You know, there are a lot of big name celebrities today who got their start (or at least got their best initial exposure) on 80′s TV shows.  In many cases, the roles these stars had were small, but they sure launched some Titanic-sized careers. Here are my Flashback Friday picks for 5 of the best breakout stars of 80′s TV.

Tom Hanks on Bosom Buddies

Seriously, who can forget the TV show that brought us the two guys who had to dress like women to live in an all female apartment building to have an affordable place to live. Yes, really!

Kip Wilson and his alter ego Buffy Wilson were played by Tom Hanks. His friend Henry Desmond and his alter ego Hildegarde were played by Peter Scolari.  Buffy and Hildegarde were supposed to be Kip and Henry’s sisters.  Quite the striking resemblance to their siblings, to be sure. The show only lasted a few seasons, but it sparked a really BIG career for Tom Hanks.

George Clooney on Facts of Life

I used to love the Facts of Life, the show about the all girls boarding school. Who can forget miss perfect snooty, Blair;  the tomboy, Jo, who loved to give Blair a hard time; cutie Miss Tooty, who spent a lot of time on roller skates in the first season or two; and the funny girl we all loved, Natalie. I was a teenager, and they were teenagers, so of course I loved them.

I also loved the first time I saw the handyman character, George  Burnett (who didn’t appear until a later season), who was played by none other than future Oscar winner, George Clooney. His role was fairly minimal, only making occasional appearances. But hey, he got noticed (and I don’t mean by just me). He later appeared on Roseanne and that little medical drama, what was it called? Oh yeah, ER. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains

Growing Pains is known for launching the career, and teen heartthrob status, of its teen star, Kirk Cameron (brother of Candace Cameron, one of the stars of the 80′s show, Full House). But it also gave a helping hand to a then up-and-comer with a very long name: Leonardo DiCaprio.

Leo’s character, Luke Brower, didn’t appear until the show’s 7th season. He was a complete unknown at the time. The show had sank in the ratings by this time, and Leo’s character was an attempt to give it a jump start. It didn’t work for the show, but hey, it worked for Leo. He went on to star in (need I say it?) Titanic, and while that ship sank too, the movie sure didn’t. And Leo’s film career has been sailing on ever since.

Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street

I think I have to be one of the few people who didn’t watch 21 Jump Street. Not sure why I didn’t watch it, but I definitely knew of the show, and of one of its stars in particular, Johnny Depp. You kind of had to be living under a rock not to know about that show and its stars. Their faces were all over the place.

The show was a police drama, about young looking police officers, who went undercover to investigate crimes in high schools and other teen hangouts. There wasn’t much undercover about Depp’s career though, which this show helped to catapult. He also became a teen idol, which he apparently detested being, so he left  after the 4th season. Depp has appeared in a lot of movies since then, but he didn’t win my heart until he became Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Come on, who doesn’t love a pirate? Savvy?

Bruce Willis on Moonlighting

Before he was kicking ass on Die Hard, before he was saving the world in Armageddon, before he was Unbreakable, Bruce Willis was my favorite PI in the 80′s show,  Moonlighting.

Bruce played David Addison, who partners up with Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Shepherd; she is a former model and owner of the agency. She was swindled by her investment adviser, who took off with all her money and left her with only the detective agency. I think the show was good because of the chemistry between David and Maddie, which is kind of funny, considering that at the time, rumor had it the two of them couldn’t really stand each other in real life. But you know what they say, there’s a fine line between love and hate, and the show worked great until the two characters finally consummated their relationship. Not long after, the show pretty much dissolved into TV nothingness. But hey, Bruce’s moonlighting days are long over. I’d say he’s made a pretty good name for himself. And rumor has it that Die Hard 5 is coming to a theater near you in 2012. Yippee-ki-yay, mother f****r!

