Robert Joel

Robert Joel McLane (August 4, 1944 – September 30, 1992) was an American actor known for having starred in the early openly gay film A Very Natural Thing in 1974.

Early life He was born Robert Joel McLane, son of Henry McLane and his wife Sylvia Lamb. He was sometimes credited under the name Robert McLane. He was born in 1944 in Macon, Georgia. Joel played the lead, David, a gay ex-monk, who finds love in New York City. The film has been viewed as being the first film to show gay love. His other co-stars were Curt Gareth, Jay Pierce, and Vito Russo, who went on to write The Celluloid Closet. Joel also appeared in Russ Meyer's Up! (1976), Barbara (1970), and a 1971 PBS television drama, They.

Playwright He wrote one-act plays, one of which, Triptych, was presented in 1990 at the Glenn Wallichs Theater at the University of the Redlands, and was directed by Kent Paul.

Later life and death He moved to Riverside where he wrote plays and taught. He worked for the AIDS Project, coordinating the work of volunteer therapists who worked with persons with AIDS and their families. He died in 1992 of AIDS. A panel honoring him appears on the AIDS memorial quilt.