Where Are They Now?

Where are the teen idols of my youth? And for the one person out there who dared to think "dead", don't think I don't know who you are, Frederick. I am not ancient enough that my teen idols are dead. Some of my idols from when I was much, much younger are dead, though. John Lennon is one. Allow me to clarify that I was listening to the Beatles and John Lennon at a very early age. I think I was the only person in third grade who knew what the White Album was. As a result, when the movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came out in 1978, I was probably first in line at the box office. Who can't love an acid trip love fest of a movie starring Peter Frampton, the BeeGees and Steve Martin with notable appearances by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Earth, Wind & Fire? Not to mention all the celebrities of the moment who showed up in the Heartland scenes!

One of those celebrities in the Heartland scenes was Leif Garrett. I had a huge crush on Leif from the moment his face graced an issue of Tiger Beat. It was even more intense when I found out he could sing. Where is he now? Leif is actually touring again, although his website does list a club date for later this year. His latest album (2004) is called "Betty Ford for Xmas" and is by Leif Garrett and the Crush Ups. He has two movies coming out, one called American Black Beauty, where he plays Pete and another called Popster in which he is billed as Janitor. I'm not sure if these are straight-to-DVD releases or if they'll be in selected theaters. The pics of Leif on his website are entertaining. At one point he has so much facial hair he's almost unrecognizable. Gone is the dreamy faced cute boy I remember!

Another Big Star for me is Shaun Cassidy. Shaun, who was well known for his role as Joe Hardy in the "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" t.v. series enjoyed success at a young age and hasn't stopped. I fell for Shaun when he released his cover tune single "Da Doo Ron Ron" in 1977. (Apparently the late 70's were my prime starstruck years.) I thought he had hit his peak and fizzled out after he did "Breaking Away", until I realized that he is simply a behind-the-scenes success. Unlike his brother David "I Think I Love You" Cassidy, who resurfaces in Vegas from time to time, Shaun has built up quite the resume as a creator & producer for television. Some notable projects are "Invasion" currently on ABC, was the executive producer for the 2003 season of "Cold Case" and "Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family" on USA. He's busily building a career out of creating, writing and producing. Who knew?

The last of my Holy Trinity from the latter 70's is Rick Springfield. He caught my attention in "Battlestar Galactica" playing Lt. Zac. I followed him to his "General Hospital" debut as Dr. Noah Drake, the best looking doc in the whole of Port Charles. Does anyone remember that song that named all the characters in General Hospital at the time, such as Luke and Laura? Extra points if you can find the lyrics and post them in comments! For those of you still fans of the soap, Rick is reprising his Noah Drake role starting December 2nd. What has he done lately? A lot! His website was by far the best of all three. Don't skip the intro. His touring schedule is heavy and this year he added a date or two in Japan. His newest album "the day after yesterday" is a decent cover tunes cd of "all the songs I wish I'd written" says Rick. I did learn from his website that he recently obtained a "carded, double telescoping Obi Wan Kenobi" figure and that for Halloween he's going as "the guy who had to have two hernia operations" and hopes to "scare the hell out of the little kids". I must say that he has aged gracefully. And perusing his website has me jonesing to listen to "Working Class Dog". I'm hopeless.

Who were your teen idols?