Men had kissed before onscreen, certainly. Ontkean played Zack, a 30-year-old Los Angeles doctor married to a network TV executive, Claire (Kate Jackson) and Hamlin played Bart, a physically fit, successful novelist, a player, an out gay man - and the object of Zack's closeted affection.
They were both dark-haired, clean-cut, and a little nervous about the scene they were soon to perform. They were there to witness history, but also perhaps to gawk.Īt the center of all the attention were the two actors, Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. Director Arthur Hiller led the production, and Melnick and Lansing stood behind the camera with him. A couple of days earlier, producer Daniel Melnick told the movie's co-star Harry Hamlin, 'Two days! I'll be there!' Sherry Lansing, the president of production at 20th Century Fox, the movie's studio, was also looking forward to it. On the day the unprecedented same-sex kiss was to be filmed for the 1982 movie Making Love, the set was packed - and tense - after weeks of buildup.
