Les Crane's guests Randolph Wicker, Morton Getman, and Dr. Sandor Loran take phone calls related to homosexuality.
NOTE: This broadcast also archived (possibly longer version, TBD) on another master tape (George Vlasto Collection).
Wicker was one of the most visible homosexuals in New York. During the early 1960's he spoke at countless Church groups and College classes. He became the first openly gay person to appear on East Coast television on this Les Crane television talk show. This telecast is not extant in any broadcast form in any museum, or private collection, except for this TV audio excerpt recorded off the air at the time of the telecast by archivist Phil Gries, founder and owner of Archival Television Audio, Inc.
NOTE: 98% of all Les Crane television broadcasts (1963-1968) are considered lost, wiped or destroyed.
2017 Interview with Randolfe Wicker
LGBTQ Nation
You appeared on “The Les Crane Show” and answered questions about homosexuality, where you were believed to be the first gay person to appear openly on East Coast TV without a disguise or a fake name.
RW: They contacted me and Les Crane was the cutting edge new show and homosexuality was one of the taboo topics. I had to answer call-in questions and some of them were pretty direct. I had one woman call in and say she had a cousin or an uncle who she knew was gay. She worried about him being in contact with her children. I told her I thought the chances of any problems like that would be very minor, especially if she let him know that she knew he was gay, knew that he would not do anything nefarious.
QN: What kind of reactions did you receive after that TV appearance?
RW: Generally very good. When I opened my [art deco] store in 1974, I’d say for a period of maybe 10 years, there would be several people who would come through that door every week and they always said the same thing. They said, “You changed my life.”
People don’t realize that, in those days, you thought you were the only one. Then, they saw me on “The Les Crane Show” and it made them realize there were others like themselves.
