That time Bob Newhart featured a gay storyline on his hit sitcom (in 1976!)—& taught America how to be an ally
The Bob Newhart Show, which ran on CBS from 1972 to 1978, and Newhart, from 1982 to 1990.The former, in particular, has been lauded for the ways it subtly threaded socially conscious messaging into a mainstream sitcom.
It followed Newhart’s Dr. Bob Hartley, a Chicago-based psychologist whose relationships with his friends and patients provided endless laughs.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.The Bob Newhart Show‘s loose case-of-the-week format also opened the door to all kinds of different perspectives—most notably in 1976’s Season 5 episode, “Some Of My Best Friends Are…,” which was a groundbreaking moment for gay representation on television.Taking its name from an underrated 1971 indie LGBTQ+ film—which we’ve previously covered on this very site!—the episode finds one of Bob Hartley’s regular patients, Mr.
Plager (Howard Hesseman), opening up about relationship trouble, and revealing that he’s gay in the process.1971’s ‘Some Of My Best Friends Are…’ taps into the magic of the holidays—and the magic of our community’s bars and safe spaces.Now, Mr.
Plager isn’t the first-ever gay character to appear on a TV comedy (that would be Phil Carey’s Steve from a 1971 episode of All In The Family).
