BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS - 1984

The running relay...%0D\ %0D\ Watch in amazement as Kim Fields (THE FACTS OF LIFE) almost knocks herself out from her gigantic breasts bouncing up and down...%0D\ %0D\ See young stud Doug Barr (THE FALL GUY) gain ground for the ABC team...%0D\ %0D\ Revel at adonis Marc Singer (V) as he runs like the wind...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP7HeAM2iy4&feature=related


BATTLE SuperFan
• boy these were the stuff of a lot of childhood masturbation. %0D\ %0D\ %0D\ Robert Conrad was a fav.

• Brings back fond memories OP.

• God, Singer, what a total hunk! And I wish I could have seen more of vintage Harmon.

• Parker was sure a pretty boy back then.

• I picked up a bunch of these on DVD on ebay. They were repeated on some cable network, I guess. Fun to watch them. Any chance to see network hunks in speedos is a good time.

• Did you ever see the one of Richard Dean Anderson in the swimming relays. Did that guy have a beautiful ass.

• I was so worried about her and her breasts that day. I said THREE Lord''s Prayers--one for Kim and one each for Jo and Natalie (which was what we called her breasts).

  Lisa W.

• Here''s a list of all the episodes.%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ %0D

  http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/3075-battle-of-the-network-stars/

• [quote]Did you ever see the one of Richard Dean Anderson in the swimming relays. Did that guy have a beautiful ass.\ \ Damn. Was he wearing a speedo?

• Yes and RDA had a natural athletic body. I couldn''t imagine what he would habve lloke like if he pumped iron like today''s stars.

• Is this the year that Travanti played and he wore the tightest, shortest speedo I had ever seen, with a nice glimpse of his massive bulge.%0D\ %0D\ I would have killed to have sniffed it afterwards.

• I just remember what a sore loser Robert Conrad could be. The guy hated to lose.

• I''m surprised no one (particularly TV Land) has never shown any of these just for kicks. Talk about retro TV!%0D\ %0D\ Wasn''t there talk about a celeb version of ABC''s Wipeout?

• Yep, Conrad was a real hothead on these shows--which somehow made him more frustratingly sexy.

• The late and much lamented by me Trio Network showed a number of these a few years ago. Highly entertaining and freeze-frameable.

• Love the short shorts on all the straight men. I thought only gay bartenders wore those.

• R16--Before it became common knowledge that there were gays hidden everywhere, men were a lot more confident about their bodies.

• Yep, had to cover up because of the gays.

  Leg Man

• The first 17 posters were so polite to not mention the fact that I caused the 3rd place finish for CBS by *skipping* during my leg of the relay. La Di Dah!

  Constance McCashin, baking up a batch of malted milk brownies

• I do miss seeing Travanti, Gerard, Conrad, and other hairy hot stars of the boob tube showing off butt and bulge in their speedos.%0D\ %0D\ You know that''s why 80% of the sudience turned in.

• Billy Moses is on the same team as Richard Dean Anderson. Everyone has on speedos except Mark Harmon (shame).

• Was this filmed before or after Kim had the illegitimate baby?

• Kim Fields, sportsbra.\ \ Sportsbra, Kim Fields.

  Someone had to make the introduction

• I want Mark Harmon! Hair and all!

• Greg Evigan was pretty hot back in the day, too.

• Oh dear. Doug Sheehan is a lot more gray and a lot heavier these days. Aging is a bitch.

  http://ldlehman.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-met-someone-famous.html

• I had a wicked crush on Marc Singer. Especially after he did a PBS version playing Petruchio in "Taming of the Shrew."\ \ He wore these white tights and his bulge, ass and legs were spectacular.

• Look what I found!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlehxcwgXxE

• A friend of mine was a c-list actress who campaigned hard to get on the show in the 70s, and succeeded. She did it mostly because she wanted to meet Conrad. %0D\ %0D\ She then reported he was one of the sexiest men she''d ever met, and possibly one of the most fucked up.%0D\ %0D\ She didn''t get to fuck him though. Some young hunky blond camera man did.

