2-For-1 Special

It's not every day that two TV Icons share a birthday; thankfully, August 28 is such a day.

Glamorous Roxie Roker (August 28, 1929 - December 2, 1995) broke ground as the female half of television's first interracial couple, on The Jeffersons (1975-1985). Aside from her television career (which included the ubiquitous appearances on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island), Roxie was also a Tony-nominated stage actress for her role in The River Niger (1974). Wed to producer Sy Kravitz from 1962 until their divorce in 1985, Roxie is the mother of hunky rock star, Lenny Kravitz. In 1995, Roxie passed away after a battle with breast cancer.


ROXIE ROKER (L) AND FRIEND, 1970'S

America's favorite spinster, Nancy Kulp (August 28, 1921 - February 3, 1991), gained TV immortality via her portrayal of Miss Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971). She also played similar characters in such films as The Parent Trap (1961) and Strange Bedfellows (1965). After Hillbillies left the air, Kulp continued to work on television and in theater; and in 1984, now living in Pennsylvania, she ran as a Democrat for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Her opponent was a Republican who had already occupied the seat for twelve years; to Kulp's dismay, her former Hillbillies co-star, Buddy Ebsen, came out publicly and vocally in her opponent's favor. Kulp, who lost the election, never forgave Ebsen's betrayal, which she also deemed "needless and cruel."

Nancy Kulp passed away in 1991 from cancer of the larynx; in her final years, she became somewhat more forthcoming about her long-speculated-about sexuality, but never fully busting the closet open. A product of her times, she never used the word "lesbian" in a 1989 interview with gay journalist/historian Boze Hadleigh. Asked point-blank about her orientation, Kulp responded, "I'd appreciate it if you'd let me phrase the question. There is more than one way. Here's how I would ask it: 'Do you think that opposites attract?' My own reply would be that I'm the other sort--I find that birds of a feather flock together. That answers your question."


NANCY KULP (L) LOOKING RATHER LESBIAN CHIC IN THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, C. 1967

Happy Birthday, Roxie and Nancy! In your own unique ways, you changed the face of television. It must be one helluva TVLand party right now in your neck of the woods.