TV Boyfriends

Guest Post by Elizabeth Fournier

After she got over her dream of being a Solid Gold Dancer, Fournier promptly headed into the local funeral home and asked for a job, any job. She became the live-in night keeper which meant she resided in a trailer in the far reaches of a large, hilly cemetery and slept with a shotgun near her bed. It was the scariest summer of her life.

She is currently the voice of the autopsy exhibit in the forensic wing at the United
States National Museum of Medicine and a full-time mortician. She is also a ballroom dance instructor at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. But she couldn’t resist writing the story of her unusual method of dating that led her to the love of her life.

Yea, this should make reading her book that much more interesting.  I am currently getting ready to read her book so I can do a review of it.  But, as with a couple of other books, I had to go chase down at my mom’s house because she got to it before I did.

So, go ahead, check her out, she won’t disappoint.

I was surfing Facebook the other night and came across the name Jimmy McNicol. I immediately looked to see if it was HIM. I knew it most likely wasn’t, because if my Jimmy could sing and dance, he could mostly likely spell his name. I had to peak. Not him.

Ah, Jimmy McNichol. An unsung, under noticed teen heartthrob and TV boyfriend of my generation. I’m talking about the boys who graced the covers of Teen Beat during the Carter Administration. My first glance of Jimmy was him sitting quite poised in an overstuffed chair on The Mike Douglas Show. He was darling. And he preferred to be called “James”
What did me in was his flowy, brown hair. I liked the movement it made when he was discussing important issues with Mr. Douglas, such as his most prized possession, his ‘71 customized Chevy van. And the full disclosure that (gasp!) he wears Musk.

Back to his shaggy boy ‘do, I was a fan of medium-length tresses on men. I was forever Peter Criss when we played KISS, and on the playground when playing Charlie’s Angels, I unquestionably was Farrah. And yes, back to Jimmy’

It is often forgotten he had an actual speaking part for a full year on General Hospital, the same show which staffed resident hotties Rick Springfield and John Stamos. He had also spent time learning his technique on Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat, and even sang the title theme for California Fever. As Jimmy, uh, James grew older, his story lines became more dramatic. And so did his personal choices.
As a kid he cited McDonald’s hamburgers as his food favorite, but would move on to crepes. He was so damn innocent in those early years, listing the primary colors of red, blue and yellow as his favorite, and his preferred drink was milk.

He seemed the most likely candidate for real love, mostly because he struck me as a nice guy who would probably be my friend. And he had that cool little sister, Kristy, who I had a secret crush on, too.

Like many young television stars, Kristy and Jimmy McNichol took a shot at pop music stardom. Unlike many of their fellow stars, they achieved it. Their self-titled debut album became a chart hit and a cult classic among fans of teen-idol records.

CBS let him have the The Jimmy McNichol Special, co-starring Magic Johnson, and Conrad Bain, the daddy from Different Strokes, plus that other young cutie patootie, Rick Schroeder.

Time moved on for James, and in 1999, he was focusing on ecological education with a website called ECOTV, was still performing with his band "Wizard King" and released a new CD, called Echo Warrior.
Not bad for my 1970’s crush who’s childhood nickname was “Pickle McNichol.”