Out Magazine Spotlights Gays in Hollywood : Media: Although no one in the November issue was ‘outed’ many industry insiders called and wanted to be a part of it.
The November issue of Out magazine, due on newsstands in mid-October, boasts one of the most comprehensive special reports to date on the spectrum of gays and lesbians working in Hollywood who no longer keep their private lives secret--an openness that would have been unheard of just a few years ago.
Out editor and President Michael Goff remembers a few years back when he would have been grateful for one or two people to comment for such an article--and that would be off the record. But this year, Goff said, he received many phone calls from people who had heard about the coming issue and “wanted to be a part of it.â€
The article interviews dozens of prominent actors, agents, publicists and studio executives; its cover model is super-manager Sandy Gallin. No one is apparently “outed†in the magazine, which has a circulation of more than 100,000 nationally and is not related to the now-defunct Outweek, which gained attention by announcing the sexuality of well-known individuals, whether they wanted it known or not.
“Four years ago, I wouldn’t have even thought of such a story,†said longtime entertainment reporter Kevin Koffler, who is the West Coast editor of Out.
What has changed, he and Goff say, is that the major entertainment companies have added “sexual orientation†to their anti-discrimination policies, which has allowed gay employees to be more open without fear of reprisal.
When the usually low-profile Gallin was asked about why he allowed his photo to be used on the cover of Out, he replied, “I never had to come out. I never was in.â€
He added that he wanted to be a part of the magazine’s coverage because its national readership needs to know that in Hollywood people are judged not by their sexuality “but by their work.â€
The magazine devotes nearly 30 pages to the article, with profiles and photographs of prominent gays and non-gays in Hollywood. Featured gays and lesbians include “Married . . . With Children’s†Amanda Bearse, producer Alan Poul, playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick, Amblin Entertainment producer Bruce Cohen, producer Neil Mehron, casting director Tammy Billik, producers Barry Krost and Doug Chapin, writer Richard Gollance, adult video director Chichi LaRue, scenic artist Johnmichael Hull and producer Leslie Belzberg.
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