Boys From the Past
[ B.O.Y.S.: Boys On Your Screen (The Message Board) ] Written by spencer am 13 Mar 2001 06:43:15:
First of all, let me say that I'm very grateful to "Sensitive Stephen" for creating this web site and this message board and for posting regularly and taking an obvious interest in it. Thanks.
As far as boys from the past are concerned, I remember Miguel Alejandro, who was the older boy from "Popi," a 1968 movie starring Alan Arkin. Miguel was adorable in the movie and went on to have a bit of an acting career afterwards. He appeared on one of the early "ABC Afterschool Special" features in which he had one of the few appearances by boys in white briefs on American television. He also did a guest appearance on the late-sixties Sunday night series "The High Chapparal." He appeared in a few other movies in minor roles, including the Martin Scorcese-directed "Badge 373." He was approximately fourteen and it was his last movie.
What I remember most, however, is one of the best skinny-dipping scenes in movie history with Miguel and his brother (played by Ruben Figueroa) playing and running nude on a secluded beach in Florida in "Popi." While many skinny-dipping scenes are shot from afar or in low light conditions or in intentionally blurry shots, this one was filmed in bright daytime with sunlight glistening on their bodies as they emerged from the water. It was beautiful!
By the way, I wonder if anyone else remembers Laurence Fishburne as a boy actor. He had several TV roles as a preteen, and in one of them he also appeared in white briefs. I don't remember the name of the production (it was a special dramatic presentation, not an episode from a regular series). In the show a girl who was a friend of his snuck up to his bedroom window to pick him up. As I recall, they were going to sneak out somewhere. For a split second you could see him with his pants around his knees, furiously scrambling to pull them up and fasten them in front when he realized she was there. They were both about ten or eleven years old at the time. I'll be really impressed if someone can remember the show. (Of note, that program is not included in his biography on the Internet Movie Database, which is missing a few other things he did as a child actor.)
Also, I remember Stefan Arngrim from "Land of the Giants," a late sixties TV show. He was an early teen on the show and was really cute at the time. Apparently, he is still acting. I know he appeared on some episodes of the "X-Files" a few years ago. He also had a nude shower scene in the movie "Fear No Evil" in the early eighties. He was about fifteen when that movie was shot. I've seen it on video. (Nothing to write home about.)