I can’t imagine life without TV. From time to time, I still hear people somewhat snippily say, “I don’t even own a TV,” but please. That’s just dumb.
I’m preaching to the choir, of course, since people who don’t like TV tend not to hang out at staging-afterellencom.kinsta.cloud. But the new staging-afterellencom.kinsta.cloud Hot 100 (results coming soon!), which is always led by our favorite women on TV, has me thinking about TV crushes. So, when I saw a recent article at Vulture -“Who Was Your First TV Crush?” – I took it as a sign.
My answer(s), as expected, are quite different from Vulture author Matt Seitz (although his reasoning is excellent). I rarely think about Ginger or Mary Ann unless I have enough beer in me to start singing TV theme songs. (Together now, “Sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful ship…” Sorry.) And I had to Google his other crush, Jan Smithers’ character Bailey Quarters from WKRP in Cincinnati. Sorry Bailey fans. But I know my own first TV crush immediately: Miss Nancy on Romper Room. At least I think her name was Miss Nancy. I was four, so some things are kind of fuzzy. Like Miss Nancy’s sweater. I have an image in my head of a buxom brunette in a wooly sweater who made me feel funny whenever she looked at me. And I know she looked at me, even though she never called my name when she looked through the Magic Mirror. If she had, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I feel a little faint just thinking about it.
Since I’m a little vague on details about my first crush, here’s the first one I can remember clearly. Carol Burnett was, for years, my Saturday night date. In fact, my mother once got irritated with me for turning down a date with a “nice boy” because I didn’t want to miss The Carol Burnett Show. Carol was smart, talented and willing to do anything for a laugh. When I found out that she was painfully shy (like me) off camera, I loved her even more. I even went way out on a limb to audition for a Once Upon a Mattress revue when I found out she had done the lead.
I have a feeling Carol would’ve made the BeforeEllen.com Hot 100 list, because she’s just the kind of woman we love. And she’ll always be hot to me. In fact, a couple of years ago, she was in town for a book signing and I went to see her. When I got to the table, I couldn’t speak. Good thing she’s shy, too.
Now you know my secret, so it’s your turn. Who was your first TV crush?
