly unmatched, the themes of prejudice, looking beneath the surface, and of true strength coming from within, were all perfectly balance and continue to resonate with just as much power now as they did then. Mostly though, I think the strength of the film came from the complexity of the characters. Esmerelda, Frollo, Quasimodo - they all felt so human for an animated movie, and Mary Wicks' character I would put right up there with them. There's a particular scene, where Quasimodo has been chained up, and they gargoyles are encouraging him to break out. He's despondent though, has given up, and yells to be left alone. The gargoyles do, but before they do, Laverne says that the chains are not what is really holding him back, and while they are made of stone, they always thought that he was made of something stronger. It's been 30 years since I saw that movie in a theater, and still, that line, and Mary Wicks' delivery of it, is something that i think about anytime that I feel my back up against a wall.

Was this some kind of made for tv musical ? That could explain why so many queer coded people ended up in the cast, because queer coded characters always end up in comedies and musicals, ? Good of a reason as anything else