Clips: 1975, Darryl & Marty on BARNEY MILLER, one of the 1st ongoing same-sex couples on US TV

TODAY IN QUEER TV HISTORY
BARNEY MILLER: "Discovery" - 10/30/1975, ABC
Darryl and Marty, one of the first recurring same-sex couples on any US series, appeared together for the first time on this date in 1975. This popular sitcom was set at a police station in Greenwich Village, NYC, and the writers felt it would be ridiculous for there to be no queer characters.
Darryl's intense distrust of cops was well deserved. This show is from 1975 and the character appears to be in his 50s. This means that pretty much his entire adult life, into the early 1970s, the NYPD had been regularly raiding gay bars in the city. Cops were the enemy.
Also check out Matt Baume's fun, fascinating video about these characters' backstage and onscreen story: • How Barney Miller's Ga...
BARNEY MILLER did not have the very first ongoing same-sex couple: a male couple were regulars on the sitcom HOT L BALTIMORE, which debuted earlier in 1975. The first recurring lesbian couple would not turn up on a US series until the 1988-89 drama HEARTBEAT.

[@vincentlara4563]

Later in the episode when the guy that was harassing Mr. Driscoll was brought in, he said "I told you he was ugly" Marty said "oh, you were being kind" 😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@imajeepster]

I remembered this episode, I always liked the Marty character. And even though it's a LONG time ago, they acknowledge their mistrust of the police, for obvious reasons, and at the end Marty says, "I told you they were human!" And 50 bucks back then was a lot of money!

[@joycedalton6572]

Marty is priceless. He plays a flamboyant gay so well. He's a riot.

[@PapagenoMF]

Fun fact, the man that played Marty, Jack DeLeon, played most of the dwarves and some of the orcs/trolls in Rankin/Bass's The Hobbit movie.

[@ronaldKOESTLINGER]

His name is Jack De Leon and he was hilarious of course you have to give credit to the writers as well. But he fulfilled his role perfectly. PS in real life he was heterosexual married with a son.

[@meenam300zx]

Being Drunk? No, I was enthusiastic 😂😂😂

[@2020Bookworm]

Gay in 1975, just walk into the room and the (straight) audience laughs.

[@mediterraneanworld]

canned laughter, but yes

[@williammoseley17]

Still happens today if someone acts as flamboyant as these 2 did

[@stevencapsuto873]

@@mediterraneanworld This season of Barney Miller was shot in an interesting way: they would tape the episode once with a live audience in the studio, reshoot the more serious scenes without an audience, and then cut it together and use canned laughter to "sweeten" some of the laughs and cover the edits.

[@mediterraneanworld]

@@stevencapsuto873 Laugh tracks (audience and enhanced) must be tough from a production standpoint. The history and influence of sitcoms is very interesting.

[@PatRiarchy-qw6cp]

I still do

[@JPFalcononor]

What a show it could have been if Marty teamed up with Mr. Humphries!

[@rmr2471]

I'm free! 🤗

[@jamesmb444]

“MENS WEAR”

[@murdercattv635]

I went back and watched the entire series during Covid. It was even better than I remembered when I watched the original series.

[@phildicks4721]

I think my favorite line of the two was when Daryl was a victim of assault and they were looking through the mug shots with Barney. Daryl wondered if it would take long, because he had a lecture to go to in the afternoon... Barney:" Oh, so you're a professor at New York University" Daryl:"No, I have a lunch date with my mother."

[@chrisb7142]

My dad was from NY and he used to love watching this show.

[@zibbyzubb]

Such brilliant writing on that show. I loved how so many guest characters, including these two returned for the series finale.

[@kellidinit3725]

Hot L Baltimore featured the first homosexual couple on American TV, George and Gordon. I still have vague memories of that show. I was just a kid, and they don’t re run it like they do Barney Miller, but I do remember it.

[@stevencapsuto873]

There were rare one-off portrayals of same-sex couples before "Hot L Baltimore" (such as the 1972 TV movie "That Certain Summer"), but I think it's a safe bet that George and Gordon on "Hot L Baltimore" were the first unambiguously gay couple who were regular characters on an American series. Now that you mention it, I should post some clips of them when the anniversary of the premiere comes around.

[@kellidinit3725]

@@stevencapsuto873 it would be a trip back in time for me! Of course, you are talking to someone who recently cancelled plans because I found a Love American Style marathon and needed a temporary time capsule! 😂😂

[@johnprovince5304]

I remember Hot L Baltimore very well and always enjoyed it. A little too risqué for mid 1970s viewers and didn't last long.

[@jessiejames7492]

Marty was great. Loved him on this show. So entertaining.

[@tron3entertainment]

I remember the "Being unique." line.

[@ronbelanger4113]

My, my, how the USA has fallen from being a light and happy country.

[@willgraves5288]

This is going to change!

[@johnhaxby306]

it was the horrible gay stereotyped gay characters that I saw on TV when I was a young gay kid that made me scared to be gay. I just didn't want to grow up to be THIS queeny, with a poodle and a purse and scarves and all the other "clues" that made my Republican family so angry at gay men, and I was afraid of having that hatred directed at me, which as it turned out couldn't be avoided once I did grow a pair and came out . watching this again brings up some mixed feelings. wonder how those actors felt about camping it up for a tv audience.

