Valentine's Day

Kissing on TV

For Valentine's Day, here's a brief history of male-to-male kissing on TV.

An episode of Dawson's Creek when Jack (Kerr Smith) kissed Ethan (Adam Kaukfman), above, in May, 2000, is often cited as the first male-to-male kiss on TV.  That's only off by 49 years.

As far as I can tell, the first male-to-male kiss on TV actually happened on the Colgate Comedy Hour on Feb. 4, 1951, when Jerry Lewis unexpectedly kissed Dean Martin (above).

But that wasn't a romantic kiss.  The first romantic male-to-male kiss on TV was in a 1960 BBC play called Colombe, featuring Sean Connery, of all people, (at left) and Richard Pasco.  The plot had a rather unbelievable excuse for the kiss, to get around the problem that gay sex was still illegal in England.  In the plot, they are brothers, and Pasco is having an affair with Connery’s wife.  Connery decides to find out firsthand what makes Pasco’s kisses so successful.

The first gay kiss on Dutch TV was in the 1970 documentary Portret van een homofiel (Portrait of a Homosexual).  The kiss occurs at the very end, among the end titles (above).

A 1970 BBC TV production of the play Edward II by Christopher Marlowe starred a young Ian McKellen as King Edward and James Laurenson as his lover Gaveston.

If you thought anti-gay hate crimes are a recent development, consider this historical fact: King Edward II, a gay King of England who lived in the 14th century, was murdered by his wife’s lover by having a red-hot poker stuck up his ass.

Here’s Ian McKellen again (above, right) as King Edward II.  It’s hard to believe that this cute guy would become Gandalf.

This clip is from the 1972 West German TV series Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt (It Is not the homosexual who Is perverse, but the society in which he lives), a.k.a. Being Gay part 9.  The scene is in a gay club, and this may be the steamiest male-to-male TV kiss ever.  Eat your heart out, Dawson’s Creek!

Kissing in the Movies

 Kissing in the Movies

A short history of man-to-man kissing in the movies.

When you think of men kissing in a mainstream movie, what movie do you think of?  Brokeback Mountain?  The 1927 film Wings is often cited as having the first male-to-male kiss in a movie, but it was far from the first.

The clip above is from the 1911 Serbian silent film The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karadjordje.  It’s just a couple of quick pecks on the lips between soldiers before parting, but as far as I know, this is the actual first male-to-male movie kiss.

American films were not far behind.  The clip above is from the 1912 silent comedy Algie the Miner.  Algie is an effeminate Easterner who is sent out West to become a man.  Upon arriving, he asks directions of the locals and thanks them each with a kiss, which is not well received.  Again, the kisses are just a couple of quick pecks.

D. W. Griffith’s 1916 silent epic Intolerance has four intertwined stories, one set in ancient Babylon.  In this clip, the Persian army has broken through the gates and the Babylonians are doomed. In a final farewell, the Mighty Man of Valor (Elmo Lincoln) embraces and kisses Prince Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) before turning to fight the invaders.  This is no mere peck on the lips.

On a lighter note, this clip is from the 1927 Russian silent film Bed and Sofa, which came out a few months before Wings.  Kolya has invited his friend Volodya to come live in his apartment with him and his wife.  In this clip, Kolya tricks Volodya into thinking he’s getting a kiss from the wife.

Here’s the famous kiss from the 1927 silent film Wings.  A World War I pilot (Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers) kisses his dying friend (Richard Arlen).  Although it’s not the first male-to-male movie kiss, you could call it the first Oscar-winning kiss.  Wings was the first movie to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Wings was also one of the first Hollywood films to show nudity.  Actress Clara Bow's breasts appear for a brief second, and in a scene in an aviation enlistment office (above), three naked guys are visible through the door at the back.

Another non-romantic kiss was in The Godfather Part II (1974). Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) kisses his traitorous brother Fredo (John Cazale) on New Year’s Eve in Havana, in what one reviewer called “a fratricidal kiss of death”.

A romantic gay kiss finally happened in the 1971 British film Sunday Bloody Sunday, featuring actors Peter Finch (left) and Bob Elkin.

And, of course, we can't forget Brokeback Mountain (2005).  Now, that's a kiss!

Poem of the Day - Part 13

My Dream

by Ogden Nash

This is my dream,

It is my own dream,

I dreamt it.

I dreamt that my hair was kempt.

Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it . 

I think this guy won't mind having his hair unkempt for something so toe-curling.

Kissing

 Kissing

For Valentine's Day, some (mostly vintage) kissing photos.

This Harry Bush cartoon says “Kiss a Marine and see what happens.”  Read on to see what happens when you kiss a serviceman.

What happens when you kiss a sailor?  This is a 1942 photo of two sailors on leave in San Diego.  ACT-UP used this image on a T-shirt.  Very sweet.

But here's the original uncropped image of the sailors kissing, from the Kinsey Institute.  That’s what happens when you kiss a sailor!

What happens when you kiss a soldier?  In 1945, Nazi Germany had just been conquered by Russian and Allied armies.  In celebration, a Russian and American soldier kiss.  This photo became known as the “friendship kiss.”  We don’t know how far the new international friendship was taken after dinner.

Two guys in a photo booth in 1953.  The booth’s automated photo development was a way to avoid having to send in your film to be developed, in the days when a photo like this would get you in trouble.

French runner Alain Mimoun (right) kissing Czech runner Emil Zatopek to congratulate him at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, captured by LIFE photographer Ralph Crane.  Mimoun would have been the world champion long-distance runner, except Zatopek kept beating him.  Despite their rivalry, they forged a friendship.  Mimoun finally beat Zatopek in the marathon at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.  “Emil, congratulate me,” he said.  Zatopek embraced and kissed him.  “For me, that was better than a medal,” Mimoun said later.

A moment at a 1962 track meet between the U.S. and Russia, captured by LIFE photographer John Dominis.  Another kiss of international friendship?  No, this time it’s a Russian coach or teammate congratulating a Russian athlete.

Turkish oil wrestlers kissing in a 1961 photo by LIFE’s Stan Wayman.  According to the Turks, it’s not gay if they coat themselves with oil, grapple with each other, stick their hands down each others’ pants trying to get a grip, and then the winner kisses the loser.  It’s just Turkish.

Happy Valentine's Day!