The Streets of San Francisco
1972-1977 A female impersonator (John
Davidson) slayed 'em--literally--in a
1974 episode of this police drama, which costarred a
young Michael Douglas.
M.A.S.H.
1972-1983 Cpl. Max Klinger (Jamie
Farr) dons dresses in an effort to get
discharged--quite unsuccessfully.
All in the Family
1971-1979 Lori Shannon, born Don
Seymour Mclean, appeared in three episodes over three
seasons ('75-'77) as Beverly Lasalle, a
female impersonator who became close friends with
Edith Bunker after the homophobic and transphobic
Archie saved her life. Beverly was ultimately mugged and
murdered in 1977's powerful one-hour episode,
"Edith's Crisis of Faith,"
honored with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing.
Bosom Buddies
1980-1982 In this legendary sitcom,
Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari played a pair of
budget-conscious New Yorkers who, in order to live in a
"dirt cheap" women's hotel, lived
and cross-dressed part-time as comically unconvincing
female alter egos Buffy and Hildegarde.
Second Serve
1986 Vanessa Redgrave portrayed transgender
tennis pro Renee Richards (nee Richard Radley) in
this TV biopic, for which she received Emmy and Golden
Globe nominations for best actress.
The Phil Donahue Show
1970-1996 U.K. model Caroline Cossey,
a.k.a. Tula, appeared on Donahue's
groundbreaking talk show in 1990, paving the way for
representations of transgender, transvestite, and
intersex people on programs like those of Jerry
Springer, Sally, Geraldo, Maury Povich, and Montel.
Tales of the City
1993 Olympia Dukakis brought transgender
landlady Anna Madrigal to effervescent life in this
PBS miniseries adaptation of Armistead Maupin's
first City novel (and in Showtime's subsequent
sequels).
The Education of Max Bickford
2001-2002 Depicting transgender life
with depth through a well-written recurring character,
this CBS drama costarred Helen Shaver (Desert Hearts)
as Erica Bettis, the recently gender-reassigned best friend
of middle-aged college professor Max Bickford (Richard
Dreyfuss).
Nip/Tuck
2003-present After seducing the
teenage Matt McNamara, sultry life coach Ava Moore
(Famke Janssen) was revealed to be transgender, after which
the confused Matt picked up and brutally beat another
trans woman, Cherry Peck (real-life drag queen Willam
Belli). Cherry and friends attacked Matt in
retaliation, and she later approached Dr. McNamara for
reconstructive surgery.
All My Children
2006 Susan Lucci's stalwart soap broke
ground with the introduction of Zarf, a male rock star
who was transitioning to Zoe, a gay woman.
The Surreal Life
2003-present Alexis Arquette became
the first transgender person to join VH1's
cringe-inducing series about B- to Z-listers sharing a
house.
Ugly Betty
2006-present After spending part of
the first season mysteriously wrapped in bandages,
former Hudson magazine editor Alex Meade emerged as the
gorgeous Alexis (Rebecca Romijn).