[@billybupkis3688]

Janice Wentworth and Marty needed more episodes. Love the characters from Barney Miller.

[@jamesdrynan]

Because of the homophobic nature of TV executives and the audience at large, the first actors portraying gays had to ham it up for comic relief. It was interesting how Marty's friend, Daryl, initially played it up but in later episodes, seemed quite confident in his choice.

[@NoahSpurrier]

Perhaps, but all the characters in this show are a bit of a caricature. Also, growing up in the 70’s and 80’s in San Francisco a number of my uncle’s friends were legit this flamboyant. Different times. Different characters.

[@chrissmith7669]

To be honest they weren’t hamming it up much. When I got out of the army and starting college I flipped burgers at a Wendy’s. There were two guys there who made these two look straight. I told manager one night she should tell them to knock it off before someone got offended. She just and said, sugar those are acting as natural as they know how. Great guys to work with but they were over the top effeminate

[@Lunchladydoyle]

You wish that weren’t and aren’t gay men who are this effeminate. I live in the second largest gay community on the East Coast and we have our fair share of Nellies believe me 😅

[@joeconcepts5552]

I think with each appearance they, especially Darryl are played more and more “subdued”.

[@jamesdrynan]

You are right. The episode with Daryl's boy was really well done. Daryl was much less effeminate. Not that there's anything wrong with that, to quote Seinfeld.​@@joeconcepts5552

[@717rocket]

I don't think the Barney Miller show was being homophonic, I watched it as a kid and thought it was funny. Like all in the family, Sanford and son, Chico and the man, Good times. TV back then choose to show real characters of life though slightly comical.

[@wb3381]

He appeared on Sanford and son in the ex rated episode

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

Love the Marty character.

[@DavidLS1]

I always had mixed feelings about Marty. On the one hand, it was nice seeing gays represented on TV. On the other hand, the stereotypical way they were usually shown made me cringe.

[@jeremygregorio7472]

I agree the stereotypes sucked but a huge part of getting gay rights off the ground was increasingly positive coverage in media. It's one of those things where you got to start somewhere. But yeah this is cringe as hell.

[@mildredpierce4506]

I have always loved Barney Miller

[@celladora31]

We ❤ Marty!

[@kllwc7772]

Barney is such a DILF ❤

[@joycedalton6572]

Marty is one of the best.

[@danaeads919]

I LOVED it whenever Darryl and Marty were on the show. They were fabulous!!

[@RevLeigh55]

Barney Miller was one of my late father’s favorite shows.

[@stevencapsuto873]

Such smart writing and such good acting and direction!

[@artSFCA]

OMG...I had that same ombre t-shirt in yellow.

[@drewsarkisian3571]

They didn't mince enough

[@mildredpierce4506]

I’ve seen Marty in different things, but I can’t recall which specific movie or television show but I have seen him a lot back then.

[@markgordon5387]

We saw this when I was 6 years old.

[@deniseeulert2503]

I remember when Marty was locked up with the accountant the officers were guarding. The sound of his "wow' when the guy was talking about preferring to go out with the guys.

[@4metoknow]

oh the gayness of it all!

[@danielmorse4213]

Grou dbreaking

[@mitchellclifton1293]

The episode where the ADA followed Wojo back 2 the precinct was frickin hilarious.

[@4metoknow]

gayness abounds!

[@user-hf8ie8mf3n]

👍🤪🏳️‍🌈

[@MJo-ng4lj]

❤😂🎉

[@oldnatty61]

Is that Dr. Smith?

[@johnerwin9024]

Great characters + writing 😅

[@joycedalton6572]

Absolutely adore Marty😅

[@pensnut08]

Marty was a riot!

[@johnerwin9024]

Who was the actor who played 'Daryl' in the episode?

[@stevenrobinson2381]

Sauvage brute.....

[@CHDean]

That’s not Alan Rickman, is it?

[@stevencapsuto873]

LOL, no. Darryl (in the sweater) was played by Ray Stewart and Marty (in the blue jacket) by Jack De Leon.

[@HeilwoodBeagles]

Gross!!!!

[@stevencapsuto873]

"Gross" as in "I disapprove of facile stereotypes"? Or "gross" as in "I'm a flaming bigot who can't tolerate the existence of people who are different from me"?

[@HeilwoodBeagles]

@@stevencapsuto873 deviant lifestyles and behavior should not be promoted. Shame on you

[@stevencapsuto873]

@@HeilwoodBeagles So... it's the you're-a-flaming-bigot thing. Figures...

[@HeilwoodBeagles]

@stevencapsuto873 do you also like pedophiles? Just seeing how broken your moral compass is.

[@Willie-js6wr]

​@@HeilwoodBeagles How dare you not support the fruits!

[@russellziske7385]

Stereotypes exist for a reason.

[@dashursaqqara436]

and, it's the one of the willfully ignorant that is most damning...

[@DavidLS1]

Like German stereotypes?

[@Shampyon]

And sometimes the reason is "The people who invented the stereotype are f***wits".

[@tomstarkey8712]

lost. in. space. tv. show