Veteran Joan Collins & Newcomer Jon-Erik Hexum Make ‘Male Model’

 

Jon-Erik Hexum, blue steel in 1983's Making of a Male Model, co-starred Joan Collins.

Making of a Male Model was a 1983 ABC TV movie, with Joan Collins riding high at 50 from her new Dynasty stardom, as an ambitious model agency owner. Jon-Erik Hexum co-stars a country boy turned NYC super model, and he got a lot of buzz from this, at just 25. The TV film made the Nielson top ten ratings the week it aired and is still classic '80s ABC/Aaron Spelling television eye candy.

A slick made for TV soap opera which borrows a bit—ludicrously—from 1970's Midnight Cowboy. Hexum as Tyler Burnett struts around the streets of NYC in cowboy gear, relying on an older woman, becoming disillusioned by unsavory characters he encounters, except for one down and out new friend. And that's where the similarities end with that gritty classic and this glossy camp classic.

Cowboy Tyler Burnett on the mean streets of NYC, in 1983's Making of a Male Model.

Joan Collins' Kay Dillon likes what she sees in Jon-Erik Hexum's Tyler Burnett,
in 1983's Making of a Male Model.

Joan Collins' Kay Dillon takes a chance on Hexum's hunky hick, and puts him up with fading gay supermodel Chuck Lanyard. Played by Jeff Conaway with over the top awfulness, his Chuck’s cynical sarcasm is a ritzy Ratso Rizzo to Tyler's rube cowboy model. Sadly, Conaway himself went down the drugs and alcohol highway, dying at just 60. Jeff was a boyish and lanky star on Taxi and in Grease, but cast as a supermodel? With a beard that makes him look like Chuck Norris, Jr.?  And BTW, has there ever been a male supermodel named Chuck?!

Fading gay supermodel Chuck Lanyard, played by... Jeff Conaway?
Here, recovering from eye surgery, in 1983's Making of a Male Model.

ABC and Aaron Spelling's favorite perennial male starlet Ted McGinley plays the current model flavor of the month, Gary Angelo. Ted, with frosted blonde hair and tan, looks and acts like a catty Ken doll. In fact, most of the models surrounding Hexum's Tyler look more like soap stars!

'80s ABC male starlet Ted McGinley as a bland but catty model du jour
in 1983's Making of a Male Model.

The story of Making of a Male Model is as old as the Hollywood Hills, but with a male twist. Instead of the gals from Ziegfeld Girl or The Best of Everything or Valley of the Dolls, it's The Boys of the Big Apple soaring and suffering here. I guess that makes Joan Collins the dragon lady, a much less rough Joan Crawford or Susan Hayward, doling out the tough lessons. And in a twist, an affair with Kay means more to Tyler than to her. Tyler responds to Kay's noncommittal nature by going down the same path as chaotic Chuck. In an about face scene worthy of any latter day Joan Crawford bitch-fest, Collins' Kay tearfully tells her secretary in the finale that she let Tyler go for his own good. Sure, Joan!

Joan Collins indicates deep emotions when the career woman tells her secretary she let besotted hunk go for HIS sake! Making of a Male Model.

Before Tyler goes totally all in for booze and dope, he says goodbye to the yellow brick road of male modeling. He buys a carriage horse and rides down the streets of NYC like a rhinestone cowboy—all the way back to Nevada? 

At this point, Joan Collins was an old hand at making glossy trash watchable. Here, early in her reincarnation as Alexis, Joan is still subtle in looks and performance as the career-minded Kay Dillon. Collins is much more humane and warm, as well. Still, you'll think Kay's crazy for not wanting to commit to quarter of a century younger Tyler, who adores her.

Joan Collins stays in character as driven career woman Kay Dillon,
and still looks lovely, in 1983's Making of a Male Model. 

Only in one scene does Joan Collins let Alexis in, inexplicably showing up for her model's shoot, in lady exec drag! From 1983's Making of a Male Model.

I was only familiar with Jon-Erik Hexum as a handsome young actor who died young. I previously have never seen Hexum in anything. That's because he quickly became a star, and who became deceased even more quickly, like James Dean, with just five credits in two years.

