Is this not the cutest guy you've ever seen? Other than Wes Stern (sigh) and Adam Devine, of course.
Between 1977 and 1981, the recent University of Pennsylvania graduate David Naughton could be seen in dozens of tv commercials, prancing about in a whtie shirt, black vest, and bulging jeans, selling Dr. Pepper.
"I'm a Pepper -- wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"
I don't like the soft drink, but the spokesman was one of my first crushes.
David's fame from the commercials led to an invitation to star in Makin' It (1979), a rip-off of Saturday Night Fever with David and Greg Antonacci as disco-dancing brothers. He also recorded the theme song:
Makin' it, oo makin' it, I'm solid gold.
I've got the goods
They stand when I walk through the neighborhoods
I'm makin' it
"Hit tv series" was a little premature: Makin' It was canned after nine episodes.
Next came Midnight Madness (1980), with two teams of college students on an all-night scavenger hunt. David's team, the good guys, includes his younger brother (Michael J. Fox before Family Ties). There are also teams of jocks, spoiled rich kids, and girls. I didn't notice any gay subtexts.
But American Werewolf in London (1981) has one.
College students David and Griffin Dunne are hiking through the Scottish highlands, when they are attacked by a werewolf. Griffin is killed, and David turns, in scenes that emphasize his physique and penis.
He falls in love with a girl and uses a homophobic slur, and his dead buddy Griffin keeps encouraging him to commit suicide. And -- spoiler alert -- there is no happy ending.
More after the break