 His character was proudly and overtly homosexual, groundbreaking for network television at the time.In the later episodes he was in a committed relationship with a male partner, which was respected by the detectives in the squad.In 1959 DeLeon portrayed Herman in the New York City Center revival of Frank Loesser's "The Most Happy Fella"; a role he later reprised in the first West End production of that musical in 1960 at the London Coliseum.