When Television Created Overnight Idols
They drove sports cars, solved crimes, inherited fortunes and somehow maintained perfect hair during explosions. These television heartthrobs once covered magazines and inspired bedroom-wall devotion. Today, many are rarely mentioned outside nostalgic conversations. How many of these once-famous faces do you remember?
25. Grant Goodeve
Grant Goodeve entered the 1980s as David Bradford, the eldest son on ABC’s Eight Is Enough. He also sang the show’s familiar theme song. The family drama ended in 1981, but Goodeve briefly remained a wholesome television favorite—the sort of fellow parents and teenage daughters could agree upon.
ABC Network, Wikimedia Commons
24. Tom Reilly
Tom Reilly joined CHiPs in 1982 as Officer Bobby “Hot Dog” Nelson, helping fill the space left by Larry Wilcox’s departure. The blond California patrolman seemed designed in a laboratory for early-1980s television. Reilly remained through the final season, after which his moment in the network spotlight quickly faded.
Screenshot from CHiPs, MGM Television (1977–1983)
23. Bruce Penhall
Motorcycle champion Bruce Penhall also joined CHiPs during its later years, playing Officer Bruce Nelson. He arrived with genuine racing credentials and the sun-bleached appearance of someone permanently photographed beside a beach. Penhall’s acting career never eclipsed his motorsports achievements, but television viewers certainly noticed him.
Screenshot from CHiPs, MGM Television (1977–1983)
22. Peter Barton
Peter Barton played an alien prince hiding on Earth as a teenager in NBC’s The Powers of Matthew Star. The science-fiction series aired during the 1982–1983 season and gave Barton plenty of opportunities to look heroic while battling extraterrestrial trouble. He later joined The Young and the Restless, but major stardom remained elusive.
Screenshot from The Powers of Matthew Star, Paramount Television (1982–1983)
21. Maxwell Caulfield
Maxwell Caulfield arrived on The Colbys in 1985 as Miles Colby, the handsome and volatile son of Jason and Sable Colby. ABC clearly hoped its lavish Dynasty spinoff would make Caulfield a major television idol. The series lasted two seasons, and Miles’s expensive suits could not rescue the ratings.
Screenshot from The Colbys, Lorimar Television (1985–1987)
20. Lane Davies
Lane Davies became one of daytime television’s most visible romantic leads as attorney Mason Capwell on Santa Barbara. He played the complicated, frequently sharp-tongued character from 1984 to 1989. Davies earned an intensely loyal following, although his name gradually became less familiar once the soap’s heyday passed.
Screenshot from Santa Barbara, New World Television (1984–1993), Enhanced
19. A Martinez
As Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara, A Martinez became half of one of daytime television’s defining 1980s couples. Cruz’s romance with Eden Capwell attracted devoted viewers, and Martinez won a Daytime Emmy in 1990. The actor continued working steadily, but that extraordinary soap-opera fame belonged to a particular television era.
Screenshot from Santa Barbara, New World Television (1984–1993), Enhanced
18. Drake Hogestyn
Drake Hogestyn joined Days of Our Lives in 1986 as a mysterious man initially called “The Pawn.” The character eventually became known as John Black, and Hogestyn developed into one of daytime television’s leading romantic figures. For millions of soap viewers, those eyebrows were practically a separate cast member.
Screenshot from Days of Our Lives, Corday Productions (1965–present), Enhanced
17. Michael Damian
Michael Damian became a daytime heartthrob as singer Danny Romalotti on The Young and the Restless, beginning in 1980. His television fame crossed into pop music when his recording of “Rock On” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989. For a moment, Damian genuinely seemed to be everywhere.
16. Parker Stevenson
Parker Stevenson was already famous from The Hardy Boys, but he remained visible throughout the 1980s. He played the troubled Joel McCarthy on Falcon Crest, starred in the short-lived mystery series Probe and joined the original Baywatch cast as Craig Pomeroy in 1989. That is an impressive quantity of television hair.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
15. Willie Aames
Willie Aames carried his Eight Is Enough popularity into the new decade and found another major role as Buddy Lembeck on Charles in Charge. Buddy was goofy rather than glamorous, but Aames remained a familiar teen-magazine face. His later career took unexpected turns, and his heartthrob years became a distant memory.
14. Greg Evigan
Greg Evigan began the decade driving a truck with a chimpanzee in B.J. and the Bear, which somehow made perfect sense in 1980. He returned as easygoing artist Joey Harris on My Two Dads in 1987. Between the hair, smile and musical ability, Evigan appeared engineered for network television affection.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
13. William Katt
With blond curls and a bright red supersuit, William Katt became instantly recognizable as reluctant hero Ralph Hinkley on The Greatest American Hero. The ABC series ran from 1981 to 1983, while its theme song became a major hit. Katt remained active, but his brief superhero fame was never quite duplicated.