I’m just sitting here thinking about Christmas, and how different it is now from when I was a kid. I mean, the things kids get today is a far cry from what it was in my increasingly distant youth. Today’s gift lists include things like iPods, Xboxes, cellphones, and flat screen TV’s.  Hmmm…back in the day…you know, the dinosaur age, we were asking for things like record players, Ataris, walkie talkies, and um, there was only one TV in the whole house and cable did not exist, so there’d be no point in asking for a TV!

At any rate, I thought I’d share with you some of my memories of favorite Christmas gifts from Christmas Past.

Barbie’s  Country Camper

Now really, isn’t this the only way for Barbie to travel…in her own RV?  It had a popout on the side, and a fold-out table; not to mention sleeping bags, a  tilt-up windshield, and a rooftop luggage rack (no sense in letting all their luggage get in the way of their indoor RV fun!)  There was enough room for friends to come along too. Sometimes Malibu Barbie would come, and sometimes even GI Joe.  You just had to be careful with him though; Joe was a little on the stiff side and did not get along with Ken. And if the two of them had a few beers too many, well, all hell would break loose in that camper!

The Six Million Dollar Man Doll

Based on the popular TV show, who wouldn’t want Steve Austin,  The Six Million Dollar Man doll? Not only did he have a hole in the back of his head so you could see through is bionic eye, but he had roll up skin on his bionic arm and legs, so you could see (and remove) his bionic parts! How creepy cool is that?! Besides, he came in handy when Ken and GI Joe were not getting along, because he could totally kick their ass! And even though he did have his very own bionic girlfriend, we all know he was secretly in love with Barbie, so he enjoyed tagging along with her. No wonder she needed an RV.

Electronic Detective

Now this was a game I got in the early 80′s. You got to be a detective to solve murder mysteries.  Who Done It? It was your job to find out. There were over 130,000 mysteries to solve, and it included all sorts of sound effects too: gun shots, sirens, even the funeral dirge, and more. My best friend and I both wanted to be private detectives when we grew up…so this game was good training, to be sure.  Talk about your hi-tech toys! This was the height of advanced computer logic…OK well, based on computer logic of 1979, when the game was created anyway.

Mork from Ork Egg Ship

Mork from Ork made his first TV appearance on the hit TV show Happy Days in the late 70′s. Played by the legendary comic, Robin Williams (who was an unknown at the time), his character became such a hit that he got his own TV show: Mork & Mindy. I loved Mork! I couldn’t wait to watch that show each week. It was truly one of my all time faves. One year for Christmas, my grandma and grandpa got all of us these Mork from Ork Egg Ships–because, well, Mork’s mode of travel was indeed an egg ship, what else?! The plastic ship came in two parts, with a 4″ Mork figure inside.  And Shazbot! I loved that thing!

Portable Cassette Tape Player

Not as old as an 8-track player, but long before CD players (and iPods), there was the cassette player. And if you were really lucky, you also had a portable cassette player, like this red one that I got one year. I was able to not only take this with me to friends’ houses, but I could also record stuff. Talk about old school! Remember those days? If you liked a song on the radio you’d just push your tape recorder up to the radio speaker…really close…and push record, and then you had to remember not to talk or make any other noise while recording or it would be on the tape too and you’d ruin the whole thing! You also had to be sure you had enough space on the tape for all the songs you were recording; but inevitably, at some point, you’d run out of tape…usually just as your favorite song was recording. Ah, the good ole days.

Before I leave, I wanted to share with you the one Christmas present I really, really wanted as a child, but never got.  It’s one of those things you can’t really explain, but you just really want it. So what was it?

That’s right: Star Trek Communicators. Yes folks, as a child I was indeed a Trekkie. Space travel. Exploring new worlds. Pointy-eared Vulcans. Hot space ship captains. Yeah, I hear you snickering, but that’s because you thought James T. Kirk (aka William Shatner) was hot too.  Don’t pretend like you didn’t. The Communicators were actually walkie-talkies, and I thought they were the coolest things. The top flipped open and you could talk into it.  I never got them as a child. But oh yeah, the Hubs and I have some now. We call them…cellphones.