  JW

• Marc in TAMING OF THE SHREW (1974)

  http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Mq8Q02e-weU/Sm-bv8HtIDI/AAAAAAAAIT4/gryDdZyuDVg/s800/MarcSinger.jpg

• David Letterman mysteriously on the 1978 CBS team: Mary! No, really: Mary. [quote]Mary was a variety-type program briefly broadcast by CBS as part of its 1978-79 fall lineup. Mary was the attempt by Mary Tyler Moore to return to network television after the triumph of her sitcom (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) from 1970 to 1977. Her sitcom having not been renewed at her producers request (they didn't want it to get "stale"), she had taken a year off before returning to television to conquer the variety format. She surrounded herself with a highly talented repertory company of young actors and actresses, most notably Swoosie Kurtz, Dick Shawn, Michael Keaton, Merrill Markoe, and David Letterman, an established orchestra led by Alf Clausen, and the well-regarded Tony Stevens dancers, and the program had a light, breezy feel. What it lacked, however, according to the Nielsen ratings, was any appreciable audience. Mary was a total financial disaster and cancelled by CBS after only three programs had been aired. However, Moore was to tweak the format and try it again with a similar program (The Mary Tyler Moore Hour) later in the same season.

• Michael J. Fox is really packing in R28''s clip!

• And why no speedo''s on Mark Harmon. What was he hiding???

• Tidings of comfort & joy R33!

• Here''s Marc Singer in a speedo. You can see the outline of his cock. Damn he was fine! He will be on the second season of the new "V," which starts in January.

  http://www.worthpoint.com/pmimages/images1/1/1106/24/1_beb8811a4d2974b0fdb1d73a39e5cf91.jpg

• I love how Howard Cosell took the Battle so seriously as evidenced in R28''s clip.\ \ "Oh my, Ellen Bry just fell in the pool!" should be a DL catchphrase. I knew Richard Dean Anderson was athletic but was surprised at how fast he was in the water.

• Those stars were hardcore and took the events very seriously. Don''t think they could get one star today to wear a Speedo.

• Here''s a Battle of the Network Stars photo of Travanti in his speedo.

  http://cgi.ebay.com/MELISSA-GILBERT-DANIEL-J-TRAVANTI-BATHING-SUIT-PHOTO-/200550420256?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb1bc8f20

• Jason Ritter wears a Speedo in The Event so I don''t doubt he would wear one for the NBC team if they held the Battle today.

  http://daily-bulge.blogspot.com/2010/10/jason-ritters-huge-bulge-in-pair-of.html

• Also have to mention the presence of SHITBRA herself in the photo at R38.

• R28, Ted Lange should not wear a speedo.

• Why did they stop doing these? Did people lose interest?

• The three networks had a lot of power in those days. Now, not so much.

• Thank you, R38!%0D\ %0D\ Too bad Shitbra is in it with him; that man wore a speedo very well.

• Damn, Travanti looked good. Oh, the Jason Ritter pic is from the infamous Swimfan, I think, though he has been seen in a Speedo in The Event.

• Bulges that shocked me - Howard Hesseman, Alan Thicke

• [quote]And why no speedo''s on Mark Harmon. What was he hiding???\ \ He had one, he just wasn''t out of his track suit when they did the intros. You can see in a quick shot diving.

• I remember the year Penny Marshall did the swimming competition in a swimsuit that showed nips and camel toe. I wish I could''ve scrubbed my brain with bleach to erase that horror from my mind.

• R48, just be glad you never hung out backstage at Laverne and Shirley... Her robe would come undone and it was flapjacks for everyone!

  Cindy Williams

• My strength was swimming, not running. Unfortunately no poolside intros revealing the gentlemen''s "secrets" in their Speedos.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXvENbixWyY

  Constance McCashin, eating all my raw cookie dough before baking my cookies.

• When Richard Dean Anderson turns away from the camera, what a beautiful butt. Such a nice curve. What it must have felt like to be buried in that butt.Paradise.%0D

• Did you know Marc Singer did a photo shoot for the very gay soft porn mag "In Touch"? He was the coverboy and nude although he didn''t show the goods. I believe his management bought up the rights after he started to hit but it can now be pretty easily located.

• Kristy McNichol was amazing on this. I remember her paddling like a pro and hitting the last bar in the relay race with gusto. I watched her and knew that she was gay and so was I.

• Gay? I remember her being romantically linked to Lief Garrett, then she had a nervous breakdown.

• I knew she was gay when I saw her character''s name on FAMILY was "Buddy".

  Crispy McNipples

• Wow, Michael J. Fox at 00:45 in R28''s clip.

• Sometimes the ''70s was confusing. McNichol''s unisex hairdo was shared by a lot of girls, including Geri Jewell, so who knows whether lesbian girls chose the style or it chose them.

• What was the deal with Marc Singer - bi, gay or straight?

• I''m having problems playing the clip. Can someone do a screencap of r56''s Michael J. Fox''s "wow" moment.

• I know, R56, I can''t get over Michael J. Fox! It''s obscene.

