Aw, Man... Chad Everett Dies At 76 After Cancer Battle

Ah, man, oh, man, this one bites. Chad Everett, the dreamy star of the 1970s TV series Medical Center has died. He was 76. Everett's daughter, Katherine Thorp, said he died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a year-and-a-half-long battle with lung cancer.

Everett played sensitive doctor Joe Gannon for seven years on Medical Center, which earned him two Golden Globes and an Emmy nomination, as part of a 40-year career in TV and films. He was a favorite of my mama's... and mine, as a little gay boy who didn't quite understand why he had such a crush on the good doctor.

Everett was born in South Bend, and graduated from Wayne State before moving to Los Angeles and becoming a contract player with MGM. He was married to actress Shelby Grant for 45 years until her death last year.

Let's give Chad a real Smoking Nun send-off, with a fine collective of pics throughout his career. *

Happy Birthday Maxwell Caulfield

In May 2009, I wrote a post about teenage crushes, including Robert Conrad, Chad Everett and Sam Elliott. We can add to the list actor Maxwell Caulfield—who celebrates his 51st birthday today.

As a mid-teen wholly obsessed with "Grease" in 1978, I couldn't wait for sequel "Grease 2" in 1982. While it was thin and poorly received, there was no denying the magnetism of its leads: dreamy Max Caulfield and some chick named Michelle Pfeiffer. There were also a couple great tunes on the soundtrack: "Cool Rider" by Pfeiffer and cast number "Love Will Turn Back the Hands of Time."

For years, I had a pic hanging on my wall from SuperTeen mag, admiring Caulfield's blue eyes, stacked blonde hair and overall handsome demeanor...
Following "Grease 2," Max's PR machine proclaimed him "the next big thing," with accompanying fanzine coversa dnd beefcake pics to back the prediction.That, of course, is not exactly how things turned out. Maxwell's only other role of note was in "Dynasty" spin-off "The Colbys, from 1985-1987, in which he regularly shed his shirt... so who cares if the dude could act.I saw him in off-Broadway play "Salonika" at the Public Theatre in New York in 2006, starring opposite Jessica Tandy and Elizabeth Wilson. And when I say I saw Max, I mean business: He was nude during the majority of the production.Factoid: In 1980, Caulfield, then 21, became the third husband of actress Juliet Mills, who is 18 years his senior. They remain together today.Here's the video clip for "Love Will Turn Back the Hands of Time" from "Grease 2."

Happy Birthday Chad Everett (et al)

In honor of Chad Everett's birthday Friday, I offer an encore of this post from May 2009: "Childhood crushes." Mercy, it's hot in here!

As a youngster inexplicably focused on "admiring" men instead of crushes on Hollywood starlets, I recall watching "Wild Wild West" with curious fascination. Robert Conrad: For sure, I wouldn't mind being his Artemis Gordon.Meanwhile, my mammer was a fan of "Medical Center," no doubt because of the handsome young doctor played by Chad Everett. I wonder if she realized her son had the same crush.The discovery of "Lifeguard," helmed by a mustached and hairy-chested Sam Elliott in the late 1970s, turned up the heat a good 20 degrees, and left absolutely no question that my "crushes" on men were more than admiration for handsome chaps. Something oddly appealing if not forbidden was going on here. Remember, of course, there was no Internet, there were no role models, no open and out heroes to let a young man from Virginia know that he wasn't alone and if anything, was perfectly normal. Sadly, it would take another decade (and a move to Washington, D.C.) to fully embrace that ideal.Little did I know that Elliott actually embodied the definitive queer look of the day, as the burgeoning gay liberation movement in San Francisco was adopting exaggerated machismo as its calling card. The Taylor family took a cross-country trip in 1978 and in San Fran, I will never forget walking down the street and seeing two men holding hands. It was a snapshot that is indelibly locked into my mental hard drive. I must admit, I still prefer the look to today's smooth metrosexual overly groomed hard-bodied gay ideal. Elliott looks as hot here to me now as he did to 16-year-old Charles Lee.

Teen-Age Crushes

As a youngster with swirling hormones inexplicably focused on "admiring" men instead of the typical crushes on Hollywood starlets that my friends were indulging in, I vividly remember watching "Wild Wild West" with curious fascination. Why did Robert Conrad's tight britches foster a certain thrill? Why did I focus with such intensity every time Jim West's shirt came off (which the show's writers were wise enough to make sure was often)? How come I was so envious of his close friendship with Artemis Gordon?Meanwhile, my mammer was a fan of "Medical Center," no doubt because of the handsome young doctor played by Chad Everett. I wonder if she realized that her son had the same crush.The discovery of "Lifeguard," helmed by a mustached and hairy-chested Sam Elliott in the late 1970s, turned up the heat a good 20 degrees, and left absolutely no question that my "crushes" on men were more than admiration for handsome chaps. Something oddly appealing if not forbidden was going on here. Remember, of course, there was no Internet, there were no role models, no open and out heroes to let a young man from Virginia know that he wasn't alone and if anything, was perfectly normal. Sadly, it would take another decade (and a move to Washington, D.C.) to fully embrace that ideal.Little did I know that Elliott actually embodied the definitive queer look of the day, as the burgeoning gay liberation movement in San Francisco was adopting exaggerated machismo as its calling card. The Taylor family took a cross-country trip in 1978 and in San Fran, I will never forget walking down the street and seeing two men holding hands. It was a snapshot that is indelibly locked into my mental hard drive. I must admit, I still prefer the look to today's smooth metrosexual overly groomed hard-bodied gay ideal. Elliott looks as hot here to me now as he did to 16-year-old Charles Lee.