In memory of Rob and Anthony - the gay episode of 'All in the Family' which infuriated President Nixon

Anthony Geary (right), Rob Reiner (center), and Carroll O'Connor (left)

We lost two good ones last weekend. 

Director and actor Rob Reiner and longtime soap opera actor Anthony Geary passed away. Geary died from complications of a recent surgery.  And Reiner, in an ugly and tragic turn of events, was murdered along with his wife, Michele. Their son, who has had a long-time problem with drug abuse, was arrested.

Geary himself was gay and Reiner's liberal activism played a huge role in our marriage equality victory at SCOTUS.  Reiner's death, because of its awful nature, has gotten more attention. Also, Donald Trump decided to exploit his murder to settle political scores because Reiner was very public (and accurate) in criticizing his administration. 

But never mind about that trashy son of a bitch who some Americans were off their rocker to twice put in the White House. Karma will be a harsh mistress to him.

Let's focus on Geary and Reiner and how they contributed to LGBTQ history via an episode of the groundbreaking All in the Family.  It featured one of the earliest televised portrayals of a gay man and was so controversial that it infuriated then President Richard Nixon.

In the episode, "Judging Books by Cover," Geary portrays Roger, a friend of Reiner's character Mike. Because of the seemingly effeminate way he carries himself, Roger is considered to be gay by Mike's father-in-law Archie.  Archie makes fun of Roger behind back in various ways.

At the end of the episode, it turns out that Roger may not be gay, but Archie's friend, uber macho Steve (played by Phil Carey) is.  President Richard Nixon was said to be furious at the episode because he felt it "glorified homosexuality."

Nixon didn't exactly care for our sort, so to speak.

Below are snippets.