Friday, June 3, 2011

Robert Loves Lyle Waggoner!

My first same-sex crush was Lyle Waggoner, circa 1975. I was about 6 or 7-years old at the time.

Lyle was exactly how I still like my men:

Big 'n manly, with beefcake handsomeness.

And thank you forever, Carol Burnett, for making him take his shirt off on your show.

Then he moved on to that cartoon come to life, on "Wonder Woman" as dashing Major Steve TrevorWhat wasn't there to like? 

I'll never forget the first nudie magazine I ever stole. My childhood best friend's dad kept a stash of Playboys under his bed he snuck out. 

But amongst those magazines was this strange anomaly: a Playgirl. And there in the centerfold was my dream guy, Lyle Waggoner.


Naturally, I always wanted him to swipe that one for me, swearing it was only because he was on "Wonder Woman" and I wanted to grow up to be Steve Trevor.

It's been more than 30 years since then, and I recently reconnected with that childhood friend on Facebook. It was the first time he officially found out I was gay, and his only reply was:

"I should have known when you made me steal that Lyle Waggoner magazine from my mom."


Yes, Lewis - you really should have! But thanks for the magazine, which I still own today.

Robert - Los Angeles, CA
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3 comments:

coreyq said...

My dad's stack of magazine was very similar - a bunch of Playboys and such, with one Playgirl in the stash... Robert Redford was on the cover,but not nude in the magazine. Glad to hear my dad wasn't the only one with the "anomaly" magazine in his stash.

JLTR said...

I remember him in Playgirl! I pilfered a copy and kept it under my mattress!!

Anonymous said...

Yes! -- Thank You Carol Burnett for having him portray Mark Spitz and appearing in nothing but a red, white & blue Speedo! I remember feeling a stirring (and not knowing what it meant, back then) .. Swoon!