In 1969, Jo Ann Harris co-starred in The Gay Deceivers. The movie, about two straight guys who pretend to be gay in order to dodge the Vietnam draft, was a humorous, fairly liberal look at homosexuality in late 1960s California. Because it was 1969 and the filmmakers were making something for a wide
audience, they couldn't really go too, too far with the material.
However, they pretty much all but said that one of the two lead
characters (who was supposed to be a narcissistic womanizing gigolo) was
actually gay. Despite any subtext, The Gay Deceivers is a great movie, working both as a fun romp and a nice time capsule for the period.
Jo Ann Harris has a smaller role in The Gay Deceivers and she
plays the sister of one of the lead characters. She has a couple key
scenes and actually provides the only real female nudity in the film. The actress is quite appealing and certainly charming in her role.
In 1969, it really seemed like Jo Ann Harris was going places. Right around the time The Gay Deceivers was released was when the actress was starting to get nice featured roles in television and film projects. Though Jo Ann Harris had definite star quality and had a number of triumphs over the next decade, her career never progressed to that higher level of fame and recognition. With The Gay Deceivers, we get to see a young Jo Ann Harris, eager to conquer Hollywood and ready for bigger things.
Here are some images of Jo Ann Harris in The Gay Deceivers:
