Star gazing
-
- April
- 9
Two heroes from my teenage years were thrown into the spotlight last week: Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady on “The Brady Bunch,’’ and Valerie Bertinelli, the spunky younger sister on “One Day at a Time,’’ who was married for many years to rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
The only one missing from my celebrity-worship trio was Susan Dey, the angelic-faced Laurie Partridge of “The Partridge Family,’’ whose hairstyle I used to imitate in the mirror every day before school.
But that’s another story.
McCormick, who decided to appear on “Celebrity Fit Club”  the reality show that puts overweight, largely forgotten TV and movie stars on a rigorous weight-loss plan  confessed that she’d been bulimic and that she gained 30 pounds a few years ago after the death of her mother.
Still blond and still pretty, she talked about turning 50 and being the mother of a soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter  and how a healthy body image is especially essential for teenage girls.
Bertinelli, who’s on the cover of People magazine in a size-14 outfit, has also made a new step into the public eye: She’ll be joining Kirstie Alley as a dieting celebrity promoting the Jenny Craig weight-loss plan.
In a way, I was happy to see both women coming back into the spotlight. I looked up to both of them when they were teenagers, but I admired them now even more.
Getting older in a society obsessed with youth is tough for the average woman. For celebrities, it must be a nightmare.
And I wondered: If I had been a teenage TV star in the seventies, would I have the courage to come out of hiding now?
How do you feel when you see a favorite star from the past? Have you ever imagined life as a celebrity?
This entry was posted
on Monday, April 9th, 2007 at 12:34 pm by Linda Lombroso.
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Baby boomer Linda Lombroso was born in Queens and grew up in Port Washington. She began her journalism career at New York Magazine and Rolling Stone, and came back to the field after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mother. Linda joined The Journal News in 1997 and has been a Life & Style writer since 2000. She has three children.
I saw the commercial on TV. and my childhood crush crashed.
I think Valerie ate susan dey.
Steve!!!!!
Linda!!!
;-]