• A lot of Singer -

  http://uncacthulhu.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

• Willie Aames, Max Gail, a shockingly hot Howard Hesseman, Gregory Harrison, and Bob Conrad -

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09WiU153GV8&feature=related

• Ah, a kindler, gentler time.%0D\ %0D\ Today they would wear board shorts and act all thugged out. Speedos...briefs...bushes...%0D\ %0D\ When men were men.

• Isn''t Fox supposed to be disproportionately hung?

• [quote]a shockingly hot Howard Hesseman%0D\ %0D\ Looking like the construction worker from the Village People.

• I used to live near Pepperdine and we used to always laugh at the way the producers found ways to titillate the audiences. They had a dunk tank and made sure that the girls wore the most transparent Speedos for the event. The tank had completely freezing water and once they were dunked, bingo, hardened nipples. Of course, it never brought the desired results for the guys, although it might have if you were into tight nipples on guys.

• "Max Gail."\ \ He''s still a hot daddy 30 years later.

• WEHT Bobby Conrad?

• Bobby Conrad ended up a bottom--got fucked by lots of young blond boys, including a friend of mine. He was always a drunk, became a mean drunk. Has a radio show on the Internet now, and it''s kind of sad.\ \ Oddly, he claimed to have been born in 1935, but when he was arrested for drunk driving a few years ago his drivers license clearly said 1929. That means he''s now 82. Amazing he''s still alive.\ \ And yet, for about 6 years, in the mid-1960s, he was the hottest man alive.

• Bump

  Anonymous

• 1980 swim relay. Max Gail, mmmmm

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04cwgnGMF_A

• Screencap of Michael j Fox. Wow is right.

  http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/screenshot20110607at100.png/

• Singer always reminded me of the other guy who was on bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks

• Kurt Russell appeared on at least one of the shows.

• I loved seeing John James (Jeff on Dynasty) in his tight little speedo. %0D\ I could only find a pic of him with a young Adrian Zmed, but Jeff''s shirt is somewhat mesh-like and see-through.

  http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/alphanguy/james.jpg

• Ah yes the good old days when networks use to hire athletes on a show just to use them for "Battle". Yet another thing that could not be repeated today.

• I remember one year when Tracy Scoggins got into a fight with some blonde(Heather Thomas, IIRC) during the flag football challenge. After a play Tracy didn''t like, she walked up to Heather and knocked her to the ground. It got pretty nasty.

• I remember one year Lorenzo Lamas took his shoes off and ran barefoot in a race with a bandaged ankle ... I was jerking off for a year after that.

• Young people today don''t realize what a glorious and exciting time the 70s were. Music, movies and TV were the best.

• Could you imagine them trying to do this today?%0D\ Everyone would want to be the captain and they would want tons of money to do it. It would never happen. Sad, really...%0D\ %0D

• And all of the guys would do the water events in board shorts !!!

• R77, you are talking shit. %0D

  Link, please...

• I find it funny that gay men are talking all dawg about bulges and body hair, and the lesbo at r53 waxed all sentimental about Kristy McNichol''s athetic abilities.

• Bless you for that link R61. The YouTube clip of Singer in "Taming" proves he was as spectacular as I remembered.\ \ R83, And?

  R27

• I remember on Battle Of the Network Stars with Lynda Carter in a swimsut that was practically see-through, which was pretty racy for the 70s. Straight guys across America must have loved that.

• Pernell Roberts rocking a speedo in the dunking competition. If you''re into bears ...

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPz3EjJAloY&feature=related

• Patrick Duffy was a great athlete.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G98F1ATPSJ8&feature=related

• Mary Ellen Walton and Trapper John MD.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04cwgnGMF_A

• Tom Wopat and Andrew Stevens

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQSAjR_FNCQ

• It''s weird that they all post pics of themselves on twitter half dressed or fully nude but they wouldn''t put on a speedo! \ \ I love John James, he was sooo dreamy, seemed like a sweet guy too.\ \ Back in the day, you only knew a little about these stars, they seemed to live in another universe. I kind of liked it better, now you know everything about them and their anatomy. I loved this show and feel nostalgic watching it. What dork Howard Cosell was.

• Didn''t Tanya Tucker appear on this?

  country beagle

• [quote]I remember on Battle Of the Network Stars with Lynda Carter in a swimsut that was practically see-through, which was pretty racy for the 70s. Straight guys across America must have loved that.%0D\ %0D\ And young lesbians. ;)

• I LOVED this show when I was a kid!%0D\ %0D\ I wish they would do something like this today, but they would have to put a bunch of reality tv stars on it, instead of actors.

