Out Spotlight XXII

The gay community knows how much it needs its straight allies. So this week's Spotlight is on Judith Light- straight woman, actress, and gay rights activist. Light is a fairly well-known TV actress. You may have seen her on the soap One Life to Live, her long-running show Who's the Boss?, or more recently in Ugly Betty. Light has won a Daytime Emmy for her work on One Life to Live and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Ugly Betty. Light was also in a very successful off-Broadway production of the play, Wit.

Light got involved with gay activism after playing AIDS victim Ryan White's mother in a TV movie in 1989. She has worked with numerous gay rights and AIDS organizations. She was a speaker at the March on Washington in 1993 (I was there too!), is on the board of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and even has a library named after her at the L. A. Gay and Lesbian Services Center, where she is a former board member. Light has also worked with the Gay Games, and was a speaker at the Gay Games Opening Ceremony in 1994. Last year she teamed up with Chad Allen and made the film, Save Me, about a man who is forced to join a Christian group to be cured of his homosexuality.

My favorite story about Judith Light is her helping her Who's the Boss? co-star Danny Pintauro come out of the closet. Pintauro played her son on the show and in 1997 when he was 21 the National Enquirer called him and threatened to out him if he didn't talk to them about his sexuality. One of the first people he called was Judith Light, the woman he describes as "a second mom." Light was totally supportive and encouraged him to talk to them so he could get the story out in his own way. Pintauro did and felt pleased with the article the Enquirer did. Light continues to support Pintauro and his career.

Judith Light helps Danny Pintauro come out

Official website of Judith Light












"Those of us who are straight don't always know what we have to come out about. I think that when gay people come out, it gives the rest of us the chance to say, `Maybe we can tell the truth about ourselves too.'"- Judith Light

I've been wanting to do a post on a straight ally for a while now and I had been thinking about Judith Light. I knew she was involved in AIDS activism and had helped Danny Pintauro come out. I had no idea how much she has done or how many organizations she has worked with. Doing the research for this post has made me so impressed with her. And she looks incredible! She is more beautiful now than when she was doing Who's the Boss? and that was over 15 years ago! Continued success to Judith Light!

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