Jon-Erik Hexum looking all rugged with baby oil "sweat,"
in 1983's Making of a Male Model. 

Jon-Erik Hexum's new model after his makeover. 1983's Making of a Male Model.

Jon- Erik Hexum was probably the greatest male Hollywood beauty since Guy Madison. A true knockout, he also had a strong speaking voice and genuine presence. For a beginner, Hexum is fairly decent in Making of a Male Model.  Since Hollywood was still coming off its era of realistic film leading men, Erik probably would have ruled on television, like veteran Tom Selleck. Compare Hexum with co-star Ted McGinley (one year younger) in any scene and the difference in star quality is obvious. 

Jon-Erik Hexum's Tyler Burnett cleans up nice, just in time for Joan Collins'
 boss to dump him over lunch! 1983's Making of a Male Model. 

Kevin McCarthy is in slimy villain mode as a client who plays hardball. Familiar faces have bits as fashion photographers, who all hate models: Michael Anderson, Arte Johnson, and Robert Walker, Jr. Jeff Conway's model is gay and handled sympathetically, just before the AIDS crisis. Still, his drunken monologues are the most florid since Van Heflin's BFF to Robert Taylor’s Johnny Eager.

Rhinestone Cowboy meets Cougar Cleopatra! A typical artificial Aaron
 Spelling party scene. At least Sammy Jo doesn't turn up to tear up the
dance floor! From 1983's Making of a Male Model. 

A funny moment is when Joan refers to Jon-Erik's allure as that a cougar. Collins would become Exhibit A in giving new meaning to that word! Also an eye roll is a typically awful Aaron Spelling party sequence, which bears no resemblance to one in the real world. Jon-Erik is duded up as a Rhinestone Cowboy. And Joan Collins gets a chance to play dress-up as Cleopatra once again—Collins tells anyone who will listen that she almost appeared as the Egyptian queen in the 1963 epic. Again—sure, Joan!

Jon-Erik Hexum & Joan Collins make a hot May-December couple in 1983's
 Making of a Male Model. 

Making of a Male Model is really Jon- Erik Hexum's show, with Joan Collins as the special guest star. But they have a nice rapport and make a most attractive older woman/younger man couple. Sadly, a year later, Hexum would be dead a month before turning 27, from an on-set shooting accident. And as of this writing, Joan Collins will be 93 on May 23, 2026. Cheers to Ms. Collins, a true Hollywood survivor!

Joan Collins signature role!

My look at Dynasty, the show that made a star of Joan Collins: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/02/dynasty-catfights-cliffhangers-clothes.html

 

Jon-Erik Hexum's Tyler Burnett will give you "Fever!" 1983's Making of a Male Model. 

 

Robinson, Dietrich, & Raft’s Star Power Gives ‘Manpower’ a Boost 1941

 

"Manpower," with mega-watt star power of Marlene Dietrich, Edward G. Robinson,
 and George Raft. 

Raoul Walsh was a WB director up to the task of putting high-voltage stars like Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft through their paces in the action triangle, 1941’s Manpower. Walsh specialized in masculine stories, but also with strong female characters. The star trio is game here, but the script is strictly by the numbers.

Bachelor # 1! The lovable lug Edward G. Robinson, gaga for Marlene Dietrich,
in 1941's "Manpower. "

Bachelor #2! George Raft's tough guy plays hard to get, but so does Marlene Dietrich,
  in WB's "Manpower."

In a nutshell, Robinson and Raft play Hank and Johnny, best buddies who work as California electrical line men. Hank is lovelorn but keeps up a steady patter of girl talk; Johnny is a man of few words, but actually gets the girls. Their job is fraught with danger, often brought on by deadly weather. First, Hank’s leg gets electrocuted, and later, Johnny takes a bad fall. In between this, Johnny’s voice of doom old pal, Pop Duval, asks him to take him to his daughter, Fay, who’s getting out of prison. Raft and Dietrich’s characters have an instant love-hate attraction. This is complicated when Pop’s gloomy prediction comes true and he gets fried on the job. When Hank and Johnny go to Fay to give her the bad news, guess who also becomes gaga for Dietrich’s tough cookie? From there, Manpower alternates between the men’s dangerous occupation and their preoccupation with her.

