# Did Starsky and Hutch seem this gay back in the '70s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209 "2010-11-10T19:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/41 "2010-11-13T22:57:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And Paul Lynde was another example. > > There was basically no such thing as “gaydar” back then. We knew that homosexuality existed in the abstract but it was completely invisible to the general public. So everyone who could be seen was just assumed to be heterosexual by default. This! I was in my 30’s and had long since forgotten Hollywood Squares (heh), saw a random picture of Paul Lynde, and a light bulb went off - “OMG - he was gay!” ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/42 "2010-11-13T23:08:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And Paul Lynde was another example. > > There was basically no such thing as “gaydar” back then. We knew that homosexuality existed in the abstract but it was completely invisible to the general public. So everyone who could be seen was just assumed to be heterosexual by default. The Dealer: Crazy Larry was gay? Gene: [contemptuous] Crazy Larry was never ‘gay’. Gene: He had his way with too many straight lads. Crazy Larry: [flashback] Fucking females is for poofs. [right]-- _Layer Cake_[/right] Stranger ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/43 "2010-11-13T23:17:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And Paul Lynde was another example. > > There was basically no such thing as “gaydar” back then. We knew that homosexuality existed in the abstract but it was completely invisible to the general public. So everyone who could be seen was just assumed to be heterosexual by default. How about Allan Sues on _Laugh In_? I loved that show as a kid and never in a million years figure out he was supposed to be gay. Years later, it was like… Wow, that guy is so gay it’s crazy. How could we not have known??? Of course, we didn’t think Liberace was gay, either. Or did we? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/44 "2010-11-13T23:20:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Of course, we didn’t think Liberace was gay, either. Or did we? Yes. Liberace was a clever plot intended to distract us from all the other gay men in popular culture. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/45 "2010-11-14T01:42:52Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Yes. Liberace was a clever plot intended to distract us from all the other gay men in popular culture. Ah, Paul Lynde. He contained multitudes. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/46 "2010-11-14T02:14:53Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Seconded. I don’t recall anyone’s gaydar pinging over _Starsky & Hutch_ at the time. The British didn’t develop gaydar until the Falklands war, where it was instrumental in detecting Argentine “bayonet charges”. Modern gaydar is calibrated with anatomically correct David Soul replicas. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/47 "2010-11-14T05:25:47Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Heck, this was a decade where people danced along to the Village People’s “YMCA” without noticing it was about dudes cruising for dudes at the Y. LOL – this is so true! It never, ever occurred to us back then. Hell, we thought the Village People were just goofy guys in costume. Elton John’s sexuality was never a topic of conversation, Charles Nelson Reilly was just campy (I thought he was a riot, actually), and yeah, everyone and his brother knew Liberace was gay, but it was one of those things you never discussed with any woman old enough to be your grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/48 "2010-11-14T05:59:58Z")
I was in junior high when Starsky and Hutch came out. they were real dudes and badasses. It was not camp gay in disguise. Next people will start harping about Bruce Lee kicking 7 kinds of ass as being a guy metaphor. ynot that there’s anything wrong with that 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/49 "2010-11-14T06:49:02Z")
His full name was David R. Soul. Was there any snickering about that in Britain at the time? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/50 "2010-11-14T07:35:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Ah, Paul Lynde. He contained multitudes. And that was only Saturday night! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/51 "2010-11-14T08:17:52Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > This! I was in my 30’s and had long since forgotten Hollywood Squares (heh), saw a random picture of Paul Lynde, and a light bulb went off - “OMG - he was gay!” Not just gay, but drunk! I saw a rerun of Match Game recently and realized that they all were absolutely toasted. Richard Dawson was practically sprawled over his desk. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/52 "2010-11-14T14:18:34Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Not just gay, but drunk! I saw a rerun of Match Game recently and realized that they all were absolutely toasted. Richard Dawson was practically sprawled over his desk. Really? I remember him doing that, but it never, ever occurred to me that he might have been drunk 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/53 "2010-11-14T15:32:23Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Really? I remember him doing that, but it never, ever occurred to me that he might have been drunk 😕 Really? Dawson was three sheets to the wind on every Family Feud he ever hosted. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/54 "2010-11-14T16:49:43Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > …the appeal of fat-bottomed girls and their geo-rotational qualities!.. I laughed. I’m appropriating this for my own purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/55 "2010-11-14T17:23:00Z")
Freddie Mercury struck me more as a not-cutting-himself-out-of-half-the-fun-sexual than a homosexual. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/56 "2010-11-14T17:38:24Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Really? Dawson was three sheets to the wind on every Family Feud he ever hosted. Really. I was a kid when he was part of the panel, and even though he was quite silly then, I never equated it with his being drunk. Ditto when he was hosting it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/57 "2010-11-14T18:52:40Z")
So, everyone knew that Liberace was gay. Hmm. I didn’t. Not that I spent very much time thinking about or anything. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/58 "2010-11-14T19:31:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So, everyone knew that Liberace was gay. Hmm. I didn’t. Not that I spent very much time thinking about or anything. It was very hush-hush, sort of on the same lines as Rock Hudson. The only difference being that Liberace wasn’t forced to marry a woman for appearance’s sake as Hudson was. I remember my mother, aka “The Font Of All Things Hollywood Confidential”, telling me the story years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/59 "2010-11-14T19:52:19Z")
No mention of the tons of S&H slash fan fiction that used to rival in volume Star Trek slash on the net? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209/60 "2010-11-14T21:18:20Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No mention of the tons of S&H slash fan fiction that used to rival in volume Star Trek slash on the net? I didn’t even think about that! Apparently there’s slash fic for just about every male “couple” in print or film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-starsky-and-hutch-seem-this-gay-back-in-the-70s/560209.md?page=4)