Chris Atkins

I admit it. I checked out Chris Atkins when he was in Playgirl. It was kind of a disappointment. I like him better with his pants on. Now that I think about it, I guess I like most people better with their pants on.

Chris Atkins was born Christopher Atkins Bomann on February 21, 1961 in New York and was a hottie 80’s teen idol. Most young girls fell in love with him from his role as Richard in The Blue Lagoon. Actually, most young girls shouldn’t have seen that movie since it was rated R. His attire for that movie consisted of only a loin cloth. That was it, ladies! He was tan and yummy and had curly blonde hair (perm). You got to see his butt and more. Yay! Chris was actually teaching sailing and had no interest in acting when a friend pressured him to audition for The Blue Lagoon. The role was allegedly turned down by Matt Dillon (I can’t picture him as Richard in the loin cloth). Chris was chosen for the role out of 4,000 other studly boys. He starred opposite Brooke Shields in this cult favorite.

Chris Atkins went on to star in another cult favorite, The Pirate Movie, with Kristy McNichol. I never saw that movie and probably don’t need to, even though he was shirtless. The following year he portrayed a stripper in the movie A Night in Heaven. He then got a part in the TV show Dallas where he was a shirtless slutty cowboy. Something like that. Did he ever wear clothes?

Partying

Chris Atkins went on to film some crap that I don’t know anything about. He also started drinking. He was all set to play Ren MacCormack in the 1984 movie Footloose but he pretty much crapped on Hollywood. (That role in Footloose, of course, went to Kevin Bacon.) I don’t remember Chris Atkins’ exact words, but the Footloose part went bye bye due to his partying and being irresponsible.

He appeared in the 2009 show Confessions of a Teen Idol which could have been called The Teen Idol Has Beens. There were actually some cool people on there. Scott Baio and Jason Hervey hosted the show. In addition to Chris, the idols included David Chokachi (Baywatch), Billy Hufsey (Fame), Jeremy Jackson (Baywatch), Jamie Walters (Beverly Hills, 90210), Adrian Zmed (T.J. Hooker), and other weird dudes I didn’t know. I thought Jamie Walters was very down to earth as well as Adrian Zmed. Billy Hufsey and Jeremy Jackson were very uh…..er….um…very confident. They really think a lot of themselves. I remember Billy Hufsey talking highly of himself when he was on a talk show back in the 80’s. Now he just looks like a big meatball with arms.

Sober

Chris Atkins stated in 2009 that he had been sober for 22 years. That’s awesome! He has patented a fishing lure and owns an outdoor sports company. I know he loves all things water, so this is a great fit for him.

Although Chris is now all wrinkly from his exposure to the sun (use your sun block, people!), he’s still a good looking guy. He’s got that rugged Robert Redford thing going for him. He also seems to have matured and is sincere in becoming an accomplished actor again. According to IMDB, he has a few films in the can and is working on others. I wish him just as much success in his later years as he had when he was naked in a loin cloth.