Beam me up, Scotty. And Happy Holidays.

Ever have one of those days when you just want to stay home from school (or work!)? You know, hang out with your friends, borrow your best friend’s father’s Ferrari, take a trip into the Windy City, and jump onto a float to sing in a parade that has the onlookers dancing, as the float travels past your father’s office building? Well, Ferris Bueller does that and more in what I think is one of the best movies ever made.

I don’t care how old I get, I absolutely love to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It just never gets old. It always makes me laugh and smile, and what more could you want on a day you don’t feel like getting out of bed?!

There are some great young stars in this flick too..

Matthew Broderick, of course, plays Ferris, the kid that all the kids know and love–with the exception of his sister, Jeanie, played by Jennifer Gray (Dirty Dancing). Ferris’ girlfriend, Sloane, is played by the lovely Mia Sara (Legend), and his befuddled  and tormented best friend, Cameron is played by the amazing Alan Ruck (Spin City).  You’ll also see a young Charlie Sheen in the movie, whose role as a drugged out misfit rebel is quite small, but memorable.

And then there’s his principal, who’s out to prove that Ferris is indeed playing hooky, rather than hacking up internal organs at home, as he would have his parents believe; and he goes to great lengths–and pains–to catch Ferris in his big lie. Only Ferris’ sister wants to catch Ferris more, because she’s tired of his tricks and his ability fool his parents and get away with anything he wants.

It’s impossible to explain everything that’s in this movie. So here’s a short trailer I found online that will do a better job.

You might also be interested in some great trivia about the flick posted at IMDB. Some great tidbits there! And FYI, the parade scene was filmed during an actual annual parade in Chicago, and it includes dancers doing a great reproduction of the moves in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

If you haven’t seen this movie, well, you just don’t know what you’re missing! And if you have seen it, isn’t it time you re-watched Ferris Bueller?

Bueller? Bueller?

Anyone?

Way back in “the day,” when I was about 10 years old (1976, to be precise), one of my favorite TV shows was Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, about 2 female superheros–reporters by day, who battle all manner of villains in skin-tight body suits and capes. They have their own secret hideout, the Electrabase, lots of cool superhero gadgets, and even their own Electra-car. How could anyone not love a show like that?

Electra Woman was played by Deidre Hall, better known now for her role on Days of Our Lives. But back then, she was Electra-cool as the head super hero.
{Hey, everyone has to start somewhere!}
And Dyna Girl was played by Judy Strangis, who was also one of the stars of the popular Room 222 (and yes, I watched that show too!).

Electra Car

Electra Woman, and her Electra-terrific sidekick, Dyna Girl (dig those pony tails), got to wear these special Electra bracelets that let them do all sorts of things, thanks to their gadget man (come on, even James Bond has a gadget man!), Frank.
Eat your heart out, Wonder Woman!
And they would use their powers to fight such bad guys as The Empress of Evil, Leggs and Spinner, The Sorcerer, and Spider Lady…just to name a few.

The show only lasted about one season, but that was long enough to leave an Electra-fied impression on my ten-year-old self. So that’s why I picked it for this week’s Flashback Friday post. I know, I know…I’m an Electra-geek.

What do you get when you cross:

An AMC Gremlin

With

A Ford Pinto

A place on the list of the Top Ugliest Cars Ever Made?

