open/close all folders
The Gays
- Camp Gay: Tony Masters, Downing, Alonzo Torquemada, Billie Keane, and Fiona. The exceptions are Jason Cramer, Richie Hanlon, and Ronnie Barlog.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Every single one except Richie Hanlon and Jason Cramer.
- The Goomba: With the noted exception of Jason Cramer, most of the Gays are considered weak and not good at fighting.
- Hide Your Gays: Not really hidden, as the flamboyant Fiona and Torquemada and the very tall Tony do stand out, but the entire group has very little in the way of storylines throughout the entire series.
- Manly Gay: Richie Hanlon and Jason Cramer. Richie Hanlon is The Everyman and a Butt-Monkey, while Jason Cramer is a violent sociopath and a Karma Houdini.
- Trans Equals Gay: Nat Ginzburg is not gay, but transgender, however, because she is trans, the administration puts her in The Gays. Fiona, on the other hand, is simply a drag queen.
Alonzo Torquemada
Alonzo Torquemada
"I can control all of Em City!"
Played By: Bobby Cannavale
A disgraced nightclub owner and the leader of the Gays in the final season of the show. He imports a lot of designer and synthetic drugs into the prison, and takes a liking to Miguel Alvarez, protecting him from the rest of the Latinos.
- Agent Peacock: a flamboyant man whose demeanor hides a shrewd and determined faction leader.
- Camp Gay: The dyed blonde hair, the bizarre fashion sense...everything about him is this.
- Celibate Hero: Despite the fact he owns nightclubs and is involved in the drug trade, he insists that he is a virgin. Of course, "hero" might be stretching things a bit.
- Coolest Club Ever: Once again, is implied to have run successful straight clubs as well.
- The Dandy: He's very camp and proud of his appearance.
- Faux Affably Evil: He's rather personable and witty...and also a dangerously insane manipulator. It's heavily implied that he'll take control of Oz through the drug trade.
- Left Hanging: He has a grand plan to take over Em City's drug trade and make the Gays a powerful gang, even trying to make an alliance with Chucky Pancamo, leader of the powerful Italian gang. However, this all happens in the last three episodes of the series, so we never really know if his plan would have worked out.
- Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Ran one of these joints.
Nat Ginzberg
Nat Ginzberg
Played By: Charles Busch
- Affably Evil: A sweet and friendly old girl that gets along with almost everyone and just so happens to be a death row inmate.
- Beware the Silly Ones: This campy crossdresser offs Antonio Nappa.
- Camp Gay: And proud of it.
- Convenient Terminal Illness: His AIDS. It's why he agrees to kill Nappa, knowing a death penalty means nothing.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Played with; he's actually quite a convincing woman, but he creeps the hell out of Antonio Nappa because of how much he resembles Nappa's ex-wife.
- Deadpan Snarker: Gets a lot of catty one-liners towards other characters.
- Face Death with Dignity: Dresses to the nines and has his execution date moved up when his time starts dwindling. The AIDS beats the gas chamber to the punch by a few hours.
- Trans Equals Gay: He's lumped in with "The Gays", but there's no indication of what exactly his sexuality is. In fairness, it's not clear if he's transsexual or simply a crossdresser, and the gang seems to comprise all of the queer prisoners in Oz.
Richie Hanlon
Richie Hanlon
"I'm a victim of circumstance."
Played By: Jordan Lage
Prisoner #98H462. Convicted June 3, 1998. Possession and distribution of a controlled substance. Sentence: 8 years, up for parole in 5.
"I love to take it in the ass."
A low-level drug dealer and openly gay inmate. He is the initial leader and spokesman of the Gays.
- Affably Evil: He's done something wrong to end up in Oz, but he's hardly a bad guy.
- Black Comedy Rape: He is raped and humiliated several times by the Aryans, but shrugs it off, or at least hides his emotional trauma very well.
- Butt-Monkey: As soon as he runs afoul of the Aryans, things simply stop going his way.
- The Everyman: He's definitely one of the most normal and sane prisoners in Oz. Of course, that makes him a huge target, especially considering his sexual orientation.
- Incompatible Orientation: Shirley Bellinger keeps asking to see his penis, regardless of his sexuality.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He's repulsed by rapists and tries to help catch the men who attacked Glynn's daughter.
- Shower of Love: Erm, well, he thought he'd get one when he was saved from Death Row. It ends horribly for him.
- Straight Gay: He's not that masculine, but he's neither Camp Gay nor a Creepy Crossdresser, like most of his gang.
Jason Cramer
Jason Cramer
Played By: Robert Bogue
"There's only two things I know how to do. Fight and suck."
A witty inmate incarcerated for killing and chopping up his boyfriend. Partakes in the fighting tournament in Season 3 and is one of the few gay inmates taken seriously by the other prisoners.
- Affably Evil: His crime is utterly brutal, but he's surprisingly witty and personable.
- Deadpan Snarker: He doesn't talk much, but he's always got a good line.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He becomes enraged when he thinks the Latinos are going to attack his lover. Of course O'Reily said it so it wasn't true.
- Framing the Guilty Party: He was on the receiving end of this. While he was absolutely guilty, the detective in charge of the case admits he forged evidence and one of the jurors voted to convict out of blatant homophobia. As such, his case is thrown out and he is released.
- Karma Houdini: Though it seems fairly obvious he committed the crime he was incarcerated for—as he'd tried to ship his dead boyfriend's body parts in the mail—he ends up being acquitted because of how erroneously his case was handled. The lead investigator in the case fabricated forensic evidence because he had known the case against Jason wasn't strong enough, and the jury in Jason's first trial convicted him after a homophobic juror went on a tirade and bullied his fellow jurors into voting guilty.
- Leather Man: Semi-example. He wears a black leather biker jacket several times, and is the most masculine and aggressive of the gay inmates, but doesn't show other biker and BDSM tendencies that most leathermen show.
- Manly Gay: Really highlighted since he shares a prison with some of the most flamboyant crossdressers you've ever seen. Showcased in his last boxing match. Despite being dismissed as a sissy by everyone in Oz, and despite being skinnier, lighter, and less intimidating, he goes the distance with Hamid Khan and is the only one besides Cyril to give him a good fight while almost everyone else gets demolished by him instantly. Notably, this also makes him the only prisoner not to lose by KO. He does lose, but only by split decision.
- Noodle Incident: It's unknown why he killed his boyfriend.
Ronald Barlog
Ronald 'Ronnie' Barlog
Played By: Brian Bloom
Tony Masters
Played By: Steve Wishnoff
- Camp Gay: Dresses up as a Vegas showgirl and other similar costumes.
- The Piano Player: Gets to play a piano for the others in one scene.
- Recurring Extra: He appears in seasons 2-6, generally as a background character and rarely if ever impacting the overall plot.
Billie Keane
Played By: Derrick Simmons
The brother of Jefferson Keane, original leader of the Homeboys.- Affably Evil: He's friendly and cheerful, but still a violent criminal.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He genuinely loves his brother. It's also implied he reconciled with his homophobic father at the end of "Capital P".
- Siblings in Crime: He was part of Jefferson's gang outside, being present in his crime flashback.
- Stalker with a Crush: To Dino in the pilot, following him outside the showers even after the Italian prisoner makes his disinterest clear. It sees him get beat up.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He disappears after his brother's execution.
