Hunk of Steel

What's On Wednesday:

I recently rented the Superboy series and was amazed at how bad the show was. It's funny how the mind plays tricks on you. I remember when the show was orignally on and thought it was great. The times they are a-changing. The series starred John Haymes Newton in the title role for the first season (which is the only season available on DVD).


Gerard Christopher took over the role in the second season and stayed with it until it ended after the fourth season. Let me state right now, Newton was sooooo much hotter than Christopher.


The special effects, for the time, I guess were pretty good. Now they just look cheap. The only special effect that still holds up well are the taking off shots were he's hooked to a crane by a harness. The rear projection/greenscreen looks like Land of the Lost from the 70's.

As much as I dislike Michael J. Pollard's acting style, he was perfectly cast as Mr. Mxyzptlk.


Now the best part of the show was Scott Wells. He played probably the best looking Lex Luthor ever!!!




He even had a muscle bound jock that was part sycophant, part admirer (lover?).




When the second season started they hired Sherman Howard to play Lex...now I'm limp.

Do you want to watch it? Nah...from the first season only 3 episodes were even tolerable and only because of the eye candy.





DC Comics character

Narcissism at it's Funniest

More YouTube Tuesday:

After watching Aliens in the Attic the other night, Mom Smackley and I were trying to figure out if we thought he was cute or not. By the end of the movie, there was no doubt. Robert James Hoffman III is very cute!!! He's a great dancer and if you go to his website, you will see some amazing videos of his dancing.

This is one of his comedy videos where he falls in love with himself.



Here's hoping we see more of him!!!

Brand New Shade of Man

YouTube Tuesday:

Scissor Sisters with the awesome video and song "Kiss You Off"



I think this has to be one of my favorite songs!!!

Heavy Equipment

Monday's Man

My love of After Dark and the culture of gay life in the 70's of course led me to discover Jack Wrangler. Jack was more than just a gay porn star. He was an actor, director and producer as well as an entrepeneur. If you get a chance to see Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon you will appreciate him on a whole different level than you do right now. He explains his path from the John Stillman, son of a Hollywood producer to model, to gay porn star, to straight porn star until he finally married singer Margaret Whiting. This unlikely pairing was strange to the world, but through this documentary he is able to explain the marriage and why it was probably his most important relationship ever.
















One of Jack Wrangler's most famous films was Kansas City Trucking Co.











He also starred in Killing Me Gently

and the 3-D gay porn film Heavy Equipment and many, many more.

Jack's business sense was also to exploit the character of Wrangler


The "In His Own Image" ad is from a whole photoshoot to promote his "product":

So, if you get the chance to see the documentary Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon you will enjoy it. It was sadly finished only a year before he passed away in 2009 from emphysema. If anyone knows how to get a DVD copy of Kansas City Trucking Co. or any of his other films...let me know. I want it just for referencing *wink*.

After Dark January 1977 (cont'd)

I had started the review of After Dark January 1977, but there was so much to feature that I needed to break it up into two parts.

The issue continued with other films remembered like A Woman at her Window, Laure, Fire Sale, The Voyage of the Damned, Cross of Iron, The Innocent, Pipe Dreams, King Kong, Nickelodeon and Bobby Deerfield.

In addition, Joseph Andrews starring Ann-Margret as the aptly named Lady Booby,


John Beck who starred in Audrey Rose,


former The Mamas & the Papas singer Michelle Phillips who was starring in Ken Russell's Valentino,


Terence Hill from Windfall, Michael York in flyaway hair from The Island of Dr. Moreau,



Sam Elliot in his beefcake glory Lifeguard,


and American Ballet Theatre dancer Clark Tippet who starred in The Turning Point with Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft.




Bette Midler was about to recreate Lotte Lenya's role in The Seven Deadly Sins with choreography by George Balanchine here with the Divine Miss M.


Speaking of stage, Mom Smackley's favorite star Divine was appearing in Women Behind Bars as seen in this ad.


In the early 80's, HBO's Standing Room Only featured Vanities starring Annette O'Toole, Meredith Baxter-Birney and Shelley Hack and I was hooked. Well the play was featured in 1977 starring Lucie Arnaz, Sandy Duncan and Stockard Channing.


Finally, Seabastiane starring Leonardo Treviglio was reviewed by John Gruen.


Check back for more After Dark visits.

After Dark January 1977

As I stated before, I bought three issues of After Dark because there were articles in them on people Mom Smackley and I liked. The first was because of Carrie Nye, but this issue was because of Susan Tyrrell. Mom Smackley became pen pals with Susan Tyrrell many years ago and that relationship grew to be friendship. We even named one of our cats Susu after Ms. Tyrrell's nickname. After Dark writer Viola Hegyl Swisher wrote an article titled "The Taming of Susu" where she talks about her career and acting style.






This issue was a cornucopia of treasures. I like to call it the Bad issue because it features the three stars of Andy Warhol's Bad.


In addition to Susu, cover boy Perry King is featured in an article by Norma McLain Stoop. He was coming off the success of Mandingo and The Wild Party.









"Baby Doll Grows Up" was an article by Foster Hirsch featuring Carroll Baker, the third star from Bad. A famous star of the 50's and early 60's, she received a revival of sorts by starring in Bad.





Marita Phillips revealed the inner thoughts of Terence Stamp in her article "I Would Starve If I Couldn't Cook".


Patrick Pacheco reviewed A Star is Born starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.




After Dark editor William Como had an editorial column called "Speaking Out" where he spoke of visiting movie houses in the 30's to see Mr. Skeffington, Watch on the Rhine and The Women. There was even a nice little tribute to Rosalind Russell who had passed away recently.
He also publicized a new book called "The Hurrell Style: 50 Years of Photographing Hollywood" which featured photographer George Hurrell's glamour shots of stars like Bette Davis.


Norma McLain Stoop featured A Little Night Music starring Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Rigg which I will probably review myself at a later date.




The rest of this issue will have to reviewed later today.