November 11, 1985 –
One of the first major films dealing with AIDS, An Early Frost, starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, first aired on NBC-TV on this date.
Aidan Quinn (Michael) remembers that NBC’s Standards and Practices department were a constant (in Quinn’s words, “hovering“) presence on the set. They regulated matters such as Quinn appearing in bed with D.W. Moffett (Peter) – they would not allow the two to be seen together in the characters’ bed, only for Quinn to be in bed while Moffett sat, fully clothed, on its edge. Quinn says in the commentary that the censors were not only adamant that the two men were never allowed to kiss, but also that any physical contact between them had to be “balanced” by Michael’s contact with his parents.
The Haus of Dcaligari 