Fifteen years ago, the first cover of Watermark featured an interview with Amanda Bearse, star of FOX TV’s Married With Children and one of the first working television actors to come out in Hollywood. She was also a local who got her start acting in the theater department at Winter Park High School. To commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of Watermark, we tracked Amanda down to see what she’s been up to for the past decade and a half.
WATERMARK: What was it like for you growing up in Winter Park?
AMANDA BEARSE: It was actually quite idyllic. It was a lovely, safe little place to grow up in the sixties and seventies. As far as growing up gay, there really wasn’t any identification; there weren’t any role models or people to offer guidance. The Parliament House was there, but I didn’t really know about it until long after I left Orlando.
What are some of your memories of this area?
One of the most charming things about Winter Park is that, at least back in the day, you could get around as easily by water as you could by land. We got our boating licenses when we were kids because as soon as you could pass the test you could get a license. I got mine when I was nine. (Laughs.) That gave us a lot of independence when we were very young. We lived on a little street called Henkel Circle off Genius Drive. Back then it was still privately owned with a dirt road and a peacock farm so that was pretty magical as well. It was almost like living in a fairy tale-like setting.
What was it like for you as you became aware of your sexuality?
Theatre was my safe place because I knew I was different. My drama teacher at Winter Park High School, Ann Derflinger, remains one of the most powerful mentors in my life; her influence is still with me. She sort of encouraged me to go onstage and to explore that, and I did that and found some success. She took the theatre profession very seriously, and she instilled a lot of that work ethic in me. Theatre is a very playful and creative place to be, but she took it very seriously and expected a lot of us.
Early in your career, did anyone in Hollywood ever give you advice about whether or not to come out?
My first manager, ironically a gay man, almost threatened me. He basically said, ‘You read like a dyke and you need to watch that.’ I’ve always been sort of a tomboy, but I thought, ‘I can act and I can play straight people.’ That was a little scary.
Did it keep you from coming out earlier than you did?
It taught me to be fearful, so at first I kept my personal life and professional life pretty fragmented. Then when I moved to L.A. in the mid-eighties I became more comfortable with myself. When I was cast in Married With Children, I was in a very safe and familial environment. I lived my life openly and people knew I was gay. But I didn’t come out professionally until 1993—the year my daughter was born.
Why do you think that Married With Children is still so popular in reruns?
I think in some way it’s just about a silly laugh. The show was never meant to educate or enlighten; if anything it’s what not to do and how not to be. I think people still get a kick out of how silly and irreverent it was. It came out in the eighties when there were all these ‘feel good’ happy shows with families that no one recognized. We went there before Roseanne and even before the Simpsons.
Didn’t you get into directing as a result of being on that show?
I negotiated to begin directing in the fifth season, so I ended up directing in six different seasons during the run of the show. My part, you understand, was only going to be that little piece of the puzzle that it was. Every once in a while Marcy would get more to do, but most often it was just to come in and be humiliated by Al for a few minutes or humiliate him back. I wanted to stay with the show, but I was looking to experience something more expansive creatively and they allowed me to do that.
You took a chance twenty years ago with a then-unknown and untested FOX network, and then you did that all over again a few years ago with LOGO. What was your reaction when you heard that a LGBT network was coming?
I wanted to be a part of it. I went knocking on LOGO’s door to say, ‘Hey… is there any place for me here? Is there anything I can do?’ They had this sketch show with Rosie O’Donnell on the table, just as an idea. Fortunately, I had just spent six years directing episodes of Mad TV, so I had a lot of work under my belt in the sitcom world and I knew a lot about sketch comedy. It turned out to be a good fit. We have gotten a lot of positive response.
How do you think our community has changed in the fifteen years since you appeared on Watermark’s first cover?
I think its evidenced right there with what you’re doing and what your growth has been. Watermark is just right there for people to access at any age, closeted or not, and that’s true throughout our culture. There are opportunities to find other people, to get together and share life experiences so that you don’t feel isolated and alone. And all of us who are able to lead our lives out in the open can show that our lives have integrity, and show those communities that harbor so much fear and hatred towards us that there is nothing to be afraid of.
