Sure there have been some eighties standouts that have stood the test of time. The Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, The Goonies, just to name a few. However, I have heard of people who haven’t yet seen Ghostbusters. Some even pose the unthinkable question... ‘is it any good?’
Now that I rapidly watch the age gap widen, I often listen to the 80’s channel on XM and reflect on some of the great music, film, and TV that the eighties brought us. So brings us to the question... what the fuck happened to Fred Dryer?
Once an inflicter of pain on the football field, Fred went on to star in the NBC hit eighties cop show Hunter. Dryer, along with co-star Stepfanie Kramer, helped Hunter deliver nearly seven seasons of Saturday night police drama yumminess. Unfortunately, it did not create enough of a wake to carry on to the children of the nineties.
Why was Hunter so great? Besides Stepfanie Kramer? Well, it really wasn’t. What was great though, was that in the eighties, the professional athlete had his place in Hollywood. Need some more examples?
Here goes...
Alexander George ‘The Mad Duck’ Karras - professional football player, wrestler. Played the adoptive father to Emmanuel Lewis’s Webster
Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus - pro football hall of famer, and perhaps the best damn linebacker to other play the game. TV roles included Blue Thunder and My Two Dads.
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith - professional football player. Most notably played Moses Hightower in the Police Academy movies. Also, starred in Blue Thunder alongside Dick Butkus.
Anthony Salvatore Iadanza (Tony ‘Fucking’ Danza) - professional boxer. Taxi and Who’s the Boss bitches.
Joseph Edward Klecko - professional football player. OK, small roles, but Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit II.
Terry Paxton Bradshaw - The Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback. (same as Klecko)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - master of the ‘skyhook’. Clearance, Clarence, that’s right Airplane. It should be noted that Bruce Lee kicked his ass in 1978’s Game of Death.
Carl Weathers - professional football player and bad-ass mother fucker. Best known as Apollo Creed. Also, can be seen in the Predator alongside Arnie.
OK, so those are the ones that come to mind without really thinking. So what happened. Well the nineties happened.
More specifically, Shaq happened.
Kazaam (1996)
Steel (1997)
Also, Brett Favre’s awful performance as himself at the end of Something About Mary, certainly didn’t do the actor/athlete any favors.
Oh yeah, and there was the Michael Jordan/Looney Tunes 1996 collaboration Space Jam.
Howie Long hung in there until they gave him his on film Firestorm (1998)
Don’t get me wrong. Great athletes, but no Fred Dryers.
Unfortunately, the day of the actor/athlete has passed, and these days it’s more about the actor athlete couple. Donavan McNabb won’t make it into ABC’s latest JJ Abrams creation. FX will not feature Tom Brady on The Riches, and Hines Ward won’t be seen in the next season of 24.
Where are you Fred Dryer? We miss you. Thanks for the memories.
