1961 –
Darren Star is behind some of the campest TV hits of the past decade. He created the high school soap Beverly Hills 90210, which became a worldwide hit throughout the 1990s. A spin-off from the show, Melrose Place, was initially poorly received, but new characters and racier storylines saw it become a cult classic. Series regulars included Doug Savant and Marica Cross, now famous all over again for their parts in ABC’s Desperate Housewives.
Star was also responsible for bringing another TV favourite of recent years to the screen, Candace Bushell’s Sex and the City. Hugely popular with gay men as well as straight women, Kim Cattrall’s character, Samantha Jones, was often described as a gay man in a woman’s body.