• Pernell Roberts. Dunk tank. Speedo.

  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.61977681733.67660.61973026733#!/photo.php?fbid=61978201733&set=a.61977681733.67660.61973026733&type=1&theater

• Marc Singer was so damn hot in his day.

• For anyone interested, ESPN Classic now shows old episodes of Battle of the Network Stars on Monday nights. Which is good, because most of the clips have been pulled from YouTube. I'm still hoping to see the episode (I think it was May of 1985) where they were interviewing Lorenzo Lamas and you could see his bush peeking out at the top of his speedo. I remember jerking off for weeks to a tape of that.

• It's a real shame that YouTube pulled the videos.

• [quote]Could you imagine them trying to do this today? Everyone would want to be the captain and they would want tons of money to do it. It would never happen. Sad, really... And the guys would be running and swimming in knee length shorts and they'd have "celeb" captains like Donald Trump and William Shatner.

• Thanks, r96! I'm watching tonight, and some stud named Doug Barr just stripped out of his track suit and got in the dunk tank. He was wearing a Speedo, and we got a great crotch shot when he was sitting on the swing. Catherine Bach dunked him, BTW.

• I just found out that I don't get ESPN Classic! I thought I did. I went to tune in and there was no such channel on my DirectTV. FUCK!!!

• [quote]ABC team: Scott Baio (captain), Douglas Barr, Cathy Lee Crosby, Donna Dixon, Telma Hopkins, Ann Jillian, Sam J. Jones, Andrew Stevens HOTTEST TEAM...EVAHHH!

• So I watched last Monday, and co-hosting with Howard Cosell, was Randi Oakes (CHiPs). Amazing to think she's been married to Gregory Harrison for 30+ years. I wonder if she makes him wear the Zorro thong today?

• The original clip from OP (no longer on You Tube) was actually aired on ESPN Classic last night. I almost peed myself when I saw Tootie's bazooms flopping about in the obstacle course and the running relay. But the highlight was watching studly Marc Singer stand up to do the baseball dunk and, even though he was throwing and not getting in the tank, he stripped down to his speedo. Fantastic ass. Amazing to see so many men in speedos from years ago, compared to how covered up they are today. By the way, just giving everyone advance warning that - assuming they are airing these in order - next week will be a historic episode. It's from 1985, and is the only "Battle" not hosted by Howard Cosell. (The odd "Van" pairing of Joan Van Ark and Dick Van Dyke filled in.) Men in speedos next week include Lorenzo Lamas, Billy Moses, Dack Rambo, Ted McGinley, Tony Danza, Ken Olin, Jack Coleman, and Philip Michael Thomas.

  The%20wet%20spot%20on%20the%20front%20of%20Marc%20Singer%27s%20Speedos

• I thought it was a funny coincidence that I saw this episode on ESPN Classic last night, and the thread was bumped today. Obviously I wasn't the only one to see it, R103. One of the things I noted about Marc Singer (along with him stripping to his Speedo simply to toss the softball in the dunk tank contest) was who he chose as his dunkee. Out of that whole slew of young sexy ladies that were available, he picked Brenda Vaccaro. That's exactly who I would have picked as a young gay too. Singer had a great body, but only an OK face. I was a fan of V and Beastmaster, so I liked him, but never found him as sexy as most others did. Since seeing the old episode yesterday, I googled him to see what he looks like now. He's not a very handsome senior citizen.

• Sorry queens, but Bobby Conrad RULED BOTNS

  Gabe%20Kaplan

• Bump, Set your Betamax, because ESPN Classic will be airing several episodes of BOTNS on Thursday. Episodes start early Thursday (midnight or 1am) then throughout the day. If you want a raging Robert Conrad, a speedo-clad Gregory Harrison, the tight ass of Gary Sandy, a baby-dyke Kristy McNichol, or a shitbra-swinging Half Pint, then tune in!

  Howard%20Cosell

• I remember one year when Lynda Carter (during the time Wonder Woman was on the air) did the swimming competition and her wet swimsuit left nothing to the imagination. Straight boys all across the country must have been in heaven over that one. And then there was Telly Savalas in a speedo, an image which was burned into my mind forever, and still gives me the dry-heaves when I remember it. WHO told him it was ok to do that?

• Straight boys and budding lesbians, and probably a few otherwise straight women R107

• The one with Lynda is still up.

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DLDgrwDfowKk

• Damn, Linda was absolutely gorgeous!

• Yes, she was. They'd call her fat today.

• Singer had an amazing body but just an OK face and a REALLY bad, metallic sounding speaking voice.

