It has been 20 years since Ellen DeGeneres -- and her sitcom character Ellen Morgan -- came out of the closet as lesbian.
Not such a big deal now. A very big deal then.
DeGeneres made her big reveal first on the April 14, 1997, cover of Time magazine. Morgan followed on the two-part April 30 episode of Ellen that was kept under wraps with the red-herring title "The Puppy Episode."
It was called "The Puppy Episode" because network executives initially rejected the premise and said, according to DeGeneres, "Well, get her a puppy. She's not coming out."
"Yep, I'm gay," DeGeneres proclaimed on the Time cover. It was confirmation of what many had suspected for some time.
I had never even thought about it, but I found out in 1994 on my first Television Critics Association summer press tour to Los Angeles. I was a newbie TV critic and woefully ignorant about the behind-the-scenes minutiae of Hollywood.
I was also, admittedly, a bit awed, being inundated for two weeks by TV stars and network bigwigs trailing their lackeys and minions and feigning deference to a ballroom full of grungy newspaper types.
On the day of the ABC panel presentations, it was nearing time for DeGeneres to take the stage and chat about her new sitcom that was set to debut that fall. These Friends of Mine would be retitled Ellen for its second season. The 150 or so critics were seated five or six at each table. We were making small talk at ours when an ABC publicist materialized to give us the ground rules.
"How's everybody doing?," she said with too-chirpy enthusiasm. "Listen. Just a word about the next panel. Ellen will be here to tell you everything -- everything -- you want to know about our marvelous new fall comedy. She's soooo funny and a lot of laughs, so feel free to ask her anything."
Then, in conspiratorial sotto voce, "Anything, except, well, um, you know."
The veterans at the table all nodded their heads in solemn understanding as the publicist flitted on to the next table.
"What?," I asked in ignorance. "What's she talking about?"
"Oh," a jaded writer from a large metropolitan newspaper said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Ellen is gay. Everybody knows, but we don't talk about it."
Ah, the innocent, idyllic days before the internet, smartphones, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Had that scenario happened today, the word would have been all over the blogosphere before the publicist had moved 10 feet.
It would be toward the end of the sitcom's fourth season (when ratings were dropping) before DeGeneres convinced the network to let her character come out. By then, DeGeneres' "secret" was a fairly open one being milked for ratings.
"The Puppy Episode" was a filmed before a studio audience that night and boasted some big-name guest stars. They included Laura Dern, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, k.d. lang, Gina Gershon, Jorja Fox, Dwight Yoakam and Melissa Etheridge.
Sadly, once the gay cat was out of the bag, many critics lamented that Ellen became too self indulgent by making every episode "too gay." Ratings took a nose dive and ABC pulled the plug after a fifth and final season.
"The Puppy Episode" may have cost Ellen some sponsors, but an astonishing 42 million viewers tuned in. The episode won a number of awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and a Peabody.
About the episode, DeGeneres told The Associated Press, "It became more important to me than my career. I suddenly said, 'Why am I being, you know, ashamed of who I am just to be successful and famous in society's eyes?'"
DeGeneres' groundbreaking move opened the door for all future gay characters, including those on Will & Grace, Glee, The New Normal, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sean Saves the World, Modern Family and The Real O'Neals.
The 59-year-old DeGeneres has gone on to do quite well for herself. After a short-lived stab at another sitcom (CBS' The Ellen Show), the syndicated Ellen DeGeneres Show debuted in 2003. The talk show has won numerous Emmys, including the most recent Daytime Emmy Award for best entertainment talk show.
DeGeneres has hosted the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys and was even a judge for Season 9 on American Idol (not a good fit). In 2016, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for a civilian in the United States.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
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Style on 05/09/2017