NEWSNathan Lane Reveals Mickey Rooney’s Hilarious Gaydar Fail Involving Dana Carvey
Nathan Lane recalled Mickey Rooney's hilarious misunderstanding about Dana Carvey's sexuality on the 'Fly on the Wall' podcast.
July 14 2026, Published 5:00 a.m. ET
Nathan Lane is looking back at one of the funniest moments from his short-lived 1982 sitcom One of the Boys.
"He put his arm around you. He looked at me, and he said, quote: ‘I’m just glad we like girls,'" Dana Carvey recalled on the "Fly on the Wall" podcast, remembering a comment Mickey Rooney made while mistakenly assuming Carvey was gay.
The conversation came as Lane joined Carvey and co-host David Spade to reflect on their time filming the NBC comedy, which aired for just 13 episodes between January and April 1982.
Mickey Rooney Mistook Dana Carvey for Being Gay
Nathan Lane reflected on the sitcom experience that brought him together with stars like Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey.
Lane explained that Rooney quickly developed a fondness for him.
"He didn’t get how brilliantly funny you were," Lane told Carvey. "He was more drawn to me because I seemed more old school to him."
According to Carvey, Rooney regularly introduced Lane as a "generational talent," while referring to him simply as "Danna Garney."
Lane then revealed that Rooney thought Carvey was into men.
He recalled, "And then there was this strange thing that he, I think, started to make an assumption that Dana might be gay."
Lane added, "Dana was blond and, occasionally, for comedic purposes, a little flamboyant, and so he decided that Dana might be gay."
Dana Carvey remembered Rooney telling Lane, 'I’m just glad we like girls,' during the short-lived NBC sitcom.
The irony, however, was that Rooney had the wrong person. Lane, who is gay, had not publicly come out at the time and never told Rooney.
"Dana, at one point in frustration, said to me, 'Why don’t you tell him you’re gay?'" Lane remembered.
Lane added, "And I said, Why should I break, you know, America’s sweetheart’s heart by telling him that, when this [series] is going to go no further than 13 episodes?"
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Nathan Lane Reflected on Coming Out Years Later
Nathan Lane later said coming out publicly in 1999 was an important decision that positively impacted others.
Years after One of the Boys ended, Lane publicly came out in a 1999 interview with The Advocate. Looking back during a 2009 interview with the same publication, he said being open about his sexuality helped others.
Lane said, "It was important for me personally; I wasn’t doing it for anybody else but me."
He added, "Even if people cynically look at you and say, ‘Oh, yeah, we already knew, there’s no news here,’ it’s still worth doing, especially for the young folks out there who are looking for a role model or examples of someone who is successful and openly gay."
Lane concluded, "When you read something like that, you realize that you can have a positive effect, even if it’s only on a few people."
Rooney Was Convinced 'One of the Boys' Would Be a Massive Hit
One of the Boys' starred Mickey Rooney, Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane but lasted just 13 episodes in 1982.
Although One of the Boys was canceled after one season, Rooney reportedly believed it would become television's biggest success.
Lane recalled Rooney quietly telling him and Carvey while they were filming the pilot, "This is going to be the biggest show in the history of television."
According to Lane, Rooney even predicted there would be lunch boxes, T-shirts and a stage version of the sitcom during production breaks.
Privately, however, Lane had a very different reaction. "He’ll be lucky if they don’t cancel this in the middle of filming this f******* pilot," he remembered thinking.
