Frank Loves Gardner McKay!

My first gay crush was actor Gardner McKay.

He played Adam Troy in TV's "Adventures in Paradise."

I had many TV crushes in the early 60's, but I thought that sailing barefooted around the South Pacific - in a Schooner with Adam Troy - would be the most wonderful thing to do.

The show was on at 9pm, which was my bedtime.

Mom and dad would sometimes fall asleep while watching TV and not notice that I was still up and quietly watching "Adventures in Paradise".

Gardner as Adam was always so independent, in-charge, smart, and so butch. Although he had many chances,
he never got the girl, at least not permanently.

I recently purchased the series on DVD and the shows are really quite boring by today's standards. I also learned via the internet that, sadly, McKay died at the age of 69 of prostate cancer.

No one knew of my crush until I became an adult, and conversation among friends turned to such topics.

Frank - Bristol, CT
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com

Brittany Loves Queen Beryl!

I was about 4 or 5 when I had my first gay crush.

It was in the mid 90's when "Sailor Moon" captivated a whole generation of little boys - and girls!

However, I was much more attracted to the red-haired, busty villainess Queen Beryl. I remember clearly being entranced by her. And the doll I had of her was absolutely my favorite toy back then.

Heck, I'm pretty sure that she ended up cultivating a lot of my tastes. I'd still probably date her today if she was a real woman.

Today, I've got one foot in the pansexual closet and one foot out. But suffice to say that if anyone asked me for the first time I really knew I was gay, I'd point to Queen Beryl as my catalyst.

Brittany - Alberta, Canada
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com

Jay Loves Ricky Schroder!

My first gay crush was Ricky Schroder!

Watching him on "Silver Spoons", and seeing him in Tiger Beat and other teen magazines, I formed a huge crush on him, along with a million other tweens.

In the 5th grade, my teacher gave us something fun to do, which was writing an essay on your favorite idol from sports, to singers, to everyday people.

I wrote two essays about Ricky:

One was for school, and the other saying how I REALLY felt about him. The teacher had the class read our essays aloud as we cheered each other on. My turn came and my teacher read aloud, "He's so cute. I want to hug and kiss him..." Yup, I'd submitted the wrong essay!

For a short while, I was known as Mrs. Schroeder to friends and they'd laugh and giggle. My teacher, Mrs. Ashley, pulled me aside and said my essay was well written with expression and devotion, and she enjoyed having me in her class.

This crush was completely taboo to speak of at the dinner table, as far as I was concerned. But it was obvious to my family because of the Teen Beat posters taped to my walls, next to my Culture Club posters.

Jay - San Francisco, CA
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com

Marcus Loves Jan-Michael Vincent!

My first gay crush was actor Jan-Michael Vincent.

When the summer of 1973 came around, my mom was working part time at the mall, and my sister and I would go with her and hang out there. 

This was also when malls had one or two movie screens inside.

One day, the movie we all saw was "The World's Greatest Athlete." And oh my stars!

When I caught sight of Nanu (Vincent's character),
I remember audibly inhaling and my sister asking if I was okay. He was stunning to me.


I recall spending the rest of the summer pretending that he and I were friends in the jungle after he rescued me. And he'd take me swinging on vines, swimming in lagoons, and hunting tigers. Ahh, summer.

I remember still crushing on him when "Damnation Alley" came out in 1977. Although the young Jackie Earl Hailey was also on my gay radar. Double score!

Marcus - San Antonio, TX
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com

Hillary Loves Melissa Joan Hart!

My first gay crush was Melissa Joan Hart. Or actually her character Clarissa, from the excellent Nickelodeon show, "Clarissa Explains It All."

It was the mid 90's, and I was about 12-years old. At the time, I just thought I wanted to be her.

Melissa was so beautiful, and always dressed so cool! And she was just so awesome and rebellious.

She had a pet alligator named Elvis, for crying out loud! How was I supposed to resist her charms?

As I got older and realized more about myself, I knew I didn't just want to be Clarissa, I wanted to be WITH her! It was quite a moment of self discovery to admit that yes - my devotion to Ms. Hart's little TV show was mostly because I wanted her to be my girlfriend.


It was no secret I was her fan, but I don't think anyone suspected the underlying crush. My mom indulged my fascination though, and allowed me to sport many now-ridiculous Clarissa-inspired outfits and hairdos.

Thanks, mom!

Hillary - Washington, DC
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com