Jim j bullock gay
Catching Up With Jim J. Bullock
If there were a Gen X game display called “Name That Sitcom Voice,” where you had to identify a voice from the silly shows we watched as kids and teens—wait, is that Tootie from The Facts of Life? Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard?—wouldn’t we all immediately know the voice of Monroe Ficus from Too Close for Comfort? I mean, TCFC wasn’t even a favorite show of mine when I was in middle school—I was definitely team Facts of Life (especially when they went to Paris!)—but TCFC was always on in the background and there was Monroe, sorta gay-seeming and -sounding but maybe just a vast doofus, in the inane way that sitcoms of that period really weren’t more sophisticated than old-fashioned, schticky vaudeville routines.
And of course there was also the nerd/hunk tension, because as much of a goofy, fumbling geek that Monroe was supposed to be, he was also, successfully, hunky, especially in those form-fitting rugby shirts.
Well, turns out that Monroe in fact was gay—that is, Jim J. Bu
Phase Two
"It's a phase! It's a phase! It's a phase!" yells Jim J. Bullock excitedly as he reminisces about growing up as a Texas teenager, denying his attraction to guys, yet secretly cruising underwear-clad men as he anxiously thumbed through pages of the Sears catalogue. He ripples with laughter as we recline in his tastefully decorated West Hollywood leased corner condo—a home both tidy and comfy-cozy.
Bullock, forty-four, was raised Southern Baptist and believed that all homosexuals had been killed in Sodom and Gomorrah. "I really didn't know that any existed. I just knew I could really relate good to people like Dr. Smith from Lost in Space, although he's apparently not [gay]. But I related to his effeminiate side, as I did with Paul Lynde." Not surprisingly, Bullock has been called "the Paul Lynde of the nineties." He's even sat in effervescent Lynde's old spot: the center square on TV's Hollywood Squares. How does he feel about this comparison? "I seize it as a compliment. I liked Lynde's come
Jim J. Bullock was playing gay on TV long before networks acknowledged it
&#;There&#;s no black and white answer. They did not wish Monroe gay. They were not going, &#;We need a gay character here.'&#; And yet, in Jim J. Bullock&#;s mind, Monroe Ficus &#; the irritating thorn in Ted Knight&#;s side on Too Close for Comfort &#; was a gay guy. &#;You knew,&#; he says of the character he created. &#;You just knew.&#;
The year-old actor sighs. &#;I so aspire that show had balls,&#; he says. The hit sitcom ran on ABC for four seasons, starting in , and in first-run syndication for another two. &#;I long for they had gone, &#;We&#;re going to make some TV history here.&#; Instead, they gave Monroe a girlfriend. &#;It was really just putting a Band-Aid over a severed artery,&#; says Bullock. &#;She was there for one season.&#;
Bullock is currently in the touring production of Kinky Boots, in which he plays &#; with several hilarious, bring-the-house-down exclamation marks &#; shoe factory manager George. &#;I&#;m honored to be a part of it,&#; he says. &#;Broadway tours don&#;t com
Jim J. Bullock Interview on Queerty
The LGBT blog Queerty recently interviewed s TV star Jim J. Bullock, a.k.a. Monroe from the sitcom Too Close for Comfort.
The bulk of the interview sets up the premise that Bullock put the stage for openly gay TV characters in the s. However, the interview also explores some HIV/AIDS themes.
Bullock is now expose about being both gay and HIV positive. That wasn’t always true.
He came out as gay on The Joan Rivers Show in , but he inadvertently was “half-outed” about his HIV status.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
"Even years after the show ended, Evangelicals criticized Tammy for co-hosting The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show with a gay gentleman -- especially when Jim came out as HIV-positive. His status was half-outed, really. In preparation for the AIDS ride, Jim sent a sponsorship letter to possible donors. He mentioned that in addition to riding in memory of his deceased partner, he was riding for his friends living with HIV/AIDS and that he, too, was living with the disease. A not many days later Jim was awakened by knocking at his door.