Jodie Dallas is a fictional character from the 1977 American situation comedy
Soap. He was played by
Billy Crystal. The son of central character Mary Campbell, Jodie works as a television commercial director. Jodie was among the first
gay characters on American television. Despite being gay, Jodie fathered a child through a
one-night stand, and many of his storylines throughout the series centered on his involvement with women. Jodie had relationships with two other women but maintained throughout the series that he was still gay. The series ended with Jodie, as the result of
hypnotherapy, believing he was an elderly
Jewish man.