You can say that again. I’m still here.
It’s his birthday today. I discovered him when I was 10, 11, and everyone in my very small weird generation knew who he was. He was a teen idol. Something about him GOT to me. The obsession burned – in a grade-school way – I was barely prepared for the TUMULT of feeling he inspired. For me, it was the Afterschool Specials. I “followed” him as best I could. He died last year. I had never written anything about him before, except in passing, this golden boy of my pre-adolescent dreams, so I decided to pay tribute on my Substack.
I was Googling around looking for recent interviews with him, and found a really good one. He tells some great stories about all the people he worked with – these famous legends who were all still around in the 70s: Mitchum, Glenn Ford, etc. I loved hearing how he – a child at the time – thought about what he was doing as an actor, and why he liked being an actor.
Thank you for the link. From Mitchum to Tobe Hooper is running the gamut of Hollywood!
He’s so good in Salem’s Lot. So vulnerable and nailing that moment when something awful enough happens you have to grow up on the spot.