• R112 re: his voice, maybe Marc really was a visitor!

• Hoping this pic of Marc Singer's ass works..

  http%3A//sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/c0.0.320.320/p403x403/181107_380194492040956_1856479456_n.jpg

  Penny%20Marshall%2C%20with%20my%20flapjacks%20waving%20in%20the%20wind

• I remember that even AFTER their shows were cancelled, they kept the hunky guys on -- ex: Robert Conrad and BAH BAH BLACK SHEEP which only lasted 2 seasons.

• It's refreshing to see the raw, unpolished qualities of these old shows, and how much entertainment value they had. Now most TV seems very slick/manipulative, and 'reality TV' is just totally staged and idiotic.

• R116 - True. I even miss Howard Cosell.

• Damn, r117 needs a drink or something. I always wanted to BE Linda Carter. I love that black hair and that gorgeous smile!

  Hot%20Flash

• I wanted to be Lynda Carter too. Either her or Cheryl Ladd.

• 1980 introductions

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D6YQyd8ek-dQ%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

• "Simon Says" May 1983. Featuring William Shatner, Catherine Bach, Pernell Roberts, Debbie Allen, Nancy McKeon, Daniel Travanti, Bruce Weitz, and many others....and Lou Goldstein, famed Simon Says caller from Grossinger's resort. This event was for pure fun (no bearing on team standings) and was always a hoot.

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dj6b4s0rA_ts%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

• Kim Fields vs. Sarah Douglass and Lisa Whelchel vs. Shawn Weatherly in women's obstacle course, May 1984.

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DlYLM-cnq8DE%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

• Correction -- Simon Says is May 1982. This only matters because Nancy McKeon had just turned 16, a few weeks earlier. The clinch with the 30-40-something Weitz seemed so harmless back then, but this would NOT fly in 2012

  R121

• The Simon Says game was hilarious. Thanks for sharing!

  OP

• Thanks for Simon Says!

• I'm a huge Mark Singer fan and have never seen that particular pic. Thank you!

  OP

• R122 - Lisa was really cute there., and even with a little extra weight, she could run!

• [R127], There used to be a clip of Lisa against Sarah Douglas in the finals on YouTube, but apparently it has been taken down. Lisa smoked Douglas (who tripped & fell on the tires) and had an even faster time than the first race. (and i agree, she was really cute there!)

  R122

• Thanks R128. I'd love to see that.

• You're welcome [R124] & [R125]. I would love to see Simon Says from other Battles, but this seems to be the only one on YouTube. TV Land needs to acquire the rights to BOTNS and have some weekend marathons.

  R121

• Or package them to cheap DVDs.

• It's on ESPN Classic right now. Co-hosting with Howard cossell is everyone's favorite little pepper pot, Joyce DeWitt. Gregory Harrison was looking fine in his Speedo, Grant Goodeve is looking pectacular, and Scott Baio looks like he has an itty bitty Chapstick wiener. Meanwhile I think Howard has a perma-erection commentating on Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). There's no way they could ever recapture the magic of this show.

• Holy crap... both Sherman Hemsley and Chad Everett were on last night's episode of Battle of the Network Stars. I'm feeling like an announcement will come at any minute about Cathy Lee Crosby or Bill Devane! They're dropping like flies!!

• I actually bought a few DVD recordings awhile back on Ebay. Fun trip down memory lane.

• Loved this show and so many celebs on it. I don't get ESPN Classic but I wish I could see it again. Loved Chad Everett and sad to hear of his death and I did notice in a group photo Chad and Sherman were in the sme photo, same team I think and died a day apart this week. And as far as Marc Singer. I met him a couple a yrs ago and I have to say he is the nicest celebrity I have ever met. He goes out of his way to show kindness and appreciation of fans.

• Chad looked awesome in his speedo. He'd have been about 45.

  OP

• The mention of "Battle" in the Connie Sellecca thread led me to do an internet search. No shortage of speedo pics out there of former celebrities.

  http%3A//2.bp.blogspot.com/_cQpT7M648Ew/SwDPPbBW-qI/AAAAAAAABA0/mY4tIKP18cM/s320/Speed04b.jpg

• It's amazing how little Lisa has changed in 28 years.

• The reboot attempt with the reality stars was baaaaaaad. Of course, no legitimate actors today would participate in such shenanigans .... so they had to try it with the famewhores that would. And of course, lame it up even more with the losing team(s) having to 'vote off' one of their team members.

• Watch the swimming relay intros. Richard Dean Anderson has a rockin' ass. And a pretty nice body to boot.