Advocate Magazine: Was Deceased TV Legend Former Jeffersons Star Sherman Hemsley A Closeted Homosexual?
Sherman Hemsley Remains Unburied Due to Will Dispute
BY JEREMY KINSER
The embalmed body of actor Sherman Hemsley, best known for portraying TV’s George Jefferson, is being kept refrigerated in a funeral home in El Paso, Texas, until a local court decides on the validity of his will, reports Associated Press.
Richard Thornton, who claims to be Hemsley’s brother, is disputing a will the actor signed six weeks prior to his death from lung cancer at age 74 on July 24. In it Hemsley named Flora Enchinton as sole beneficiary of his estate, valued at more than $50,000. Hemsley also refers to Enchinton as a “beloved partner.”
Enchinton says she had been friends with Hemsley and had even been his manager for more than two decades. During this time she lived with Hemsley and Hemsley’s friend Kenny Johnston, 76. Enchinton tells AP Hemsley never mentioned any relatives.
“Some people come out of the woodwork — they think Sherman, they think money,” Enchinton tells AP. “But the fact is that I did not know Sherman when he was in the limelight. I met them when they [Hemsley and Johnston] came running from Los Angeles with not one penny, when there was nothing but struggle.”
While there was no official confirmation during his lifetime, there was frequent speculation that Hemsley, famed for his portrayal of the bigoted dry cleaning mogul on the hit sitcom The Jeffersons, was a gay man. A 2007 VH1 story that listed three favorite allegedly gay black actors from the past put Hemsley in the top spot.
LA Complex Gay Storyline Second Season Finale: Kal’s Father Dies He Has A Frank Ocean Moment Comes Out On The Internet.
Sometimes I wonder, if the writers of the LA Complex are prescient? After all, the hip hop artist Frank Ocean came out of the closet in July and now the gay rapper Kaldrick King comes out on the internet in the season finale. I was moved by Kaldrick’s letter he wanted to tell his father about his struggles with his homosexuality. After Kaldrick’s father dies,he realizes that he needs to live his life on his own terms and not worry about what other people think. Kakdrick finally acknowledges he is gay and he took the brave step to coming out to his fans online.
It is going to be interesting to see if there are ramifications and any fallout after Kaldrick comes out.
Are Kaldrick’s fans going to support him not that he declares he is a homosexual?
I feel that Kaldrick’s new boyfriend Chris is attractive and also very mature and thoughtful. However, I am not convinced that Kaldrick and Chris have the emotional and physical chemistry that they are in love. I sense that Chris is actually like another father figure to Kaldrick he is like a gay mentor to him showing him that is okay for a black man to be gay. I like the Chris because he is a positive representation of a gay black man he is a successful lawyer, and he is comfortable with his homosexuality. I am just not sold that Kaldrick and Chris are in love with each other.
At least the fictional character Kaldrick King is not stringing his fans along any longer pretending to be heterosexual when he knows he is a gay black man.
However, it is important to point out in the real world, a male rap artist with a high profile has never come out of the closet. Frank Ocean is a R&B singer he is not a rapper. In addition, unlike Frank Ocean, at least Kaldrick King is resolute that he is indeed homosexual. Frank Ocean recently released a music video called Pyramids about a female stripper. I don’t want to sound cynical, but I wonder if Frank Ocean’s coming out is simply a carefully planned publicity stunt? One argument is, Frank Ocean does not need to label his sexual orientation.
Another point to consider, politically correct people will state that we should not label other people but the truth is human beings do label each other. We utilize labels to identify, categorize, and it is a method to understanding each other. Is Frank Ocean gay, or bisexual? I believe Frank Ocean refuses to take on the gay label because he and his PR team probably feel it will stigmatize him and place him into a corner. Frank Ocean and his record company can claim he is a progressive queer role model because he came out of the closet.
Yes, it was a bold step forward for black gay rights that Frank Ocean a prominent African American musician came out of the closet. However, the ambiguity about the R&B singer’s sexual orientation is a quandary.
The media and the general public are confused about Frank Ocean’s true sexual orientation. On various media websites, I have read that Frank Ocean is gay and on other websites the writers state he is bisexual. Why hasn’t Frank Ocean made a music video about being in love with another man? Would it be too shocking or too gay for Frank Ocean to declare his love for another male and kiss him in a music video? Would it shock heterosexual female consumers if Frank Ocean made a music video about having a real passionate love affair with another man?
It is disconcerting that Frank Ocean is only trying to appeal to a heterosexual female market yet ignore his gay male market.
The general public isn’t stupid, Frank Ocean can’t crawl back into the closet he’s out that’s a wrap. Is Frank Ocean going to do what the British actor Luke Evans did come out and then run back into the closet? Luke Evans starred in the Immortals last year and his next major role will be in the Hobbit. Since Evans profile is rising in Hollywood his PR people believe the general public isn’t going to accept him as a gay male action star.
Over a decade ago, Luke Evans came out of the closet to the American gay publication Advocate Magazine All you need to do is type in Luke Evans and gay in a google search and you will find the article. Evans discussed his propensity to enjoying watching gay porn, his love for men with large penises, and his love for other men.
Fast forward a decade later, now that Luke Evans is being groomed by Hollywood to become an action star he is suddenly in love with women. Evans Wikipedia page is scrubbed clean of any discussion about his homosexuality. It appears Frank Ocean is also playing a pernicious game, he is blurring the lines of sexuality on purpose which is abhorrent and deleterious.
Frank Ocean certainly isn’t the gay black role model that the mainstream media is painting him to be. A real role model wouldn’t be singing about loving women and making a video about a female stripper.
Frank Ocean decided to come out of the closet and now he must deal with the consequences. He can’t have it both ways playing with various demographic markets. Frank Ocean needs to make it clear to the general public is he gay or bisexual. It is only fair, because it is not enough for Frank Ocean to state he once fell in love with another man. He needs to prove to the general public that he is indeed not playing a pathetic publicity stunt game and declare his love for other men.
At least Kaldrick King isn’t playing games with his audience on the LA Complex. It is disappointing that a fictional character on a television show is more progressive than a real human being who could do so much for black gay rights. Frank Ocean actions are very disappointing because he isn’t as comfortable with his sexuality and his actions prove this to be the case.
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