Merv Griffin is being rememered today at services in Beverly Hills. Somehow, I don't think Hollywood Reporter columnist Ray Richmond - who worked as a segment producer/talent coordinator during the final season of "The Merv Griffin Show" - will be on the guest list. The always outspoken Ray has written a column that addresses the pink elephant in the room dead-on:
"Merv Griffin was gay. Why should that be so uncomfortable to read? Why is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood, in 2007? Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as 'one of them.' But how tremendously sad it is that a man of Merv's renown, of his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such a stealthy double life even as the gay community's clout, and its levels of acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance. What a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and platonic public pal. Imagine the amount of good Merv could have done as a well-respected, hugely successful, beloved and uncloseted gay man in embodying a positive image."
Richmond also writes: "Around the office, Merv's being gay was understood but rarely discussed. We knew nothing about his relationships because he guarded his privacy fiercely, and we didn't pry. Merv's secret gay life was widely known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wider America...
...the elephant that was his sexual orientation never stopped following Griffin from room to room. He could duck it for awhile, but it would always find him. It's disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it for good."

Greg's two cents: I still believe it's a person's choice if or when to come out but Ray does raise some excellent points.
What do you think?

Update: Just read this on the LAOberved.com site and explains why I could not find a link of Richmond's column on the home page: Story on Merv Griffin pulled by Hwd Reporter. Elizabeth Guider, the new editor of The Hollywood Reporter, is out of state but ordered the trade's website to take down this morning's story by Ray Richmond about Merv Griffin's sexuality, says a source. It remains on Ray's blog, so click HERE to read it all.

Greg's two cents: It's already in the newspaper! If you printed it, then stand behind it.