David Hyde Pierce Comes Out

David Hyde Pierce has officially come out of the closet. The actor, who's best known for his role as Frasier's brother Niles, has never made any secret of his sexuality, but he's also never discussed it publicly.

Instead, he used the semi-closeted phrase, "I don't talk about my personal life," when asked about his sexuality, which led Michael Musto to include Pierce in his "Glass Closet" article that accompanied Out magazine's controversial "Gay Power List" piece.

Pierce silently came out in a recent story on CNN.com, which had a reference to his partner Brian Hargrove.

"He worked at Playwrights Horizons, the Public Theater, Shakespeare in the Park and a lot of regional theaters such as the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Chicago's Goodman and Long Wharf in New Haven, Conn. Pierce got to Los Angeles in the early 1990s when his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove, wanted to write for television," the story says.

AfterElton.com contacted Pierce's publicist to make sure the reference was accurate and intended, and received the confirmation that Hargrove is indeed Pierce's life partner.

Pierce is currently appearing on Broadway in his Tony-nominated role in Curtains.