Celebrity Childhood Crush

Last year at work, someone started an email thread asking, “What celebrity did you have a crush on as a child?” Meaning, what grown-up celebrity did you have a crush on when YOU were a child and not what celebrity did you have a crush on when HE or SHE was a child.

It was one of those questions that should have been easy. I mean, isn’t that just part of growing up? I’m sure I had dozens and dozens of celebrity crushes. But my poor remembery just ain’t what it used to be and I really had to wrack my brain to think of someone(s).

Of course, maybe that’s a good thing. Perhaps being able to instantly recall two dozen crushes from thirty years ago is not a feat you wish to trumpet. Anyway, it turned out to be a fun thread and I thought, why not start the same thing here amongst a slightly smaller audience? This could get interesting.

Being this post’s author, I shall begin, and I apologize in advance for all the testosterone. I won’t let it happen again.

As a child of the 70s, I just had to watch The Love Boat. It came on either just before or just after Fantasy Island and as near as I can tell, had all the exact same guest stars. While admittedly the bizarre Fantasy Island was a bit more in line with my offbeat tastes, the one thing it didn’t have was Lauren Tewes. I remember watching the show when I was thirteen or so, which is about the exact age you truly believe you can grow up and marry a TV star. Besides, she was only twelve years older. While 13 and 25 isn’t feasible, it worked out for Ashton and Demi, right?

Okay, now we’re more like twenty years apart, here. But that still didn’t matter when you’re talking about one of the coolest moms on the tube. I mean think about it, who was she up against around that time? Mrs. Cunningham? Ms. Romano? Sophia Petrillo? Although, I really can’t overlook Justine Bateman. She was pretty hot and we were the exact same age. Perhaps I should have written fan letters to her instead, and avoided all those pesky restraining orders. Ah, what would we do baby without us?

This one’s a no-brainer. In fact, I’m not even sure what to write except look at Princess Leia in the gold bikini. For those of us who grew up with her between 1977 and 1983, this scene was like suddenly seeing the girl next door on the beach in a bathing suit. I mean, you always figured she was a looker, even though you grew up right next door from her, but then to have it all laid out like this…wow. Unfortunately, Leia got dressed for the rest of the film. Fortunately, she didn’t kiss her brother again.

So there you have it, three childhood celebrity crushes. They’re not my top three, but that’s because of that memory problem I told you about earlier. If I think of what my real top three were, I’ll let you know. But don’t hold your breath.

Before wrapping this up, here are my votes in the category of Pairs of Female Television Show Stars Where The Hot One is Not Actually The Hot One:

Now that I’ve completely dated myself, it’s your turn.