By 2020 standards it was clearly about a straight guy and his gay friend but the 60s were almost 60 years ago.

Was it "wink, wink we all know he's gay but we can't say so out loud" or were you really supposed to think that an effeminate man like Felix was straight? And if you were, was it because so many effeminate gay men were married to women because of prejudice?

In the movie the character was more fussy than femme, but the TV show it was quite different, right down to Felix's wardrobe.

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by Anonymous

reply 8

June 30, 2020 2:52 AM

I recall one of the criticisms of the Matthew Perry version a few years back was that Felix should have been gay this time around. It would've provided the show a much-needed creative shot in the arm as well as modernized it for a new generation of viewers.

by Anonymous

reply 1

June 30, 2020 1:51 AM

It debuted in 1970, 50 years ago.

by Anonymous

reply 2

June 30, 2020 1:51 AM

It was, after the first awful season, freaking hilarious. There was no subtext, gay or otherwise. Felix was a cultured heterosexual (remember those?) and Oscar was a serial dater who always ended up with crazy Rhoda Zimmerman. Felix May been prissy and neurotic but he was also the first off the boat at Anzio.

by Anonymous

reply 3

June 30, 2020 2:20 AM

[quote] first off the boat at Anzio.

Is that a euphemism?

by Anonymous

reply 5

June 30, 2020 2:22 AM

Old people are so grumpy.

by Anonymous

reply 7

June 30, 2020 2:39 AM

Hey, Neil Simon wrote nothing but sitcoms, often really annoying ones. This is the only one that actually became a sitcom and eventually it did work. Yes, Felix is prissy, but like Tony Randall in real life, he was straight. Simon was frankly too stupid to write a good gay character.

by Anonymous

reply 8

June 30, 2020 2:52 AM