'Once a guy hits 18, it's all downhill.'
Larry Kazamias
When the great Carl Reiner died last month, many wrote about his incredible contributions to the entertainment industry. Most, left off a movie very familiar to us gay boys growing up in the eighties... Yes, Reiner, was directed many award winning projects, but he also directed a booty shakin Ken Olandt in 1987's
Summer School.
'My audition for Carl was about as short as it could be. After I read my lines Carl had me do some dance moves. I did the one move Tony Fields showed me, to which Carl yelled "THAT'S ENOUGH!!" . On the set he was our Grandfather, pal, and best friend. His warmth and caring for people is unique. Not long ago, he was being honored and I got the opportunity to see him and thank him for what he made happen in my life. Onward Carl!'
Ken Olandt
I remember seeing Summer School on VHS when I was a kid, and I certainly remember Ken's caboose and rewinding the strip club club scene far too many times... I also remember, at the time, thinking Mark Harmon was old, and hairy, and saw nothing appealing about him. Age certainly has a way of changing perspective, as when I recently went back to check out the film, I was certainly h ot for Harmon!
The image above is a recent shot off Ken. As you can see, now at 62, he hasn't lost any of his charm or sex appeal.
Another butt bites the dust,
Another butt bites the dust,
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another butt bites the dust
VHS
And the VHS to DVD transfer rears it's ugly head again... I thought I remembered Olandt's g-string revealing a bit more than it did in the HD version of the film I recently watch. Low and behold, thanks to
SOMS, and a clip from the VHS release, you can see a bit more of Ken than in the current available version of the film. Carl Reiner's directing (and Olandt's ass) deserved more respect! ;)
DVD