Life was really different in the 80's but that didn't mean that we didn't have (rather innocent) fantasies about girls on TV. The girls in my school were a lot more vocal about which celebrity they wanted to be their boyfriend and they even had entire magazines dedicated to such ends. The fellas had the same thing going on, but I don't recall us being so open about it - must have been 80's boy machismo, who knows.
Anyway, here are 4 of the girls that I would have killed for back in the 80's and what they look like now.
Lark Vorhees aka Lisa Turtle
While my pals were probably gaga for Kelly Kapowski and some of the strange friends went for leggy Jessie Spano (who i never thought was hot) I was always a Lisa Turtle guy. I'm not sure why but I just was. She hasn't aged so well, but I would imagine that she would say worse about me.
Fun fact: Elizabeth Berkley who played Jessie Spano was originally being considered for the role of Kelly Kapowski. All three of the girls were considered for hair-spray-use champions of the world.
Danica McKellar aka Winnie Cooper
I'm pretty sure that every young boy who watched "The Wonder Years" had a thing for Winnie Cooper. She was an awesome character and to be honest, was the only real reason why I watched the show. Danica McKellar struggled (like many, including Fred Savage do) when transitioning from child to adult acting and she never really experienced much success in the process. She did go on to be a prominent figure in the world of mathematics education and has received multiple awards and published 6 books on the topic.
I think it is worth noting that she has aged extremely well
The Empress in Neverending Story aka Tami Stronach
While she wasn't even in very much of the film there was something about her that really appealed to 8 year old me. Of course that entire movie is legendary and I am sure that had some impact on my decision. Tami didn't get another job in the industry for nearly 25 years after this movie - the claim is that she didn't try to do so but I dunno about that. She has an interesting background as she was born in Iran to Scottish and Israeli parents. She has recently started acting again in the film "Ultra Low" - which i have not watched but has high marks. Time to put that on the list.
Fun Fact: The Neverending Story is actually based on a German fantasy novel entitled Die unendliche Geschichte... they probably needed to change the name of it from the German title because it wouldn't have worked with the theme song (although I would love to hear that done in German, it would probably be terrifying.)
Samantha Micelli aka Alyssa Milano
I saved the best for last because while like most kids, i have multiple unrealistic crushes, no one even came close to Samantha. Today I can't even remember what it is that I liked so much about her character but it resulted in me following Milano's "career" for many years following. Like many sitcom stars from the 80's she didn't do much for many years although she did star with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando.
Later on she would be involved in a terrible TV show called Charmed that did not appeal to me at all. It certainly appealed to someone because it stayed on the air for 8 years.
These days Alyssa is a loud-mouthed political activist who is a champion to some, villain to others. Mostly I don't care but think she has remained hot for her entire life. Not trying to be too pervy but her Maxim photo-shoot is one of the best that mag ever did.
So there you have it: Those are my childhood unrealistic crushes. Do you have any that you want to share from your own childhood? I always think it is fun to return to these things. Let me know in the comments!