The Louds' eldest son, Lance, was gay and occasionally wore lipstick and women's clothes. He is credited as the first openly gay character on television and has become something of a gay icon.[1]
One notable moment was when Pat asked Bill for a divorce and to leave the house. Pat's saying to her husband "You know there's a problem", with Bill's responding "What's your problem?" was chosen as one of the Top 100 Television Moments by TV Guide.
The show drew over 10 million viewers and considerable controversy. The family appeared on the March 12, 1973, cover of Newsweek.[2]
Follow-ups
In 1983, PBS broadcast An American Family Revisited: The Louds 10 Years Later.[3]
In 2003, PBS broadcast the show Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family, shot in 2001, visiting the family again at the invitation of Lance before his death.[3] The same family members participated in the documentary, with the exception of Grant. Lance was 50 years old, had gone through 20 years of addiction to crystal meth, and was HIV positive and died of liver failure caused by a hepatitis C and HIV co-infection that year.[4] The show was billed by PBS as the final episode of An American Family.[5]
In popular culture
The series was parodied in 1979 movie Real Life, in which a narcissistic filmmaker disrupts the filming of such a television series, instituting changes that he says are "good for the series".
