Long before I started talking about my 'boyfriends' or 'husbands,' I had crushes on tv and/or music stars. Just like everyone else. And the sad passing of Davy Jones from The Monkees has sent me on a trip down memory lane, thinking of these true loves of my youth. The Davy Jones episode of The Brady Bunch is definitely one of my favorites, and he was eminently crush-worthy. It's amazing how that stuff stays in your brain, almost crystal-clear, and yet, I can't remember what I had for lunch today. A wonderful person gave me some old Disney Mickey Mouse Club DVDs. I haven't watched that stuff for more than 20 years, yet I could sing along. The Monkees videos I've been watching on YouTube? Same thing. And I know I haven't watched any of that footage in maybe 30 years...
I always like to say that if a girl develops a crush on someone between the ages of, say, ten to sixteen, forget it, the crush will last forever. This accounts for my continuing and abiding love for Barry Manilow. I have only ever had two posters on my wall in my bedroom at the parental estate, Barry Manilow and Andy Gibb. Wholesome choices, yes? Well, at least they were in the late 1970s. In fact, the first gents who seemed to catch my eye now appear to be homey, nice, wholesome-image guys, which I probably should've stuck with throughout my life, but oh well. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that... ;)
But I remember having googly-eyes for Kevin Tighe from Emergency (which lasted all the way until he played a really creepy doctor on Law and Order: Criminal Intent a few years ago and now I can't get that image of him and Karen Ziemba out of my head, no matter how I try); Martin Milner on Adam-12; Don Galloway on Ironside (seriously, what were my parents letting me watch on tv?!); Barry Williams as Greg Brady, of course, but, strangely, NOT David Cassidy as Keith Partridge. He just didn't do it for me. I would probably flip-flop the two now, if I knew then what I know now. Definitely Sam Melville on The Rookies, though Michael Ontkean was cuter; Richard Thomas, OF COURSE, hello; Mike Minor on Petticoat Junction; Vincent Van Patten on Apple's Way. I adored Steve Tracy, who played Percival Dalton on Little House on the Prairie, but that was probably less of a crush and more of a "I want to be your best friend NOW." Oh, I so wanted to be dating All My Children's Nick Davis (as played by the wonderful Larry Keith). I loved Bill Bixby, but I don't remember watching any of his series, so I don't know where that particular crush came from. His Love Boat episode, perhaps? I don't know why I never got on the Michael Douglas in Streets of San Francisco train - he was certainly adorable. Robert Conrad on Battle of the Network Stars? Oh yeah. Please don't ask me why, but Jim Stafford. I mean, I don't like spiders and snakes either, but I loved him and his little variety show that lasted like three weeks! :) I liked John Travolta well enough in Boy in the Plastic Bubble, but I've never really gotten a crush-vibe from him. Oh, and Robby Benson always gave me the creeps. I don't know what it was. Hmmmmm.
When the miniseries were all the range, I LOVED watching them and again developed huge long-term crushes: Richard Jordan, Peter Strauss, Bruce Boxleitner, Robert Urich, Gregory Harrison, David Birney. Yum, now and forever. And, even though Thorn Birds is outside my aforementioned age-range, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN. I went to see him in the most recent revival of Sound of Music, and the house was filled with women my age and up, and we gasped a collective sigh of happiness when he entered. In a uniform. Whee! :)
As I rack my brain, I think I can pinpoint the change of wholesome safe guys to kinda dangerous guys to John Cougar Mellencamp. Yes, in the days of 'Cougar.' I saw him on some show, maybe SCTV?, and I thought WOW! And that was it for the safe boys. Hello, dangerous guys like Philip Casnoff as Lt. Bent, and Tommy Lee Jones in Lonesome Dove, David Selby, and Baryshnikov, and Tony Geary, leading all the way to Jack Bauer and Sexy Sayid. lol But no vampires, serial killers, pedophiles (though I have finally forgiven Richard Masur for playing a creep named Howie in a tv movie many moons ago) or big bugs, thank you. However, those quirks are best left for another post. Excuse me while I go see if I can find my Barry Manilow poster. Hey, wait, I think someone gave me a Baryshnikov poster that survived the fire. Oh yeah...
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