Gays in the Limelight

The gay character on "Melrose Place," Matt Fielding, played by Doug Savant, was a social worker who had no love life during the first season. He spent much of his story line in one discrimination-related lawsuit after the next, was beaten up in a gay-bashing incident, lost his job and then regained it. Fielding, who now stars in "Desperate Housewives," said of playing Matt Fielding, "The first question out of most journalists' mouths is ''Are you gay?'' I never told anyone I was straight.... It was an extraordinarily biased question. Life changed because of the amount of attention the show was given. I took it with a grain of salt. I was never in the eye of the storm because I was Matt, the gay character." (Fox)