MetaChat - Pre-teen crushes: time to fess up

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28 January 2006

Pre-teen crushes: time to fess up Jon’s Partridge Family thread has sparked a few confessions of teenybopper heartthrob puppylove for David Cassidy (and one for Christopher Knight). Who got you hot before you were really sure what that meant? →[More:] For me, it was a heady mixture of Pam Ferdin, Eve PlumbSusan Dey, Elizabeth Montgomery, Julie Newmar, and, uh, Melanie from Josie and the Pussycats. Shut up.

post by: bmarkey at: 01:20 | 46 comments

Hmm. There should have been a link for Susan Dey. Crap.

Well, better late than never: Susan Dey.

posted by bmarkey 28 January | 01:23

David Bowie.

Labyrinth. Heh.

posted by SassHat 28 January | 01:27

Pam Ferdin! Holy crap. I remember her.

My first crush ever was on Humphrey Bogart...haha. He was already dead when I fell madly in love with him the way he looked and acted in really old movies that came on on Saturday afternoon. I was seriously madly in love with him. Then my mother told me he had been dead for years, and I refused to believe it because I wanted to marry him. I think I cried for about a week...I was inconsolable. God what a tool.

A few years later I discovered Keith Partridge.

And Christopher Knight (Peter Brady) is very hot. Now. Great body.

posted by iconomy 28 January | 01:31

Can't believe there've been 4 comments and no one's said Barbara Eden!

posted by agropyron 28 January | 01:43

Barbara who?

posted by Cryptical Envelopment 28 January | 01:48

D'oh! I knew I was gonna leave someone out. Yeah, definitely Barbara Eden. And, now that I think of it, Barbara Feldon (Agent 99 on Get Smart) and Diana Rigg (Mrs. Peel on The Avengers).

posted by bmarkey 28 January | 01:49

Oh, lord. Helen Reddy. She was so gosh-darned nice.

Apparently I didn't actually understand some of the lyrics.

posted by Five Fresh Fish 28 January | 02:00

Julie London, Nurse Dixie McCall on Emergency. She always made me feel all funny inside. And I second Diana Rigg.

posted by arse_hat 28 January | 02:03

John Travolta when I was ten--the yearGrease came out.

posted by brujita 28 January | 02:13

I had a crush on Helen Hunt in 2nd grade. She starred in a made-for-TV movie about being a HS football player. We'll say that was around 1981, 1982.

It hasn't subsided all that much.

posted by mudpuppie 28 January | 02:18

In addition to my aforementioned Christopher Knight crush, I also recall early grade school crushes on Elton John (I know! I was 6!), Shaun Cassidy, Les McKeown (Bay City Rollers, woo!), Scott Baio, and John Travolta.

Then I discovered new wave at the age of 11 and, have mercy, the flood gates of pop start crushes really opened! Anyone who has ever heard me wax poetic about Paul Weller or Neil Finn or David Bowie at a meetup will realize that things haven't changed all that much in the past 25 years.

posted by scody 28 January | 02:42

heh: "pop start." that's a typo I kinda like.

posted by scody 28 January | 03:03

Barbara Eden

posted by agropyron 28 January | 04:12

At age 10, Neil Armstrong. And a few years later, Donny Osmond. Donny's still hot.

posted by essexjan 28 January | 04:54

Illya Kuryakin, baby.

aw.

The hipster intellectul.

Pensive.

coolest. shades. ever.

Oopsie! where'd my clothes get to?

Oopsie! where'd my clothes get to?

Knot again!

Oh, noes, Illya - don't die!

(All but the first image via.)

posted by taz 28 January | 07:40

Jason Bateman on "It's Your Move." He's still adorable.

posted by amro 28 January | 09:03

12-13 is a little beyond your age range, but Jennifer Connelly in Career Opportunities kinda resolved in my mind what I wanted to do with girls and why.

posted by selfnoise 28 January | 09:12

Lynda Carter. I used to run home to watch Wonder Woman. I was only vaguely aware why, but I loved watching her run around in that outfit.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 09:36

and Jaclyn Smith. She was definitely my favorite Angel.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 09:43

Pips just told me that had a major league crush on Gopher from Love Boat. You women are weird.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 10:11

Natalie Wood in the lead.
Many others mentioned here.

posted by peacay 28 January | 10:17

:) mudpuppie. I had quite the mix - Sally Field, Nancy McKeon - Jo on the Facts of Life, Mark Hamill, Paul McCartney, Kate Jackson, Christopher Knight.

posted by chewatadistance 28 January | 10:21

The TA in my 8th grade homeroom. And Mrs. Peel.

posted by warbaby 28 January | 10:34

All the Monkees, in order, beginning with Davey and eventually landing on Mike.
Chekov from Star Trek. George Harrison. John Lennon. James Bond, yeah, okay, I confess, it was Roger Moore. And, Robert Redford, who I fell for first in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. Later, he was the one who, in the first R rated movie I ever saw, 3 Days of the Condor, suddenly clarified a whole lot of things for me. ;-)

posted by mygothlaundry 28 January | 10:49

the first R rated movie I ever saw, 3 Days of the Condor,

The first R-rated movie I ever saw was Escape From New York. So, Kurt Russell can do all the 'legitamite' acting he wants, but to me he will always be Snake Plissken. And Snake was a bad motherfucker.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 11:19

Jason Bateman on "It's Your Move." He's still adorable.

