# Is Sir Elton John the most Famous Gay man? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214 "2003-01-17T13:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/21 "2003-01-17T20:07:19Z")
Christopher Lowell is, by all accounts, straight (and if he’s not, he’s not out, so he doesn’t count). Besides, he’s not nearly as famous as the others mentioned, IMHO. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/22 "2003-01-17T20:42:23Z")
Really? Boo. =( I really wanted to say Gale Harold, but I read a few QaF faq’s and he’s straight, apparently. What is this world coming to!?!!! Fine. Elton John. _stomps off_ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/23 "2003-01-17T20:53:11Z")
In the category of deceased gay movie stars, let’s not forget the late, great **Rock Hudson**. There’s also **Boy George** , whom no one’s mentioned yet, and **Graham Norton** is certainly doing his darnedest to increase his international presence. **Quentin Crisp** also deserves an honorable mention for being famous specifically for being gay. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/24 "2003-01-17T20:55:09Z")
Well, according to the OP: > [@](#): > > … Elton John is the most famous Gay man alive… Is that true? I still say it’s McKellen, at least at the moment. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Potter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Potter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potter)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/25 "2003-01-17T21:48:26Z")
But there’s always George Michael: a fairly spectacular method of coming out; an album written about his dead male lover; the video in the bathroom with the dancing policeman; an ex-spice girl as a fag hag; he’s Greek… ---
**Author:** ![Steel\_Wheels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Steel\_Wheels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steel_Wheels)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/26 "2003-01-17T21:53:05Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Richard Simmons…even as a young child I would think “hey, that guy is really gay!!” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/27 "2003-01-17T22:08:32Z")
I didn’t know Ian McKellan was gay. Nobody tells me anything! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/28 "2003-01-17T22:45:46Z")
Just off the top of my head. Sure there are more, but here goes: Vote for one: Rupert Evert Nathan Lane Alan Cumings RuPaul Tim Curry Ellen Rosie O’Donnell Jimmy Summerville John Mahoney David Hyde Pierce Jason Gould Scott Hamilton Steve Kmetko Greg Louganis Dean Cain Jim Hormel You may secretly cast a ballot for, (but not legally publically announce the nomination) for: Ricky Martin Tom Cruise Tom Sellick Sean Hayes Paula Poundstone Vin Diesel Liz Smith ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/29 "2003-01-17T22:58:12Z")
Correction - Sean Hayes came out. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/30 "2003-01-17T23:00:22Z")
And, um, actually, David Hyde Pierce isn’t gay, AFAIK. And I don’t think Alan Cummings is, but I could be wrong. And John Mahoney? I don’t think so. (I do know that the guy who plays Bulldog on “Frasier” is, though, but he’s not that famous.) And Dean Cain should be under the “secret” category. And you forgot Ian McKellen, dammit! 😃 **DMark** , Where are you pulling this list from, anyway? Esprix ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/31 "2003-01-17T23:07:02Z")
Ok, but (after **Esprix** of course), who is the most _fabulous_ gay man? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/32 "2003-01-17T23:08:08Z")
What, Esprix, didn’t you get the memo? 🙂 I’d heard David Hyde Pierce, before. Doesn’t make it true. Vin Diesel? Tom Selleck? Dang. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/33 "2003-01-17T23:13:38Z")
Tom Cruise just won his court case against the “erotic wrestler” who claimed to have had a tryst with the diminutive Mr. Cruise. He now admits that he made it up. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/34 "2003-01-17T23:18:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*And, um, actually, David Hyde Pierce isn’t gay, AFAIK. And I don’t think Alan Cummings is, but I could be wrong. And John Mahoney? I don’t think so. (I do know that the guy who plays Bulldog on “Frasier” is, though, but he’s not that famous.) And Dean Cain should be under the “secret” category. And you forgot Ian McKellen, dammit! 😃 > > **DMark** , Where are you pulling this list from, anyway? > > Esprix \*\* Lived there. Knew them (or worked with them). I’m standing by the list. Glad to hear about Sean Hayes…always wondered who the hell he thought he was fooling. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/35 "2003-01-17T23:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > **And I don’t think Alan Cummings is, but I could be wrong. And John Mahoney? I don’t think so. (I do know that the guy who plays Bulldog on “Frasier” is, though, but he’s not that famous.)** Alan Cummings is always being asked in interviews. He says he isn’t gay, but is cool about people thinking he is because it gets him work. There was a “behind the scenes” special about _Frasier_ shown over here a while ago. They said that only one of the regular cast members was gay, and that it wasn’t the restaurant critic as you’re supposed to think, but the Bulldog guy. So that excludes David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney too, unless either of them has come out since. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/36 "2003-01-17T23:23:21Z")
FYI, from The Advocate, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up (POWER Up) released its annual “Top 10 Most Powerful Gay Women in Show Business” list for 2002: 1. Rosie O’Donnell 2. Ellen DeGeneres 3. Melissa Etheridge 4. Nina Jacobson 5. k.d. lang 6. Jane Anderson 7. Hilary Rosen (Capitol Hill lobbyist and Rock the Vote founding member, Recording Industry Association of America) 8. Lee Rose 9. Jan Oxenberg 10. Lily Tomlin ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/37 "2003-01-17T23:26:19Z")
Well we could certainly turn this into a “who is and who isn’t,” but I’d just as soon look up to people who are out - seems fitting, IMHO. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Nymysys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f6c823/32.png) [@Nymysys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymysys)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/38 "2003-01-17T23:28:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*And I don’t think Alan Cummings is, but I could be wrong. \*\* I’ve read an interview with Alan Cummings (some glossy chick magazine, but which exact one escapes me right now) where he stated he was ambiguous, merely because he likes to play with public perceptions. He certainly alluded to not being gay, though. Would Dean Cain and Vin Diesel even fit in a bed together? Great googly moogly! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/39 "2003-01-17T23:43:28Z")
OK, first off…Ian McKellen is gay? I’ll be damned, and I recall watching a rerun of him in drag on SNL’s Weekend Update and thought that it was a funny to see _him_ off all people. Kinda the way it’d be funny to see Heston doing it or something. I really missed the boat on that one I guess. And even more shocking…Christopher Lowell is _straight_!!! You’ve got to be kidding me. I was thinking about starting a tongue in cheek thread polling for the “gayest man on TV” with him as my #1 vote. With Wayne Harley Brachman from Food TV a close second. To the OP, I’d say its a real close race between Elton John and McKellen. None of these other guys are even in the same ballpark, even guys like Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman. It may very well be a commentary on society, but if you asked 100 random people off the street Elton would probably be an easy first. McKellen’s recent surge in huge Blockbuster movies could bring him close, but Elton would win. Probably less than half would even know who Whitman and Wilde are. **DMark** , that list is frigging idiotic. Not just because half the guys on your openly gay ist are straight, and because Hayes (and I’m pretty sure Poundstone) are out. But because of the lame stereotype that every famous male sex symbol is automatically rumoured to be gay. Vin Diesel? Are you fucking drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214/40 "2003-01-17T23:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Nymysys** _ > > Would Dean Cain and Vin Diesel even fit in a bed together? Great googly moogly! Response A: I don’t know, but I’d sure like to find out! Response B: The real question is, can they fit in a bed _with me_? Response C: Your ideas intrigue me and I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter… Esprix [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sir-elton-john-the-most-famous-gay-man/149214.md?page=3)