Marlene Dietrich has her hands full in 1941's "Manpower!" With George Raft
and Edward G. Robinson. 

Off-camera, there was friction, as well. Raft resented being third-billed, while playing the lead. He also didn’t like the way Robinson was performing certain scenes together. And rumor had it that Raft was romancing Dietrich, and was suspicious that Eddie was smitten with her, too! It all came to a head when the boys got into a heated argument and shoving match—all captured on-camera by a visiting Life photographer! For more dish, here’s the skinny: https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2018/12/controversy-on-set-of-manpower.html

 

George Raft and Edward G. Robinson play besties in 1941's "Manpower."
Off-camera, things got a bit beastly between the two stars.

Much of WB's They Drive by Night, from the previous year, had the same talent: director, writer, producer, composer, and several of the cast members. Part of what enlivened They Drive by Night was a juicy subplot lifted from 1935's Bordertown, with Paul Muni as the male lead and Bette Davis as the unhappy wife who bedevils him. Night’s Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino were far more realistic leading ladies in a WB melodrama than languid and lacquered Marlene Dietrich. Not that Marlene is bad, just very miscast. And what would possess her Fay to marry a homely little man who has a thankless job as an electrical line man?

Eve Arden's fellow "hostess" reacts to Marlene Dietrich’s Fay and her ambivalence
 over marrying a man she doesn't love, in 1941's "Manpower."

The men of 1941's "Manpower!"

The juvenile way the Manpower guys obsess about dames and sex non-stop, plus Marlene’s character is referred to as a "kid" who makes a lot of dumb life decisions is an eye roll, since Eddie G. was 47 and Marlene and George were 40 at the time. That being said, they all play well, given the clichéd characters and script.

No-makeup scene with Marlene Dietrich in 1941's "Manpower." Okay, I didn't say
 anything about false eyelashes and a wig!

Amusing when Marlene gets out of the joint and her first request is to hit a drug store to buy makeup—mind you she's wearing false eyelashes like awnings! From there on, Dietrich's face is painted like a kewpie doll, whether she's working, sleeping, or making morning biscuits for her new husband! Sitting next to fellow clip joint girl Eve Arden—normally made up, Marlene in her mannequin makeup and wig looks like she’s from another movie. 

And she can cook, too! Marlene Dietrich as Edward G. Robinson's blase bride,
in 1941's "Manpower."

Whether horny, drunk, or throwing punches, over-zealous Eddie seems a bit absurd and not especially convincing. Especially when he socks Ward Bond, who's a head taller and built like a brick shithouse! Eddie's energetic emoting is in stark contrast to Marlene and George's deadpan style. And Dietrich is not the only one clinging to '30s makeup—Raft is still wearing generously applied guy-liner and eye shadow!

Handsome George Raft, with smoky eye makeup to go with his non-stop smoking,
in 1941's "Manpower. "

And George Raft's tough guy act, throwing punches and furniture at the least provocation, trash-talking Dietrich's character non-stop, and slapping her up near the climax, doesn't age well at all.

George is getting angry! From WB'S 1941 action flick, "Manpower. "

Edward G. Robinson beating the competition,  in 1941's "Manpower."

Alan Hale is more annoying than usual with his "lovable" buffoon persona. He’s even more over the top here than as the bumptious boyfriend of Stella Dallas or the crass hubby of Ida Lupino in They Drive by Night. There's way too much comic relief, to the point they might as well have brought in The Three Stooges, what with Hale, Frank McHugh, and Walter Catlett, going so overboard.

Alan Hale is the alleged comic relief in WB's "Manpower."

I always loved the WB depiction of the working class during their golden era. A highlight is the diner scene, where the guy behind the counter calls out the orders to the cook in slang. And if you took a drink every time George Raft calls Marlene’s shady lady “sister,” you’d be sloshed! And the girl talk at the Midnight Club clip joint is zingy. Manpower is quite watchable, just rather unoriginal. 

George Raft and Ward Bond are hands-on help when Edward G. Robinson
gets zapped in 1941’s "Manpower."

