What follows is my personal list of History's 50 Hottest TV Actors. Feel free to chime in with the guys you think I left out, the ones I love who you hate and with any corrections. Before freaking out, read Part 2 (#51—#100). And check out list of History's 100 Hottest Movie Actors, too. As a bonus, in the gallery above are 15 extra shirtless shots of some of the hottest of the hot.
And Joan Collins tried to act like she barely remembered him when I asked her!
#1 Jon-Erik Hexum (1957—1984) An easy pick for favorite is Hexum, who smoldered so deeply in the '80s it hardly mattered whether or not he was straight; his sexuality was superseded by his overall sexual energy. He died tragically, a sort of masculine counterpart to Marilyn Monroe, albeit one who died before he could reach true stardom rather than after having conquered it in every way imaginable. Voyagers! (1982—1983), Making of a Male Model (1983), Cover Up (1984)
Williams, bulging with raw talent
#2 Van Williams (1934—) TV's Green Hornet looks like he walked out of 2012 in beefcake shots he posed for 50 years ago. A classically handsome man with a bit of a Thomas Roberts air about him. And still handsome today as a geezer. Bourbon Street Beat (1959—1960), Surfside 6 (1963), The Tycoon (1964—1965), Batman/The Green Hornet (1966—1967), Westwind (1975)
This Trapper was a keeper
#3 Gregory Harrison (1950—) He always looked like he'd just spent the previous night and early morning romping around with a couple of sex partners on Trapper John, M.D. Also, his self-produced For Ladies Only absolutely, positively wasn't. What I loved about him was a suggestive look he always managed to give the camera. That, and the fact that when I met him and we were about to pose for a photo, he suggested his best side was his backside. Logan's Run (1977—1978), Centennial (1978—1979), Trapper John, M.D. (1979—1986), For Ladies Only (1981), The Fighter (1983), Falcon Crest (1989—1990), The Family Man (1990—1991), Safe Harbor (1999)
I've wrestled with a lifelong Robert Conrad addiction
#4 Robert Conrad (1929—) The incredibly handsome lead of The Wild Wild West had a sardonic delivery as well as an ass that just would not quit, at least not in those allegedly period Western pants. He was still fuckable as all hell in Black Sheep Squadron, which gave him an excuse to parade about in a Speedo and struggle for male supremacy with guys half his age (he was only 47 or so himself) like Scott Baio on Battle of the Network Stars. Hawaiian Eye (1959—1963), The Wild Wild West (1965—1969), The D.A. (1971—1972), Black Sheep Squadron (1976—1978), Battle of the Network Stars (1976), A Man Called Sloane (1979)
So Bloomin' hot!
#5 Brian Bloom (1970—) I first fell for him when we were teenagers—he was so smokin' hot on his soap I was surprised he could be broadcast in the daytime. Back then, I never could have imagined that in 20 or 25 years he'd be buck-naked in a prison shower on television. Makes me wonder what we'll be watching during the "family hour" 20 years from now. As the World Turns (1983—1987), 2000 Malibu Road (2000), Oz (2001)
