(CNN) The 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots is a milestone for the gay-rights movement, one being commemorated with everything from parades to documentaries. It's also a moment to look back at TV's history chronicling that fight -- one characterized by boldness among producers, often curbed in its early days by the timidity of sponsors.

When then-Vice President Joe Biden endorsed same-sex marriage in 2012, he cited "Will & Grace" as a factor in his and society's evolution on the issue, saying, "I think 'Will & Grace' did more to educate the American public more than almost anything anybody has done so far. People fear that which is different. Now they're beginning to understand."

'Will & Grace'

The seeds for that progress in television, however, were planted decades earlier. As a Vulture essay about a groundbreaking "All in the Family" episode noted, "In a moment where critics point to sitcoms as a medium that helped change public opinions about gay rights, we should remember that the process didn't begin with 'Will & Grace' or 'Glee.'"

Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey on the 'Ellen' episode when she first identifies as gay in 1997

Several obvious landmarks stand out in any discussion of LGBTQ images on television, including the "Ellen" coming-out episode in 1997 and premiere the following year of "Will & Grace," which surely played significant roles in the strides witnessed over the last two decades.

Long before that, though, there were signature, including the 1971 episode of "All in the Family" in which the bigoted, homophobic Archie Bunker was stunned to discover that an old buddy was gay.

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