Actor Paul Karo played a gay character on television at a time when LGBTIQA+ representation was almost non-existent.
Karo is remembered for his portrayal of gay television producer Lee Whiteman on Australian television series The Box from 1974 until 1976. At the time homosexuality was illegal in most of Australia with South Australia becoming the first jurisdiction to remove laws in 1975.
The actor has passed away aged 89. His passing was shared by screen industry site TV Tonight.
The Box was the first soap opera from Crawford Productions who had up until that point been making TV dramas. Set in a television station, it was commissioned by Channel Ten after they had success with another adult focused soap Number 96.
The show features adult storylines, sexual content, brief glimpses of nudity and boundary pushing storylines. The first lesbian kiss on screen occurred on the show, and the first fictional representations on a same-sex relationships.
Karo’s character Lee Whiteman was a flamboyant television producer. During the first year of the show, he entered into a relationship with Wayne, the recently released from prison son of the station’s tea lady Mrs Hopkins.
At the time viewers were shocked by a gay couple, today most of us are more shocked that there used to be people who walked around with a trolley bringing everyone cups of tea.
The show was so popular at the end of its first year there was a feature film made with the regular cast.
While Karo was praised for his performance on the show, winning the Best Australian Actor Logie Award in 1976, he opted to leave the show out of fear of being typecast. He had previously played a gay man in an episode of another Crawford Productions show, Division 4.
His television credits included Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Prisoner, The Sullivans, Phoenix and SeaChange. He also appeared in Cop Shop, Skyways, Janus, Blue Healers, Nancy Wake, Sword of Honour, Carson’s Law, Golden Pennies and Good Guys, Bad Guys.
He also worked extensively in theatre and film. Karo was born in Scotland and lived in New Zealand where he worked as a cadet reporter. He moved to Australia in the late 1950’s and began working in theatre and television.
Image by Luke Creighton published via a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
