DAVID HYDE PIERCE HAS COME OUT

Actor David Hyde Pierce – maybe best known for his role of Niles on "Frasier" – has come out of the closet after an article on CNN today that nonchalantly said:

Pierce got to Los Angeles in the early 1990s when his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove, wanted to write for television. A short-lived Norman Lear series, "The Powers That Be" led to "Frasier." And the rest is, well, history…

Pierce has always been extremely private about his personal life and although it was never a big secret in Hollywood that he was gay, he had never made any declaration in public either way.  AfterElton.com checked with Pierces management and made sure that the inference was correct.

to be sure that the reference is accurate and was intended, AfterElton.com contacted Pierce's representation, who confirmed that Hargrove is indeed Pierce's life partner. It's interesting that this quiet yet enormous step was taken shortly after Pierce was essentially outed by Michael Musto in his "Glass Closet" article that accompanied Out magazine's controversial "Gay Power List" piece. Is this another situation where a gay celeb was pushed out before he was ready?

I guess it just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover.  If I had seen an article about David winning some Midwestern tough man competitions or scalping redskins in the Dakotas, sure, I'd believe that no problem.  But gay?  Wow.  I did not see that coming.