I've Got a Crush
Michele posted an entry about Scott Baio, and how she had a crush on him as a teenager. While I never saw the big deal about Scott Baio (I neither loved Chachi nor wanted Charles in charge of anything), reading it made me think about my own teenage crushes.
Starting with the one that embarrasses me most to this day - Leif Garrett. Leif was all over the teen magazines when I was reading them (Tiger Beat anyone?). So the only thing that makes me feel better about that whole Leif Garrett thing was that I was not alone in it.
There was also the Shaun Cassidy phase, but as I got older I began to realize that his Hardy Boys costar, Parker Stevenson, was actually the cuter of the two. I'm not really bothered by the Shaun Cassidy crush, although considering I never understood all the screaming fans of his half-brother David, I wonder why I ever thought to swoon over Shaun.
Then I grew older, and stopped fawning over pop stars. That's right, I moved on to rock stars. I loved Joey Ramone. And Geddy Lee, Mick Jagger, and David Bowie. Look, I know that they weren't traditonally attractive (except for Bowie who was and is absolutely gorgeous), but I didn't care. They were sexy.
In my 20s and early 30s, I went through a comedians' phase. Harry Anderson. Colin Quinn (I used to watch MTV's Remote Control religiously). Richard Belzer. Ryan Stiles. They were tall, thin, and made me laugh (well, Colin only made me laugh).
Nowadays, I don't really have celebrity crushes. There are celebrities I find attractive, like David Selby, but gone are the swooning and fawning feelings of the crush. Still, I look back with fondness at crushes of days gone by. Except for Leif Garrett. I just look back at that with a "What the hell was I thinking?".
Comments
Richard Belzer? Gak!
I forgot all about the Hardy Boys. Mmm..
Now the only crushes I have are on bloggers.
Posted by: michele | January 26, 2004 07:56 PM
Yes, I know, it makes no sense, and yet I love Richard Belzer. I really like tall, thin guys.
Posted by: Lesley | January 26, 2004 08:10 PM
I’m not really bothered by the Shaun Cassidy crush, although considering I never understood all the screaming fans of his half-brother David, I wonder why I ever thought to swoon over Shaun.
Never understood? How much time ya got? :)
I'm proud to be the only person I know of kicked out of at least two David Cassidy fan clubs for having the temerity to opine that the real person might not bear that much resemblance to the media manufactured image. Years later, of course, his autobiography bore me out. :)
Almost met him once, went to a B'way show (Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, in which I thought he was actually quite good) on his birthday and brought him a birthday card. Usher asked if I wanted to deliver it in person. Hesitated about five seconds, then decided not to, I didn't want to ruin my own little illusion of him. Sometimes I think I should've done it, it might have been a real kick losing my virginity to my teenage idol (a fair bet considering he was kinda into screwing just about any woman who looked at him). But no real regrets. Interestingly, he still makes my heart go pitter-pat whenever I spot him on TV...
Posted by: Elayne Riggs | January 27, 2004 05:50 PM
All those '70s boy-toys and no mention of Bobby Sherman?!?
I agree with you about Parker Stevenson. He was the cute one. My younger sister had a crush on Shaun Cassidy. I used to tease her about the poster she had of him in our bedroom because he looked cross-eyed.
I worked with Richard Belzer when I was a makeup assistant on the first season of "Homicide: Life on the Streets." He was a jerk with an overblown ego. He also has pockmarks from what I think were acne scars. I vague remember the key makeup artist using a darker foundation on him to mask the scars. He wanted only key makeup to do his face. I was "allowed" to touch up between takes.
He's the only cast member that makes my gag reflex kick in when I'm watching "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."
Posted by: Trish Wilson | January 31, 2004 10:34 AM
I know, but I never liked Bobby Sherman either. Or Robbie Benson. Really, it was Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy. There's just no accounting for taste. I can't make heads or tails of it either.
Posted by: Lesley | January 31, 2004 03:17 PM
Also, I am, sadly, unsurprised to learn that about Richard Belzer. Ah well.
Posted by: Lesley | January 31, 2004 03:18 PM