A generation ago, it was difficult enough to find positive female characters on television, and lesbians were non-existent. But over the past several decades, actress turned politician Sheila James Kuehl has managed to fill roles as both a feminist and a lesbian icon, first in her on-screen roles, and later in her personal and professional life.
Sheila Kuehl (known at the time as Sheila James) came to moderate fame as the ebullient Zelda Gilroy in CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The show ran from 1959 to 1963 and followed the misguided affections of Dobie (Dwayne Hickman) and his beatnik best friend (Bob Denver). Throughout the series, Dobie's character was constantly pursued by Zelda, though she was far too outspoken and smart for Dobie's tastes.
At the time, Sheila Kuehl's role as Zelda was practically unheard of in Hollywood. Nevermind lesbians; it was nearly impossible to find a strong, educated female character on television. Nevertheless, fans respected her for this departure from the stock characters of the past. Meanwhile, the show's writers used Zelda's independence to explain why she could seemingly never have Dobie; she wasn't a stereotypical blonde beauty, and thus she was simply not a girl worth dating.
This departure from cultural norms personified Kuehl's life in many respects, because while Zelda may not have been Dobie's girlfriend, in real life Sheila James Kuehl had a girlfriend of her own.
On the set, Kuehl invented stories of fake boyfriends, lest her employers discover she was a lesbian and ruin her career. This was a common tactic at the time, and--some might argue--a prevalent practice even in today's Hollywood.
Kuehl knew that her career would likely be over if her sexuality was discovered, and this in fact proved to be prescient only several years later.
After The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ended in 1963, CBS planned a spinoff around Kuehl's very popular character Zelda. But after filming only four episodes, the pilot was abruptly cancelled amid rumours of Kuehl's lesbian relationships, and reportedly a network executive went so far as to tell her that she was "too butch" to continue playing the role she originated several years earlier.
Kuehl continued to act, but her roles were limited to guest appearances on TV shows like The Donna Reed Show and The Beverly Hillbillies and a short stint in the comedy series Broadside. By 1965 she would never have a recurring acting role again, with the exception of two Dobie Gillis one-off TV movies. (Perhaps because of the network's awareness of her sexuality, ironically she was married to Dobie in both epilogues.)
After her show was cancelled in 1963 and her sexuality became inside industry knowledge, Sheila Kuehl seemed likely to fade out into nothing more than a pop culture trivia answer, but little did anyone know that her acting career would eventually become only an afterthought on her professional resume.
Recognizing a chance to succeed outside of Hollywood, Kuehl decided to pursue her real loves, academics and civil rights.
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