Screenshot from The Greatest American Hero, Stephen J. Cannell Productions (1981–1983)
12. Lee Horsley
Lee Horsley played a fabulously wealthy Texas oilman who solved crimes for amusement on Matt Houston. The ABC series ran from 1982 to 1985 and gave Horsley sports cars, helicopters and a magnificent mustache. He later starred in the Western Paradise, keeping the strong, silent television fantasy alive.
Screenshot from Matt Houston, Paramount (1982-1985)
11. Perry King
Perry King played Cody Allen, one of the Vietnam veterans running a detective agency from a California marina, on NBC’s Riptide. The series ran from 1984 to 1986 and mixed action, boats and remarkably relaxed wardrobes. King already had an established career, but Riptide made him a weekly television crush.
Screenshot from Riptide, Sony Pictures Entertainment (1984-1986), enhanced
10. Joe Penny
Joe Penny starred opposite Perry King on Riptide as private investigator Nick Ryder. He quickly returned to television as investigator Jake Styles on Jake and the Fatman, which premiered in 1987. Penny was a durable prime-time leading man, although younger audiences may now struggle to identify him without the speedboat nearby.
Screenshot from Riptide, Stephen J. Cannell Productions (1984–1986)
9. Jameson Parker
Jameson Parker played the polished A.J. Simon opposite Gerald McRaney’s rougher Rick Simon on Simon & Simon. The CBS detective series ran from 1981 to 1989, making Parker one of the decade’s most familiar faces. His carefully feathered hair deserved its own private-investigator license and possibly an executive producer credit.
Screenshot from Simon & Simon, Quinn Martin Productions (1981–1989)
8. Michael Nader
Michael Nader joined Dynasty in 1983 as wealthy adventurer Dex Dexter, whose turbulent romance with Alexis Colby supplied years of glamorous trouble. Nader remained until the series ended in 1989. During the show’s peak, he was regularly presented as television’s answer to dangerous, expensive-looking masculinity.
Screenshot from Dynasty, Aaron Spelling Productions (1981–1989)
7. Jack Coleman
Jack Coleman replaced Al Corley as Steven Carrington on Dynasty, with the character’s changed appearance explained through reconstructive surgery following an oil-rig explosion. Only on an ’80s soap could that seem efficient. Coleman played Steven from 1982 to 1988 and later found renewed recognition on Heroes.
Screenshot from Dynasty, Aaron Spelling Productions (1981–1989)
6. John James
John James spent nearly the entire decade playing Jeff Colby on Dynasty and its spinoff, The Colbys. Jeff endured marriages, divorces, betrayals and enough corporate maneuvering to exhaust an actual board of directors. James was once prime-time royalty, yet his name is now much less familiar than Jeff’s fictional relatives.
Screenshot from Dynasty, Aaron Spelling Productions (1981–1989)
5. Lorenzo Lamas
Lorenzo Lamas played Lance Cumson throughout the entire nine-season run of Falcon Crest, from 1981 until 1990. Lance was handsome, spoiled and frequently involved in the show’s vineyard-fueled scheming. Lamas remained famous afterward, but his status as one of prime time’s dominant young heartthrobs belonged unmistakably to the 1980s.
4. Richard Grieco
Richard Grieco joined 21 Jump Street in 1988 as brooding detective Dennis Booker. His popularity led to the spinoff Booker, which premiered in 1989. With dark hair, leather jackets and an expression suggesting someone had just insulted his motorcycle, Grieco briefly looked positioned to become the decade’s next enormous star.
Screenshot from 21 Jump Street, 20th Century Fox Television (1987–1991)
3. Ken Wahl
Ken Wahl starred as undercover operative Vinnie Terranova on CBS’s Wiseguy. Premiering in 1987, the crime drama used continuing story arcs that felt unusually sophisticated for network television. Wahl won a Golden Globe for the role in 1990, but serious injuries and chronic pain eventually shortened his leading-man career.
Screenshot from Wiseguy, Stephen J. Cannell Productions (1987–1990), Enhanced
2. Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent played helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on Airwolf, one of the decade’s loudest and most expensive-looking action programs. He starred from 1984 through 1986 and became the highest-paid actor on American television during his career’s peak. His personal difficulties later overshadowed that extraordinary period of fame.
Screenshot from Airwolf, Universal Television (1984–1987), Enhanced
1. Jon-Erik Hexum
Jon-Erik Hexum seemed destined for enormous stardom after leading Voyagers! and joining the 1984 CBS adventure series Cover Up. His appearance, charisma and rapid rise made him a major television heartthrob. Tragically, Hexum died at 26 following an accident involving a firearm loaded with blank cartridges on the Cover Up set.
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