# TheWild,Wild,West: Jim Gordon / Artemus Gordon: Were they a Closeted Gay Couple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [February 27, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916 "2021-02-27T21:48:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/1 "2021-02-27T21:48:02Z")
I’m watching the old TV series… and by 2021 standards, it makes me think that they might have been committed domestic partners. I can’t say exactly why I get that impression… the costumes? The adventures? The two incomes? The lavish lifestyle? And what would Freud say about the long train rides off into the sunset at the end of every adventure? Is this even possible? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/2 "2021-02-27T22:05:47Z")
A few years ago I was watching an episode of _I, Spy_ at my mother’s house and my sister made a similar observation about Robinson & Scott. There was a scene where Scott, played by Cosby, just takes off his shirt around Robinson, played by Culp, during a casual conversation. I’m aware that there were plenty of queer coded scenes and dialogue in movies and on television back then. But I don’t really think _The Wild Wild West_ fits the bill. I don’t believe most people would have interpreted the relationship between Gordon and West as romantic in nature. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/3 "2021-02-27T22:27:04Z")
Even today, two men can be friends without anything sexual about the relationship. What you’re doing here is just channeling Frederick Wertham. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/4 "2021-02-27T22:34:40Z")
If they were, it was the most blatant over-compensation ever on Jim West’s part. He was a worse womanizer than Kirk. BTW: It is Jim West, do you want me to fix the Title of the thread? ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/5 "2021-02-27T22:36:02Z")
“They” (critics, journalists, people in general) were saying things like that going back to the days of the Long Ranger and Tonto. Then came Batman and Robin. How’s about The Man From UNCLE and his blonde Russian partner (if you will) as played by David McCallum. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/6 "2021-02-27T22:44:25Z")
I dunno. If they _are_ a couple, I think West would take Gordon’s name. Jim is definitely ‘trophy husband’ material, in those tight pants. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/7 "2021-02-27T22:45:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > What you’re doing here is just channeling Frederick Wertham. Dude might have had a point about Wonder Woman… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/8 "2021-02-27T22:48:26Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > A few years ago I was watching an episode of _I, Spy_ at my mother’s house and my sister made a similar observation about Robinson & Scott. There was a scene where Scott, played by Cosby, just takes off his shirt around Robinson, played by Culp, during a casual conversation. Forget the [handkerchief code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handkerchief_code); the _real_ way gay men signaled their interests to each other in the dark days was to take off their shirts in front of each other. Public beaches were a minefield of innuendo and mixed signals. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/9 "2021-02-27T22:55:54Z")
I was really trying not to bring up those weirdly-styled painted on pants. Bull-fighters could stare at him and say, “Man, that’s one over the top outfit”. And it was the exact same outfit, to the smallest detail, in either blue or dark green. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/10 "2021-02-27T22:58:19Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > He was a worse womanizer than Kirk. Ok, but think about how often the show ended with Jim West, The Girl of the Week, and Arty Gordon on the other side? Trolling for threesomes maybe? ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/11 "2021-02-27T23:08:45Z")
Did you ever watch any episodes? They were always dating women at the end of the episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/12 "2021-02-27T23:10:57Z")
Beards. All of them. Beards. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/13 "2021-02-27T23:16:45Z")
> [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](#): > > They were always dating women at the end of the episodes. Some episodes they each had a woman. Some… they didn’t. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/14 "2021-02-27T23:40:27Z")
Do you have a cite for that? Not really remembering it, particularly journalists. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/15 "2021-02-28T00:02:10Z")
Here, a cite for which now…? Please be specific… or as specific as you can. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/16 "2021-02-28T00:15:24Z")
> [@john\_b\_2](#): > > “They” (critics, journalists, people in general) were saying things like that going back to the days of the Long Ranger and Tonto. ““They” (critics, journalists, people in general) were saying things like that going back to the days of the Long Ranger and Tonto.” I don’t remember journalists or critics saying anything like that in the 60s or 70s, when it was in reruns. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/17 "2021-02-28T00:42:21Z")
“Were [insert fictional same sex duo here] secretly gay” has to be one of the most tiresome conversations on this board. Isn’t the only real answer “They were not portrayed as such”? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/18 "2021-02-28T01:12:58Z")
> [@john\_b\_2](#): > > “They” (critics, journalists, people in general) were saying things like that going back to the days of the Long Ranger and Tonto. Then came Batman and Robin. How’s about The Man From UNCLE and his blonde Russian partner (if you will) as played by David McCallum. Further back there was Huck Finn and Jim. Before that, it was Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook (pronounced “Chicago,” I believe). And Gilgamesh and Enkidu… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/19 "2021-02-28T01:27:18Z")
Jonathan and David? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916/20 "2021-02-28T01:56:20Z")
They do have such lovely “Gift Baskets”… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thewild-wild-west-jim-gordon-artemus-gordon-were-they-a-closeted-gay-couple/933916.md?page=2)