During the 1980s, there was one male star who seemed to have it all—and, for a while, he was practically everywhere. Christopher Atkins burst onto the scene with a head of curly, beach-blonde hair, an athletic physique, an irresistible smile, and th…
When the racy coming-of-age film “The Blue Lagoon” premiered in the summer of 1980, it quickly became a global phenomenon—and transformed its two young stars, Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins, into international superstars. For Atkins, it was a…
Was Lieutenant Tom Paris “Star Trek: Voyager’s” answer to Han Solo? At first, the comparison sounds like “Star Trek” heresy. After all, Han Solo was a wisecracking smuggler who flew the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. Tom Paris? He was a disgra…
If you grew up in the 1980s, chances are you had a favorite toy that eventually found its way to the big or small screen. Today, Hollywood is all in on turning beloved toys and games into blockbuster movies. From the billion-dollar success of “Barbi…
The 1970s marked a cultural turning point in America. Television was changing right alongside the country, becoming bolder, more daring, and far less conservative than it had been in previous decades. As social attitudes evolved, network television …
If you grew up in the early 1980s, life was pretty amazing. In 1980, the world became hopelessly addicted to twisting the impossible Rubik’s Cube, Pac-Man invaded arcades everywhere before gobbling up countless hours in our living rooms on the Atari…
I’ve been a devoted Knots Landing fan for as long as I can remember. To this day, all 14 seasons, the unforgettable characters, and the countless storylines still hold a special place in my television-loving heart. Maybe that sounds a little obsessi…
Remember Constance McCashin, the unforgettable Laura Avery Sumner from the hit primetime drama Knots Landing? Throughout her remarkable career, Constance captivated audiences in television series, made-for-TV movies, and feature films, including Fi…
Happy Pride Month! Pride has always been a joyful, empowering, and deeply meaningful time in my life. It’s a time when I feel an incredible sense of community and connection with my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters—a celebration of who we are, how far w…
Few actors embodied classic Hollywood sophistication quite like James Mason. With his striking good looks, effortless charm, and unforgettable voice, Mason stood alongside legends such as Cary Grant and Tyrone Power as one of cinema's most admired l…
Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, I'm spotlighting one of the funniest, smartest, and most influential storytellers in entertainment—my latest Hollywood Obsessed Podcast guest, Paul Rudnick. If the name doesn't immediately sound familiar, chances are…
As a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with watching reruns of “The Addams Family,” starring Carolyn Jones and John Astin as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Their kooky, spooky, delightfully weird world was unlike anything else on television. So when a big-…
When I had the opportunity to interview legendary film and television star Robert Hays for my podcast via Zoom from his oceanside home in Hawaii, my mind instantly filled with memories of the movies and television shows from my childhood that still …
In 1980, a little movie called “Airplane!” crashed into theaters and changed comedy forever. More than four decades later, audiences are still quoting its lines, replaying its outrageous gags, and laughing just as hard as they did on opening night. …
Growing up, going to the movies every weekend felt like climbing aboard the world’s wildest roller coaster. The 1980s exploded with larger-than-life action spectacles—from First Blood and Lethal Weapon to Raiders of the Lost Ark and Terminator 2: Ju…
In 1985, a gritty little sci-fi action film crashed into theaters like a time-traveling shockwave—and nothing was ever the same. The Terminator didn’t just introduce audiences to a relentless cybernetic assassin—it unleashed Arnold Schwarzenegger at…
For the past several decades, moviegoers have been treated to an extraordinary wave of superhero films, thanks largely to the cinematic worlds created by DC Studios and Marvel Studios. These larger-than-life adventures have transported us to worlds …
In 1978, Christopher Reeve soared into cinematic history, making us all believe a man could fly in Superman: The Movie, directed by Richard Donner. Then came 1980’s Superman II—bigger, bolder, and packed with enough super-powered showdowns to rattle…
In the 1980s, the real magic of cinema didn’t just happen on soundstages—it spilled out onto the streets. And nowhere captured that raw, electric energy quite like New York City. Gritty, stylish, unpredictable… the city wasn’t just a backdrop, it wa…
Today, female directors are thriving across film and television—but rewind to the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the landscape looked very different. Opportunities behind the camera were scarce… until a former fashion design student turned NYU film…
Growing up, one thing I could always count on from my hours of television watching was this: no matter how messy things got between siblings, by the time the closing credits rolled, the older brother had usually stepped up, owned the moment, and hel…
During the 1970s, television began shifting away from purely escapist sitcoms toward more socially conscious programming that reflected real-world issues such as feminism, racism, and the lingering impact of the Vietnam War. The era of Lassie rescui…
Last month, Hollywood Obsessed Podcast celebrated its third anniversary, and I kicked off the festivities with a blog post that longtime listeners warmly embraced. The celebration continues here with Part 2, featuring even more fun podcast binge gro…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a soft spot for medical TV shows. Maybe it started when I was a kid watching Jack Klugman solve medical mysteries on “Quincy, M.E..” Or perhaps it was those adrenaline-pumping reruns of “Emergency!.” But o…