Amro, I'm so glad someone else remembers that! For some reason, the episode when they went on the game show has stuck with me and I actually find myself quoting it on occasion. He told the host he had African Sleeping Sickness and would periodically yell "NYANG!" and pretend to fall asleep. And the spokesmodel kept describing prizes like, "It's a stereo! With knobs and everything!"

posted by jrossi4r 28 January | 11:25

In order to the present: Shaun Cassidy (whose picture adorned a satin pillowcase I won from TIGER BEAT) , Andy Gibb (I even had a puzzle of the cover of Shadow Dancing), David Lee Roth (Bought 2 copies of Women and Children First just for the poster), Sting (boarded planes to see him on the Dream of the Blue Turtles Tour), Keanu Reeves (I would tell you the lengths I've gone to for this still-present-crush, but you'd laugh and laugh and laugh).

posted by krix 28 January | 11:38

I had an awesome satin rollerskating jacket with a picture of Shaun Cassidy on the back. And a pair of bellbottoms with his face on one leg. Oh Sears Catalog...you were so good to me.

But Sting was probably the first giant celeb crush. My room was covered in pictures of him. Then one day my high school boyfriend pointed out that he always posed with his arms crossed so that his biceps looked bigger.

posted by jrossi4r 28 January | 11:49

Julie Newmar in My Living Doll.

posted by y2karl 28 January | 12:02

All three of The Champions (but esp. Stuart Damon)

posted by essexjan 28 January | 12:36

pat monday from square one tv's mathnet.

posted by sam 28 January | 13:17

Kristy McNichol, for me.

It was probably this issue, too.

posted by stilicho 28 January | 13:53

Olivia Newton John (circa "Have You Never Been Mellow") and Goldie Hawn are the first two I remember. I was also big on Kristy McNichol (damn, that Dynomite cover was a huge deal for me when it came out). But when I saw Escape To Witch Mountain in 4th grade my heart belonged to Kim Richards. I even watched "Hello Larry" because of her.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 28 January | 15:50

for you, slack

posted by jonmc 28 January | 16:24

Elijah Wood, and Taylor Hanson.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 January | 17:04

Gunther Gebel-Williams.

No I am NOT kidding.

posted by bunnyfire 28 January | 17:09

Oh, dear, bunnyfire's a lion.

Run, everyone, run!

posted by jonmc 28 January | 17:28

Aw Jon, he was so cute back when I was in fifth grade. Everybody else was into Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, and I had circus posters on my walls.

I did actually see him a few years back (before he died-his son took over the act and he was helping with it. ) I will never forget-the grand elephant finale, when the elephant who was pierouetting on his stand, center ring, suddenly had to poop-imagine if you will, a similar effect to a lawn sprinkler. I will never forget the expression on Gunther's face.

Gunther used to do his act with his wife performing in the ring on his left and his exwife to his right. Now THAT is a brave man.

posted by bunnyfire 28 January | 18:02

I had circus posters on my walls.

me too. bearded ladies and rubbermen are the hawt.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 18:09

Hmm, Michael J. Fox in the Back to the Future series was probably my first "tee hee, I wanna marry him when I grow up!" sort of crush, as well as a couple members of the Backstreet Boys. I know. Shut up.

But that all changed when I saw Goldeneye at a impressionable age. Pinning up posters of boy bands on your bedroom walls may be one thing, but seeing Sean Bean in that film made me feel all funny inside in a way I hadn't quite felt before. That man still has that effect on me.

posted by kosher_jenny 28 January | 18:11

Sean Bean is really hot. He's rugged, dangerous-sexy. Sean Bean next to Viggo Mortensen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was ridiculous amounts of rugged sexiness. Whew.

My list:
David Bowie in Labyrinth
Harrison Ford (Between Star Wars and Indiana Jones, there is no other option)
Pierce Brosnan (He looks the same now that he did then! Practically!)
Sting (Ditto)

I had some crushes on people in books. Did anyone else?

posted by halonine 28 January | 19:40

OOOOOOooooo I had a big on on Kristy McNichol too, thanks for the refresher stilicho

posted by chewatadistance 28 January | 20:42

Oh man, major shoutouts to anyone who thought Kristy McNichol was the shit. My entire bedroom was plastered with her picture.

Not only that, but WHY NOT HALEY MILLS???? The original Parent Trip movie girl? Holy God - I wanted to go to camp so bad after seeing that movie.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 29 January | 00:28

Off topic: so I just Googled Sean Bean because I didn't remember him in GoldenEye and I found this page which lists famous people who are uncircumsized. I think this is completely bizarre.

posted by small_ruminant 29 January | 00:56

I liked various Monkees and Beatles when I was a kid, but nothing made me feel -- different -- until I was 11. I had left school early with the flu and my Mum had planted me on the couch with chicken noodle soup while I watched a truly bad tv movie called The Feminist and the Fuzz, with Barbara Eden and David Hartman. Despite having already read The Female Eunich and despite rolling my eyes at the parody of feminism, the way Davis Hartman (yes Mr. Lucas Tanner, Mr. Good Morning America) threw Eden over his shoulder and transported her out of the Bunny Club, and then the way my tummy felt as I watched them kiss ...

Excuse me. I'll have to take a moment.

posted by maudlin 29 January | 15:51

Simon LeBon and John Taylor of Duran Duran, Ricky Schroder, Jason Bateman, and, uh, Peter Wolf of the J. Geils band.

posted by sisterhavana 29 January | 21:46

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