Apr 24, 2021

Billy Warlock

Some teen idols never grow up.  As the years pass, they may hone their acting skills and take on more mature roles, but they never lose their youthful exuberance, their passion, or their innocence.  Every day they wake up newly surprised that they are the object of someone's desire.

It's a short list. I would include Shaun Cassidy, Robby BensonMario Lopez, and certainly Billy Warlock.

Born in 1961, Billy burst into the picture in 1982, during the last season of  Happy Days, hired to up the beefcake quota of the doddering sitcom by wearing a trademark cut-off t-shirt.  The teen magazines went crazy, and soon Billy's pin-ups were pushing aside such luminaries as Scott Baio and Ralph Macchio.



Some small roles in movies and tv shows followed, mostly of a type that would allow Billy to appear with no shirt at all, such as Swimsuit (1989) and Class Cruise (1989).  His starring role in Society (1989) was particularly memorable for three reasons:

1. The teenage Bill (Billy Warlock) feels that he is an outsider, not quite fitting in. Gay kids could relate.

2. Although he enjoys the company of woman, Bill enjoys some strong buddy-bonding and rescue moments with his friend Milo (Evan Richards)

3. A woman seduces Bill by ripping off his pants.  They kiss passionately. While this is occurring, the camera is aimed directly at his briefs.  You can imagine what happens next.





For three seasons (1989-1992), Billy played lifeguard Eddie Kramer on the beefcake- and cheesecake-heavy Baywatch.  After that he specialized mostly in soaps:

Days of Our Lives (1988-1991, 2005-2006)
General Hospital (1997-2003)
The Young and the Restless (2007-2008)
As the World Turns (2010)
One Life to Live (2010)










But Billy is more than a great set of pecs.  He is deeply involved in social issues, including gay rights.  A gay ally, in 2004 he made his Broadway debut, playing a gay writer who becomes one of the first casualties of the AIDS pandemic in The Normal Heart. 






11 comments:

  1. He's a much better actor than Scott Baio, and more of an ally.

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  2. No, a gay ally is a heterosexual who is a strong or vocal supporter of gay rights. To get that designation, they have to do or say something positive for the LGBT community, not just be "tolerant."

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  3. I remember him on 'Happy Days'. He was definitely older than the boys I was usually attracted to at the time, but he had that adorable "baby face" that made him seem younger than he was and the little belly-shirts and tight jeans he wore on the show provided plenty of fuel for my little 10yo fantasies.

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  4. I was watching DOOL when he first appeared. It's great that he is still so recognizable as the young man he was.

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  5. Nearly creamed my pants first time I saw him in that cut off shirt. Still took years before I was sure.

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  6. Being bi, I got to enjoy nearly the entire cast of Baywatch. (I preferred muscle over Hasselhoff.) The 90s were if nothing else a great time for my masturbation habits.

    Also, AIDS is officially a global epidemic: All over the world, but very limited in prevalence in most countries. The way my professor explained it, to be a pandemic, someone who's infected has to infect 30 other people before lunch. A bit of hyperbole, but (of course) most contact with someone with AIDS is harmless. The exceptions are sex, sharing needles, and blood transfusions/organ transplants.

    Of course, some diabetics are sharing needles now. Thank you, out of control drug prices.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen both terms used. "Epidemic" more in the 1980s and 1990s and "Pandemic" more recently. An epidemic technically refers to an unusually high and rapidly increasing infection rate, but in the 1980s there was no baseline to determine what was "unusually high," so they just went with "rapidly increasing." "Pandemic" just means "epidemic that is everywhere," or in many places at once.

      Delete
    2. Pandemic isn't just widespread, though; it's widespread in all areas across all social strata.

      The difference is a matter of kind, not degree.

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  7. His body is well used in "Society"

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  8. Society 1989 is one of the worse movies ever. The half naked scenes of Billy Warlock are not worth watching. The entire movie should have ended up on the cutting room floor. This is one movie worthy of being deleated from your blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ‘Society’ is a great movie! It’s a bizarre horror film, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t make it a horrible movie.

      Delete

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