Monday, May 18, 2020

Favorite Pic of the Day for May 19th

Above:
Family Ties
-See More Below-

Daddy: Michael Gross as Michael Keaton


I started watching Family Ties when I was about 12 or 13 and the show was in it's last season or two.  I think I ended up watching many of the older episodes in syndication, but it's been odd to me the show hasn't really had much of a life in repeats.  I remember it repeating a bit when I was in my teens, but unlike many successful sit-coms from the 80's and 90's, it's really not made much of an impact.


Above:
'June 1970 I had just graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and would be off to the Yale School of Drama that fall.'


When I first watched Family Ties, I thought Michael J. Fox was cute, and Scott Valentine was hot. I didn't gain an appreciation for Michael Gross's charms until I was a bit older.  I think it was seeing Gross in guest spots in the 2000's, and catching some of the Tremor series of films that had me seeing Gross in a different light.


Although I don't know if Gross ever had an actual nude scene on film, it appears he did shoot one for the 2014 short film Our Father.  Gross posted his 'nudity waiver' on Facebook for the film, but I wasn't able to find it on-line to stream or watch.  I believe it's on Amazon Prime if anyone has a membership and wants to check it out.  I don't think much is seen, but I guess the director wanted to leave his options open.


'MY NUDITY WAIVER for Our Father, the short film that screens next Thursday at the Pasadena International Film Festival appears below. A contract to get naked is a way of keeping an actor from backing out at the last minute because of cold feet or, um, anything ELSE that might get goosebumps. Next job for me: Naked and Afraid! :0)'


'I was a trifle self-conscious, so asked the director and crew to "get naked" in solidarity with me. Oddly enough, they refused. :0)'

Our Father (2014)

Some Skippy Skin


Marc Price in Trick or Treat
Originally posted on FH: October 27th, 2018


'You should be loyal to your heroes... they can turn on you.'
Sammi Curr


I don't think too many people watching Family Ties would have guessed Skippy Handelman would be featured in a kind of hot embarrassment themed nude scene in a heavy metal horror flick.  But... that's exactly what happened when actor Marc Price starred in Trick or Treat in 1986.


A bullied teenage boy is devastated after the death of his heavy metal idol, Sammi Curr. But as Hallowe'en night approaches, he discovers that he may be the only one who can stop Sammi from making a Satanic comeback from beyond the grave.


Price is perfect as high school outcast Eddie Weinbauer  and the horror comedy also features rockers  Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne and actor Doug Savant, he rips of Eddie's towel before shutting him out of the locker room in the scene below.




Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton


'People who have money don't need people.'
Alex P. Keaton


Alex wasn't my favorite character on Family Ties, I actually preferred the stories with Mallory.  I liked Michael J. Fox, but always felt Alex was pushed front and center at the expense of the rest of the cast.  I did however, grow up on Michael J. Fox movies.  Since I was a little kid, Fox's movies were often ones my parents took as us to.  Although The Back to the Future franchise were Fox's biggest hits, I liked some of his smaller films like Teen Wolf and especially Doc Hollywood.


'During the casting process of Family Ties, Brandon Tartikoff was unexcited about Michael J. Fox for the role of Alex P. Keaton. However, the show's producer, Gary David Goldberg, insisted until Tartikoff relented saying, "Go ahead if you insist. But I'm telling you, this is not the kind of face you'll ever see on a lunch box." Some years later, after the movie Back to the Future cemented Fox's stardom, Fox goodnaturedly sent Tartikoff a lunch box with Fox's picture on it, with a handwritten note reading: "Brandon, They wanted me to put a crow in here, but... Love and Kisses, Michael J." Tartikoff kept the lunch box on display in his office.'
Wikipedia

The Secret Of My Success (1987)

Who else remembers being annoyed at this scene from 1987's The Secret of My Success?  The scene was so frustrating, not because Fox didn't actually get naked, but because the director teased a nude scene with Fox's character having his swim suit yanked off in the pool.  Then, we saw Fox wearing a flesh colored pair of briefs underneath which they didn't even bother to attempt to hide in any way.  Since Fox showed his butt a few years later, I always wondered if there was a choice not to show too much skin in movies while Fox was still playing Alex on Family Ties.


A peek of cheek in Back To The Future Part 111 (1990)

Greedy (1994)

There were no flesh colored undies worn in 1994's Greedy, the only undies were Fox's grey briefs in this scene.  When they came off, there was nothing underneath, and we got a good close-up of Fox's cute rump.  I initially thought it may have been a body double, given what happened earlier, but there are several shots of Fox's face so that we know what we're seeing is all him.


Mallory's Man: Scott Valentine as Nick Moore


I didn't initially really like Nick when first seeing him as Mallory's boyfriend, but he grew on me over time.  I didn't know until doing this piece, that there was actually a spin-off pilot filmed focused on Scott Valentine's character.  The Art of Being Nick also featured Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  Hard to believe, but if the show had taken off and been a success, we might never have seen Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine on Seinfeld.

Object of Obsession (1994)

A mysterious wrong number leads Margaret on a journey that takes her to the edge of sexual desire and obsession. One phone call leads her into a sensual affair with a stranger who fills her...


Valentine actually has the most roles showing some skin in his post Family Ties career, four that I could find.  Four is also the number of times Scott shows his beautiful behind in 1994's Object of Obsession.


Bedtime Stories (1986)

A babysitting uncle tells his nephew three horror stories about killer witches, Little Red Riding Hood and a werewolf, and "Goldi Lox" and the three bears.