My look at Marlene Dietrich in a similar role, but with a far better script, in Billy Wilder’s post-war comedy/drama, A Foreign Affair:  https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2023/05/billy-wilders-adult-foreign-affair-1948.html 

Love this montage of George Raft's Johnny recovering in the hospital,  as a nurse
gives him a cigarette! 1941's "Manpower."

The Stars Shine ‘On Golden Pond’ 1981

 

Henry Fonda & Katharine Hepburn as Norman & Ethel Thayer, the devoted couple
 facing old age, in 1981's drama, "On Golden Pond." Fonda's hat belonged to
Spencer Tracy, a gift to Hank from Kate!

I have been revisiting movies of my youth that I haven't seen since their initial release, to see if they live up to my memory. I watched On Golden Pond for the first time since I saw it in a theater shortly after its Dec. 4, 1981 release. It was interesting to see On Golden Pond now, as a 66 year old, from when I was 22 years old. Talk about perspective!

I enjoyed On Golden Pond back in the day as a sentimental tale starring two Hollywood legends. Even as a '70s teen, I loved classic movies and older people. I watched all the older stars from Hollywood's heyday in their golden era glory on the afternoon movies, like Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.

"On Golden Pond" was a modestly successful play that became a sleeper hit movie.

As an adult, I lived in Traverse City, MI for three decades. Eventually, I moved up on a hill in a neighborhood adjacent to the Traverse City Country Club. All the houses were built post-war and nearly of the original owners still lived up there. Most of the residents were retirees and I had just turned 30!

Most of those wonderful neighbors are gone now, but I have very fond memories of them. One of my favorites was Claire Nixon, who I always called "The Katharine Hepburn of Traverse City." I was her and husband Don's neighbor for many years. For those who find On Golden Pond phony, I beg to differ. Claire and Don were Traverse City's version of On Golden Pond. Claire was very much Kate's Ethel Thayer, full of energy and good-natured bossiness. She was also very outdoorsy, on Cedar Lake in the summer and downhill skiing around northern Michigan in the winter. Don was the guy who was always working on something, his garage as organized as an Ace Hardware store. Don could be a curmudgeon, but he was really a stand-up guy. As a neighbor, he was most helpful to this guy, who didn't know how to fix anything! Of the two, Claire outlived Don, until age 90. Like the Thayers, Claire and Don bickered, but were totally devoted.

Me at Claire Nixon's funeral in 2015. A favorite picture of Claire & Don, they were right out of "On Golden Pond!" Claire was the Kate Hepburn of Traverse City.

On Golden Pond is a very mainstream and simple story, but it's not simplistic. From Ernest Thompson’s play, the story focuses on a senior couple whose semi-estranged daughter comes to visit them at the family cottage at the title location. She brings her fiancee and his son. They leave the son with her parents for a month, while they go off to Europe to marry. Their interaction with the boy shines a light onto the family dynamic. When the daughter returns, the stage is set for reconciliation. 

Katharine Hepburn is Super Kate as Ethel Thayer in 1981's "On Golden Pond."

Jane Fonda as daughter Chelsea maybe be dysfunctional, but has a bod to die for,
in 1981's drama, "On Golden Pond."

I think all three of the stars' performances are well-done, but their individual persona presentation is telling. Katharine Hepburn is at her most Kate, while Jane's focused a bit much on looking fab at 40-something. On Golden Pond really gets much of its resonance from Henry Fonda's honest portrayal of a difficult man, not unlike himself. Fonda was the classic buttoned up man of his era, warm and charismatic on film, cool and taciturn off-camera. Though he has his share of grumpy old man humor, Fonda presents himself as he actually was at the time, old and frail. The scene where Henry looks at himself bemusedly in the mirror, next to a photo of his handsome young self, is wistfully touching. Fonda's scenes as cranky Norman baiting daughter Chelsea's boyfriend (Dabney Coleman) then getting called on the earnest dentist, is honestly played. The same later, where he's taking digs at the prodigal daughter. When she finally snaps back, he looks surprised. And there are several scenes where Norman's increasingly revealed frailty are brave choices for an actor long renowned as a tower of strength. There's no vanity or preservation of image from Henry Fonda here, unlike his female co-stars. His Oscar win, long overdue, was most deserved. 

