My first gay crush was Robert Conrad, and the creative team behind the gayest show ever - "The Wild Wild West"
Every episode had the same formula:
a crazed super villain's plot was foiled by the studly Robert Conrad.
And also there is his 'friend' Artemis Gorden, a drag queen – oops, they called it 'master of disguise' in those days.
From the opening credits (where he punches a woman in the face, knocking her down), you knew this was a man's world. A world where a hard man would fight hard - with the camera on his skin-tight pants and perfect ass, please.
Once he lost the initial battle and was captured, the real fun began. Each week they found new ways to tie him up, usually shirtless, always tortured, while the sweat dripped down his face and chest so that the camera could end up back at his ass.
I know it sounds unbelievable, but I swear I remember one episode where an evil toymaker held him prisoner in a top secret toy bomb factory. The set included a few over-sized children's blocks in the background. There was something about that pre-Stonewall era that allowed the letters F, A, and G on the face of those blocks with no complaint – or awareness.
Cornelius - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Click here: "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com
My first gay crush was actor Robert Conrad!
I was 12 in 1967, when I discovered Robert Conrad on "The Wild Wild West."
He played James West, the handsomest man I'd ever seen, with the bluest eyes I had ever seen.
He wore the tightest pants I had ever seen. And he had the most remarkable butt I had ever seen!
That combination, plus watching him defeat armies of thugs every week, made me want to spend my life with him. Because this was back in the mid 1960's, I knew nothing about being gay. I just knew I loved James West more than anything in the world. It took me a few more years to realize that the latter meant the former.
To this day, I still think about this TV show, and I'm not alone: there are websites devoted to the same gay crush. And there always will be, as long as there is an Internet and gay men...
Nathan - San Diego, CA
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Click here: "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com
My first gay crush was
actor Robert Conrad.
I've known I liked boys since I was 4. But by the time puberty hit at age 11? I knew I liked men!
I had boy crushes, but my biggest thrill was Friday nights, watching the hot man who wore THE tightest pants in TV history:
Mr. Robert Conrad on
"The Wild Wild West."
He played a daredevil Secret Service agent named James T. West on the campy show. His character was a "real man" who did a lot of acrobatic stunts, often took his shirt off, and got tied up a lot.
Whoah! I didn't know anything about camp, let alone bondage and discipline. But I know I sure liked to see him tied up and shirtless.
My taste in men has changed over the years, but you never forget your first - with tight pants, sexy furry chest, and a glint in his blue eyes,
I realized way back in '65 you really can't separate the men from the boys -- except for maybe with a crowbar.
Victor - New York, NY
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Click here: "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com
