My best guess is that the obit writer didn't feel it was germane to the biography. I wouldn't expect the obit for Kirk Douglas to read "Douglas was an avowed heterosexual," any more than I would expect David Hyde Pierce's obit to read "Pierce was a homosexual who kept his private life private." Unless it had some effect on his public life or work, why include it?
--Dave Sikula On Thursday, July 26, 2012 8:57:26 AM UTC-7, PGage wrote: > > On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 2:56 AM, JW <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > If I were writing a feature story about Sherman Hemsley today, and he >> had >> > not died yesterday, and learned from talking to most of his friends and >> > associates that it was well known that he was gay, I think I would want >> to >> > include that in the story >> >> If you wrote a feature story that outed him when he didn't want to be >> outed, you'd have a difficult time getting access for future feature >> stories. >> >> Obituaries tend to list survivors, which (to whatever extent it >> matters) often identify the deceased's sexual preference. Unless it's >> a public figure whose exploits were already publicized, the obit is >> unlikely to mention less-official relationships, if only to avoid >> adding to the grief of the official survivors. >> > > Right. But that is not my point (writing an article that "outs" him). The > unofficial reports I have read say that he was not living a secret gay > life. Of course I would not write a feature article that included > discussion of his homosexuality if he did not want it to be included. In > this case, how did the obit writers know that he did not want it included? > Would he have had something in his will that triggered a note to major > newspapers asking them not to include it? Would a lawyer do that? Or, is > homosexuality something that even in this day and age, obit writers assume > is still so stigmatized that it should be kept secret unless they receive > explicit instructions. If the rule is to only include public information in > an obit, then what makes something public? If he had attended concerts with > a companion regularly, would that be public? Would he have had to have > mentioned it himself in some interview or public statement? > > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
