The TV film "Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend" definitely did mention the fact that its titled character was homosexual. It's been so long since I have seen it, only saw it when first aired on NBC, but I distinctly recall it mentioned the main character's homosexuality very briefly and, as another poster has said, it was very understated and that was the only mention of it.
But once the property was picked up by NBC, the role of the little girl's ("Patti's") mother, "Laurie," re-cast with Swoosie Kurtz for the series "Love, Sidney," the fact of its main character's sexual orientation was never again mentioned, only implied by lifestyle--i.e., living alone as platonic best friend of single mother & "father figure" to her daughter. And anyway, the sex life of "Sidney" was irrelevant to the overall theme of the continuing story, which was the relationship between "Shorr," "Laurie" and "Patti." I do recall that it was a very sweet, very well-written film, very nicely played by Tony Randall (who was always excellent & added a touch of class to whatever work in which he appeared).
I will disagree with the previous poster, "jewel," about one aspect of her/his review of this film. The overall message on the film's concluding scene was not "Sidney, alone, heartbroken, amid the dozens & dozens of pictures," but rather--Sidney, again living solitary, but warmed by the many pictures sent him by his surrogate daughter, symbolic of the fact that they had remained in contact over the intervening passage of time. And so the film ended as it began, Sidney living alone, yes, but content and happy for the fact of having had this daughter figure brought into his life. In no way did the film end on a down note--to state otherwise is to have missed the point! It's all a matter of proper perspective and context, really.
But once the property was picked up by NBC, the role of the little girl's ("Patti's") mother, "Laurie," re-cast with Swoosie Kurtz for the series "Love, Sidney," the fact of its main character's sexual orientation was never again mentioned, only implied by lifestyle--i.e., living alone as platonic best friend of single mother & "father figure" to her daughter. And anyway, the sex life of "Sidney" was irrelevant to the overall theme of the continuing story, which was the relationship between "Shorr," "Laurie" and "Patti." I do recall that it was a very sweet, very well-written film, very nicely played by Tony Randall (who was always excellent & added a touch of class to whatever work in which he appeared).
I will disagree with the previous poster, "jewel," about one aspect of her/his review of this film. The overall message on the film's concluding scene was not "Sidney, alone, heartbroken, amid the dozens & dozens of pictures," but rather--Sidney, again living solitary, but warmed by the many pictures sent him by his surrogate daughter, symbolic of the fact that they had remained in contact over the intervening passage of time. And so the film ended as it began, Sidney living alone, yes, but content and happy for the fact of having had this daughter figure brought into his life. In no way did the film end on a down note--to state otherwise is to have missed the point! It's all a matter of proper perspective and context, really.