Henry Fonda as Norman Thayer, looking at his current self with resignation,
in 1981's "On Golden Pond."

I like the fact that Henry Fonda or On Golden Pond’s story doesn't gloss over Norman's irascible nature. Though I found Jane Fonda presenting herself a bit too much as the fit movie star (next year she would launch herself as the workout queen), her performance as the perennially disappointed daughter rings true. The scenes of Jane’s Chelsea opening up to Fonda’s prickly father feel painfully real.

Kate Hepburn's Ethel is empathetic to Jane Fonda's Chelsea, but seems to place
all the blame for the bad blood with father Norman (Henry Fonda) on her.
From 1981's "On Golden Pond."

Katharine Hepburn's "get up and get over it" attitude rings true as Ethel Thayer, if not correctly. After all, why is it up to the daughter to make up with a less than wonderful father? Then again, this was the era when these issues were first being publicly discussed. Hepburn was famous for her both doting and dysfunctional relationship with alcoholic Spencer Tracy. Hepburn's devoted admiration toward Fonda's Norman is very similar to how she doted on Tracy in their movies, especially Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Katharine Hepburn as Ethel gives Henry Fonda's Norman the "you're my knight
in shining armor" pep talk, a lovely moment, from 1981's "On Golden Pond."

Hepburn does her hale and hearty bit, playing to the public perception of her as superhumanly indomitable. And when Kate's Ethel Thayer isn't hauling wood, manning a boat, or jumping in the water, she's imparting wisdom to her grumpy old husband and daughter with a chip on her buff shoulder. When the movie is at its most serious, Hepburn is direct and appealing, as when she's lifting her diminished husband up and cheering him on. Ethel Thayer was Kate’s best film role since The Lion in Winter, bringing star power and skills, and winning her a fourth Oscar.

Kate Hepburn's rendition of "Happy Birthday" is one you will never forget,
in 1981's "On Golden Pond."

It is interesting how age perception has changed. Kate was 74 and Fonda 76 when On Golden Pond was released. By today's standards they seem a decade older, in behavior and ailments. In the film Hank's character turns 80 and Kate is 70ish. Fonda died less than a year later, whereas Hepburn lived until 2003.

Hank Fonda & Kate Hepburn were in they're mid-70s when they made 1981's
"On Golden Pond." He died later the next year; she lived for 22 more years.

The music was by Dave Grusin, whose music has been the soundtrack to many baby boomers' entertainment lives, from The Graduate to The Goonies, from themes like The Name of the Game to Good Times. And Billy Williams beautiful and detailed photography is memorable (he's lensed everything from Women in Love to Ghandi). Mark Rydell, an actor himself, was a director great with actors, especially high-powered ones, from Steve McQueen to Bette Midler, and here On Golden Pond, the Fondas and Katharine Hepburn.

On Golden Pond may be a modest work, but it has genuine merit. The film version brings the story to another level because of what Henry and Jane Fonda’s willingness to convey in their father-daughter roles and Katharine Hepburn’s strength of character. That all makes this pond worth reflecting on.

Norman & Ethel Thayer bid farewell to the loons, in 1981's "On Golden Pond."

Kate Hepburn, "The Philadelphia Story."

Here's the role that redefined great Kate's image, Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story. After a near-decade of many duds mixed with a few gems, Kate came back to Hollywood, delightful in the film version, w/ Cary Grant, Oscar winners James Stewart & Ruth Hussey. My look at '40s screen Kate:   

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2025/06/kate-hepburns-signature-role-tracy-lord.html

Henry Fonda in"The Big Street."

Here’s Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda, teamed for the first time in the Damon Runyon comedy-drama, 1942’s The Big Street. My take: 

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/04/lucille-ball-istic-in-big-street-1942.html

My toast to Claire Nixon!

Here’s my tribute to my late, great neighbor & pal, Claire Nixon, the Kate Hepburn of Traverse City!

 

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2019/08/claire-nixon-kate-hepburn-of-traverse.html