When I was a kid growing up the 80's and 90's, most of the visuals I saw of the male form came from teen star magazines. This was before I actually saw an issue of Playgirl or an image of a nude male, other than possible in an Anatomy book or a National Geographic. I also was naive enough to think buying an issue of Tiger or Teen Beat magazine was something all 12 year old hetro boys did.
I 'pretended' it was for images of Alyssa Milano, but looking back, I don't think I was fooling anyone. Although Alyssa may have been on my walls, it was the shirtless shots of Richard Grieco, River Phoenix, Kirk Cameron and the guys from 90210 that motivated my tiger beating. I never would have thought that 10, 20 and even 30 years later, I'd be seeing so many of the teen idols I crushed over, naked in nude scenes.
It's really not that surprising though. So many actors, especially those typecast as teen heartthrobs, tried breaking from the brat, or teen idol pack, but doing edgier roles when they got older. Many of those roles included a little nudity. If you check out the cast of The Outsiders, all of the main male cast members went on to appear nude on screen with the lone exception being Ralph Macchio.
One of the cutest Outsiders, and most adorable faces in Tiger Beat, was actor C. Thomas Howell who played Ponyboy in the film. Howell actually didn't wait to long to appear nude on-screen, and had his first nude scene when he was 21, about four years after making The Outsiders. The film was 1987's A Tiger's Tale in which Howell hits the hay with actress Ann-Margret.
To Protect and Serve (1992)
The nudity was quick and flashed by in a second, but I believe he even had a split second frontal after removing his tighty whities and getting into bed. I recently re-watched the scene and was going to cap it, but I think the movie only had a VHS release and the quality wasn't great. Howell did have a few other butt scenes in the 80's and 90's, my favorite being in 1992's To Protect and Serve. I loved watching, rewinding, and rewatching, Howell's perfect butt as he got out bed and walked across the room.
Obliterated (2023)
Of course this brings us to the scene I know many of you have already seen. I had not heard of the new Netflix series Obliterated until seeing Howell's frontal on another site. Sometimes you have to be patient, and it really was worth the decades long wait. Howell, now in his fifties, actually looks older than his age with the gray hair, but his body looks as trim and hot as ever. I haven't watched the show, but given Howell's nude scene, and his hot co-stars, including actor Nick Zano, I'm going to give it a shot.
