wait, he was in the closet? since when?

Headline in The Onion: "Man Outs Self 20 Years After Being Outed by the Rest of the World"

I'm 54. I remember when I was growing up someone (the studio? his manager? who knows) had him "dating" some woman; all I remember is that she had black hair. Occasionally in magazines there'd be a photo of him and his "lady friend" having a picnic or whatever. Supposedly this was set up to hide the fact that he was gay. I imagine the same way they set Rock Hudson up with women. I was crazy about "Dr. Kildare," had a fan club for him and met my best friend (still) that way. I first heard someone mention that they "had a friend who had a friend" who knew he was gay when I was either in my late twenties or early thirties. It was still pretty unacceptable then so I pooh-poohed it. I agree with him, it's a nonissue now. How many of us have gay friends? What's the big deal? Of course he couldn't come out of the closet when he was younger, it would have killed his careeer. Plus when I was young, and he was too, it wasn't as accepted. I think he's right -- it's a nonissue. Speaking for myself, I don't care -- and I'm glad that finally he is free to be.