In today's issue of The Hollywood Reporter, TV editor Andrew Wallenstein looks at the recent announcements by Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight that they are gay men. He notes that these self-outings (with some help of the tabloids and bloggers) seems to be evidence of how far Hollywood has come since the days of such closeted stars as Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift.

Both those handsome and very gay leading men (Clift is pictured on the beach) remained closeted for fear of ruining their reputations during what was a far less tolerant era.
Wallenstein wonders if this is progress though. "Neither Harris or Knight is in the m,old of the traditional lewading man, and that's a huge distinction," he writes. "That type of role is predicated on an actor's sex appeal to the opposite gender. Absurd as it sounds, on some level viewers have to believe their object of affection could somehow reciprocate their attraction. Just imagine if ["Grey's Anatomy"] resident hearthrob Patrick Dempsey, who is not gay, had come out. Would McDreamy till be as popular and would that affect the show's popularity?"

Wallenstein believes that given the current climate of gossip-mongering on the Internet that makes it virtually impossible for even a minor celebrity to stay in the closet, it is probably inevitable that a sexy lead actor will be outed.

He writes: "If the disclosures of Harris and Knight seem like a big deal, just wait and see what happens when someone like a modern-day Hudson follows in their footsteps."

In the meantime, i say give some leading roles in movies to such out actors as the sexy and talented Robert Gant, Chad Allen or Rupert Everett to show that they can be sexy and attractive to any gender!