ACTORS & Skin: Maxwell Caulfield

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.

Maxwell Caulfield on Instagram

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. 

-Check out Caulfield's nude scenes in part 2 (SKIN) below-

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...

Actors & SKIN: Maxwell Caulfield

Salonika (1985)

'The other member of the cast is an enigmatic beach bum named Peter who spends most of his time sunbathing in the nude. Maxwell Caulfield, who spends much of the evening in the buff, personifies callowness perfectly.'

AP News

'They arch from the sand, and these mounds of perfection are what the audience sees first when the lights go up. Soon an elderly lady enters, and even she cannot resist caressing that smooth flesh. In short, Maxwell Caulfield owns what Jessica Tandy, 75, terms "a real baby's bottom.'

Jessica Tandy wasn't the only one taken with Maxwell Caulfield's 'baby bottom'....  Although he showed everything in the 1985 Broadway production of Salonika, he seemed slightly more resistant to showing as much on screen.


Dance With Death (1992)

I tracked down four instances of Maxwell showing some skin on film, but it really comes down to about 1 and a half.  Audiences got a good view of Maxwell's meaty behind in 1993's Midnight Witness, but the rear views in Dance With Death and In A Moment of Passion were quick and darkly lit.  In 1989's Sundown, we only got a side view, and an odd shot of Caulfield clearly wearing a cock sock.  I guess his vampire was a wee bit shy...

In A Moment of Passion (1993)

Although brief, this view is quite hot.  Even hotter if you can ignore Caulfield's character just killed the woman he was having sex with.

Midnight Witness (1993)

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

That odd scene breaking the forth wall, ensuring the audience knew the Vampire was deadly, but shy.

Salonika

I remember vividly sitting in a dentists office at 8 or 9 (which eventually led to my getting braces)flipping through an issue of People Magazine. There was an article, small black and white images include, about a New York stage play featuring the very naked Maxwell Caulfield. I don't think I even knew who Maxwell was at the time, but the article peaked my interest in both him and eventually making to New York (which I now have done several times). Below is an excerpt from the magazine piece that you can read in it's entirely HERE:

By Deirdre Donahue

'They arch from the sand, and these mounds of perfection are what the audience sees first when the lights go up. Soon an elderly lady enters, and even she cannot resist caressing that smooth flesh. In short, Maxwell Caulfield owns what Jessica Tandy, 75, terms "a real baby's bottom."

'Tandy, who is one of America's theatrical treasures, enjoys the privilege of touching this centerfold body as the star of Salonika, an off-Broadway hit at the Public Theater. Salonika concerns an 84-year-old British widow (Tandy) who visits Greece with her sour 63-year-old spinster daughter (Elizabeth Wilson) and stumbles upon a nude beach bum asleep in the sand. Although Caulfield has a pivotal role, his main contribution before intermission is to rise once from his pillow of sand. He stretches his six-foot, 175-pound body, displays a perfect V-shaped torso, and, well, shows off the rest of his attributes—all in the name of art, since the beachboy symbolizes the sexuality absent from the daughter's life. Says a bemused Caulfield, 25, "Somebody told me the other day that I was a metaphor."

'All this exposure hasn't made him self-conscious. Onstage "I just totally relax, which isn't something I do very easily. The audience is so close, you really have to put them out of your mind." Even when Wilson sponges his body, "I'm not thinking about the fact that people are being given a total bird's eye view of the works," insists Caulfield. Says director John Madden: "Maxwell is a gifted actor, and that is why he was cast. The nudity was a matter of course for him. What's he got to worry about? He's got a body that won't quit." As Tandy told Caulfield, "It's what will sell tickets."

Image Source for last 4 images, NYPL:

Many More Mr Sloane's

Since that first performance was produced in London at the New Arts Theatre in 1964, there have been thousands of productions staged of Entertaining Mr Sloane. In addition to hundreds staged in the UK, the play moved to the US, playing on Broadway at The Lyceum Theatre in 1965. This production closed however, after just 13 performances. The show has since been revived all over the UK and America. Beryl Reid (Kath in the film) joined Malcolm McDowell as Sloane in a 1975 production for a Joe Orton Festival at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

With all of those thousand of productions, there were thousands of actors seducing thousands of Kath's and Ed's as well. In the film, and in many of the stage versions, this seducing occurs with Mr Sloan only wearing his tighty whities. Although some productions had Mr Sloan in boxers, most stuck with the white briefs. Ina ddition to Malcolm McDowell, many well known actors took on the role, as well as many actors in local and smaller productions. I tried to hunt down as many productions as I could find, and below are some of my favorite (image wise) Mr Sloane's.

Adam Ant

Adam as Mr Sloane
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (1984/1985)

Malcolm McDowell

Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Sloane
Beryl Reid as Kath
The Royal Court Theatre, London (1975)

Maxwell Caulfield

Maxwell Caulfield as Mr Sloane
Cherry Lane Theatre, New York (1981/82)

Sadly, I couldn't find a shot of Maxwell in his tighy whities, but anyone knows if there are production images form this production, please let me know.

Brad Davis

Brad Davis as Mr Sloane (Replacement for Maxwell Caulfield)
Barbara Bryne as Kath
Cherry Lane Theatre, New York (1982)

John Henry

John Henry as Mr Sloane
Chester Little Theatre, Chester UK 2015

Paul Cereghino

Paul Cereghino as Mr Sloane
Stage Door St. Louis, 2013

Alex Felton

Alex Felton as Mr Sloane
Julia Hills as Kath
Curve Theatre, Leicester, England, 2012

'I’ve just been naked today. We took some photos for a video montage at the beginning to place the characters and the history and the setting of 1964. The photographer said “It’d be quite good if you were naked at this point.” It’s good for the character. Sloane uses his body as his card, his weapon. So, there’ll definitely be some kind of action I’m sure. Well, Sloane should be a real gay icon, the stuff of gay fantasy. That’s what Joe Orton wanted. He said as much in his diaries.'

Alex Felton, The GayUK

3 images above by Pamela Raith

Emrhys Cooper

Emrhys Cooper as Mr Sloane
Olivia d’Abo as Kath
Ian Buchanan as Ed
The Actors Company Theatre, West Hollywood, 2011

'Entertaining Mr. Sloane” boasts impressive performances from it’s fine cast. Emrhys Cooper shines as Sloane in a sexually charged, nuanced portrayal. Ian Buchanan grounds the piece with a sharp and impressive turn as Ed. Olivia d’Abo is solid as the horny Kath, decked out in a fine wig and fat suit. Robin Gammell excels as the nearly blind old man whose subtle understanding of human nature proves to be his undoing.'

The Sexually Charged Mr Sloane