{Yeah, OK, that too}

But no, what you get is:

The Pacer

Yep, AMC’s questionable brainchild of the 70′s: The Pacer. And why, you ask, is this my Flashback Friday post topic for this week? Simple really…because I learned to drive in an AMC Pacer. And I’ll admit it: I thought the Pacer was kinda cool…at first. When we got our used one (I was never clear on why we got THAT particular vehicle), I thought it was neat, even if it was kind of funny looking. It was different, that’s for sure. But over time, it started looking rather like a turtle, or at least like a really fat Pinto. And the doors were so big and heavy, and had a tendency to pull closed against their own weight. You had to be sure to get your extremities inside quickly, for fear you’d lose a digit on the way in. It was also really, incredibly S-L-O-W. Honestly, the car had no balls at all. And when you’re a teenager, speed is important in a vehicle…especially when you can in no way count on the looks of it to fetch your friends’ approval.

My mom wasn’t the least bit thrilled by the Pacer purchase. I think her first words to the spousal unit were, “Take it back.” Daddio had a habit of bringing home vehicles; he was a car salesman for many years, so he often drove trade-ins home for the night. But sometimes, much to mom’s shock and horror, he would bring home some absolute nightmare of automotive conception that we were keeping. The Pacer, clearly, ranked right up there on her list of cars to never drive, let alone own. So she was none too thrilled to have it parked in our driveway. Needless to say, we didn’t have it for long…just long enough for me to learn to drive in it. And really, you just have to imagine how cool I looked sitting in the driver’s seat of that bubble on wheels. Do the words “teen angst” mean anything to ya?!

On the plus side, since my mom absolutely hated The Pacer, the next rig we got was a glorious improvement. And I was thrilled every day I got to drive it into the school parking lot after I got my driver’s license.

The Mustang

That, my friends, is what I call a car! And come to think of it, I met the Hubs when I was driving that car. But pre-Mustang, I couldn’t even get a date. Hmm. I’m beginning to wonder if it was me that caught his eye…or that car?? LOL. We got rid of the Mustang eventually, but the Hubs is still around, so it couldn’t have just been the car. But hey, it probably didn’t hurt either. {smile}

Pee Chee Folder

Pee Chees were THE folders to have when I was in high school in Washington State. Probably lame by today’s slick, glossy and sparkly folder standards, Pee Chees were the coolest of cool folders back in the day. They were made of simple card stock and inside had two pockets, and some useful reference information. But they were far more than just folders; they were your notepads, your art galleries, and your all around means of adolescent self-expression. If you didn’t customize your Pee Chees, face it, there was just something wrong with you.

There were some standard Pee Chee graffiti touches: adding thought bubbles to each of the athletic characters–ranging from the simple to the truly profane; changing the attire of the characters by coloring them in with tuxedos, or tutus, or making them look like stoners; or my personal favorite, changing the Pee Chee logo phrase from “Pee Chee All Season Portfolio,” to “Kissing is Pee Chee, but Sex is an All Season Sport.” You just had to have that one!

I think I still have a Pee Chee stashed away in my memory trunk somewhere. Someday after I’m gone, when my daughter is sorting through my torn and tattered memories, she’ll find that Pee Chee and wonder what the heck it is and why I kept it….its coolness will be completely lost on her. But hey, that’s OK. Sometimes coolness is obvious and in your face; but then other times it’s hidden, in something as simple as a Pee Chee.

Meet the Bugaloos

The Bugaloos were a group of four teenagers, who just happened to have wings and antennae, and they lived in Tranquility Forest. They were British, and they also had a rock band–which, natch, gave them an excuse to squeeze songs into each episode. Their arch enemy on the show was named–get this–Benita Bizarre, and she was jealous of The Bugaloos and wanted their musical talent. So she was constantly trying to capture The Bugaloos or destroy them. Benita was played by the amazing Martha Raye…I recognized her later when she began as a spokesperson in Polident commercials in the 70′s. And one of my favorite characters on the show was “Sparky.” Sparky was a firefly, played in full costume by Billy Barty.

This show didn’t run very long…just a couple of years. But it was a staple of my Saturday mornings while it was on. And since they lived in a veritable fairy land, this may be the reason that I have always had a fondness for fairies and sprites, and all kinds of fantasy creatures! So, does anyone else remember The Bugaloos?!