Alan Sues, an actor whose loud, clownish comedic style made him an invaluable cast member on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," one of the top-rated shows on television in the late 1960s, died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.
The cause appeared to be a heart attack, Michael Michaud, a friend and administrator for Mr. Sues, said.
On "Laugh-In" ... Mr. Sues played Uncle Al the Kiddies' Pal, a consistently hung-over children's entertainer; Big Al, an effeminate sportscaster more obsessed with ringing a bell than announcing the day's action...
Mr. Sues tended to perform with over-the-top flamboyance on the show, displaying stereotypically gay mannerisms. What he did not disclose was that he was gay, Mr. Michaud said, fearing that to tell the truth about his sexual orientation would have ended his career.
"It wasn't because he was ashamed of being gay; it was because he was surviving as a performer," Mr. Michaud said in a telephone interview, adding that Mr. Sues was actually an inspiration to many gay viewers. "Many gay men came up to him and said how important he was when they were young because he was the only gay man they could see on television," Mr. Michaud said. ...
More (w/photo):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/arts/television/alan-sues-a-laugh-in-cast-mainstay-dies-at-85.html
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