‘Will & Grace’ first aired on this day in 1998
On this day in 1998, Will & Grace made its television debut.
The series ran for eight seasons, following the madcap adventures of Will, Grace, Jack and Karen, before returning in 2017 for an additional three seasons.
The show follows gay lawyer Will Truman, who lives with his best friend, Grace Adler, an interior designer. Alongside them are their friends Karen Walker, an outrageous, hard-drinking socialite, and aspiring actor Jack McFarland.
The series was initially criticised by some commentators for promoting gay stereotypes, but was later praised for helping educate audiences about gay culture and relationships. Along the way, it delivered plenty of laughs, memorable lines, and helped make its cast members household names.
Altogether, the show produced 246 episodes and was nominated for 83 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 18.
Over its run, the series attracted many high-profile actors to supporting and guest-starring roles, including Madonna, Cher, Debbie Reynolds, Geena Davis, Bobby Cannavale, Matt Bomer, Harry Connick Jr., John Cleese, Blythe Danner, Sydney Pollack, Mary McCormack, Alan Arkin, Suzanne Pleshette, Bernadette Peters, Minnie Driver, Tim Curry, Candice Bergen, Taye Diggs, Gregory Hines, Joan Collins and Gene Wilder.
South Australian Premier Don Dunstan was born on this day in 1926
On this day in 1926, Don Dunstan, one of South Australia’s most influential premiers, was born.
Don Dunstan served as South Australia’s Premier from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a socially progressive politician who advanced Aboriginal land rights, consumer protection and anti-discrimination reforms, and championed the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Dunstan was born in Fiji. His parents were Australians of Cornish descent who had moved to Suva so his father could take up the role of manager of the Adelaide Steamship Company. When he was seven, he was sent to live with his grandparents in South Australia.
He studied law at the University of Adelaide and became a member of the Labor Party. After graduating, he married Gretel Elsasser and the couple moved to Fiji, where he practised law. They returned to South Australia in 1951 and, two years later, he was elected to parliament.
Early in his political career, he was an advocate for the dismantling of the White Australia Policy. During his time as Premier, Dame Roma Mitchell became Australia’s first female Supreme Court judge, while Sir Mark Oliphant was appointed the state’s first non-British governor, followed by Sir Douglas Nicholls, Australia’s first Indigenous governor.
Dunstan is also remembered as a champion of the arts. His government supported the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company and the South Australian Film Corporation. Rundle Mall was created during his premiership, and late-night shopping was introduced.
Dress standards in parliament were relaxed under his government and, in 1972, he famously arrived at parliament wearing pink shorts that ended above the knee, a sartorial choice considered sensational in South Australia at the time. In 1975, he won a Woman’s Day poll for Australia’s sexiest politician.
In 1972, the death of Dr George Duncan sparked debate about South Australia’s laws criminalising homosexuality, and Dunstan pushed for legislative reform. In 1976, South Australia became the first jurisdiction in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality.
Dunstan married his first wife, Gretel Elsasser, after graduating from law school. The couple separated in 1972 and divorced two years later. He married his second wife, Adele Koh, in 1976, but their union was short-lived. In 1978, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died a few months later.
Although he never publicly discussed his sexuality, some biographers and historians have described Dunstan as having lived as a sexually liberated bisexual man. In 1986, he met Stephen Cheng, a postgraduate science student in his twenties. They remained partners until Dunstan’s death in 1999 at the age of 72. He had been diagnosed with throat and lung cancer six years earlier.
His electorate of Norwood was renamed Dunstan in his honour, and the theatre within Adelaide Festival Centre became the Dunstan Playhouse. The Don Dunstan Foundation, which advocates for progressive social change, was established shortly before his death, and the Don Dunstan Award recognises people who have made an outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry.
Transgender trailblazer Christine Jorgensen underwent surgery in 1951
Christine Jorgensen was born in 1926, she was the first American to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
After being drafted into the military and serving in World War II Jorgensen heard news about the new medical procedures of gender reassignment surgery.
She traveled to Europe and in Copenhagen, Denmark, began the process of transitioning in 1951. She chose the name Christine in honour of the endocrinologist who treated her, Dr Christian Hamburger.
She returned to the United States in the early 1950s. Her transition was the subject of a New York Daily News front-page story. While the report wrongly suggested Jorgensen was the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery, she was the first person to be treated with a combination of hormones and surgery.
She became an instant celebrity, using the platform to advocate for transgender people and became known for her directness and polished wit. She also worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer and recorded several songs. She published her autobiography and often spoke at universities about her experiences.
In 1959 she became engaged to typist Howard J Knox (pictured), but the couple were unable to gain a marriage certificate because Jorgensen was identified as male on her birth certificate. Know lost his job when it became known he was engaged to someone who was transgender. The couple sadly broke up.
Shortly before her death in 1989 Jorgensen said that she had given the sexual revolution a “good swift kick in the pants”. She died of bladder and lung cancer four weeks short of her 63rd birthday.
Daddy’s Girls made its debut on US television
The US sitcom Daddy’s Girls failed to find an audience when it began on this day in 1994.
The show was critically panned and placed ‘on hiatus’ after only three episodes had aired. The remaining 10 episodes were filmed have never been seen.
The show is notable for including a principal character who is gay, who was played by a gay person whose sexuality was publicly shared. A first for mainstream US television.
The US sitcom Daddy’s Girls failed to attract a sizeable audience when it premiered on this day in 1994.
The show was critically panned and placed “on hiatus” after only three episodes had aired. The remaining 10 episodes were filmed but have never been broadcast.
The series is notable for including a principal gay character portrayed by an openly gay actor, something widely regarded as a first for a mainstream US network sitcom.
The comedy was one of the final television projects of internationally renowned actor Dudley Moore, who would die in 2002.
He starred as Dudley Walker, the owner of a fashion house who loses both his wife and his business partner when they run away together, revealing they have been having an affair for years. Dudley is left to run the business while suddenly becoming a single parent to his three daughters.
Actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein played Dennis Sinclair, a high-strung gay fashion designer who worked at the company.
There were several other notable faces in the cast. Keri Russell played Phoebe, one of the three daughters, while Alan Ruck appeared as a character named Lenny. Phil Buckman played Scar.
Russell would later find success with Felicity, The Americans and, more recently, The Diplomat. Ruck, already famous for his role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, went on to further success in Spin City and Succession. Buckman later moved from acting into music, playing bass for the US bands Filter and Fuel.
