Like so many actors that I profile, my infatuation with Maxwell Caulfield began not by seeing him on screen, but by seeing just a single photo. I still remember sitting in that dentist's office and flipping through a old issue of People Magazine. I was about 8 or 9 and was stunned to turn the page to see the beautiful black and white shot (above) of a naked Caulfield laying on the sand.
The image, a shot of Caulfield from the Broadway production of Salonika, was not only shocking for it's beauty, but because it's not often to see a man's bare ass within the pages of People. I had no idea who Caulfield was, I hadn't seen Grease 2, nor any of his other movies or TV shows. The image however, had me wanting to learn more.
This was the late 80's, so there wasn't a internet to go home to and check out his IMDB page. There wasn't much I could really do except file the memory, remember the name, then keep an eye out for it in the future. I think I first connected Caulfield to a project a couple of years later when he appeared on the Dynasty spin-off The Colby's. I don't really remember watching the show, except seeing it's opening credits, but I do remember seeing Caulfield in promotional images for the show.
Years later I made the connection between Caulfield and his role in Grease 2. I used to collect old magazines at flea markets, and saw many images from the film in magazines and eventual on-line. I still have yet to actually watch Grease 2, I keep meaning to, but's not a film that pops up on television very often. The film has a history of horrid reviews, yet devoted fans, so I look forward to eventually checking it out.
I don't think it was until starting FH that I actually started checking out Caulfield's film roles when I had the chance. Some, to check out his on-screen nudity. Caulfield has only actually had a few quick flashes of butt on screen, but his sex symbol image was cemented for me, more by his photo shoots. The shots promoting Grease 2 in particular had a James Dean feel, an image he seemed to promote in his photo shoots. Caulfield is an actor who's images I'm always looking out for. Just when I think I've seen them all, I'll discover a new shoot, or a new edit.
It's sort of interesting the impact that Grease 2 had on Caulfield's career. Many describe the movie, as the end of a promising career. That maybe quite true, but the promotional shots, like the one below, also helped broaden his audience and appeal. People may not remember much of his work, but they do remember him. I'm sure as an actor, that isn't really a great thing, but Caulfield did continue to work after Grease 2, mostly on television, but also in a few films and on stage.
In addition to checking the movies with skin, two may favorite Caulfield performances were in 1985's The Boys Next Door and 1989's Mind Games. Neither film includes any nudity, but in Caulfield is incredibly hot in both. He's also the villain in both, a murderous psychopath in one, and a deranged obsessive in the other.
Midnight Witness (1993)
The Boys Next Door (1985)
I was a little surprised by the homophobia in The Boys Next Door. Not that that wasn't common in many movies from the 80's. It was more how gay friendly the movies poster was.... I enjoyed the film, but it felt a little like the lured me with a shirtless and sexy Caulfield, only to then kick me in the teeth...
1 comment:
I remember seeing that photo of Maxwell Caufield in People when I was a kid, too- So hot! It was always titillating to see the occasional male skin/underwear shot in mainstream magazines like Us & People- I remember a few others, too, usually a story about male strippers or something, or an underwear ad. So funny the things we still remember from our emerging adolescent sexuality!
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