It astounds me sometimes how many of the men I love are connected somehow to my childhood and my parents. Sort of scary actually. One of the reasons I love sports so much is due to all the time watching sports on tv with my dad and older brother as a kid. Another show that was popular with my dad and brother was The A Team. I would sit with them every week watching this as a kid. I can't say I ever really liked The A Team, although I did enjoy every time Dirk Benedict would take off his shirt.
When we got our first VCR in the late 80's (we were quite behind) I remember renting the pilot to Battlestar Galactica and watching a young Dirk as Starbuck. I loved the new version of BG but also enjoyed going back and watching the original series on DVD. Katee Sackhoff is hot, but she doesn't hold a candle to the original Starbuck.
It still amazes me to look at magazines from 70's on ebay and see how the tv stars would pose for magazines. Dirk was famous as you can see for the tight pant shots. As you can see Dirk seemed to struggle to keep his pants shut.
Dirk was raised in Montana but headed to New York for his first big break on stage in Butterflies Are Free. What the run of the show ended Dirk received an offer to repeat his performance in Hawaii, opposite Barbara Rush. While there, he appeared as a guest lead on Hawaii Five-O. The producers of a horror film called Ssssss saw Benedict's performance in Hawaii Five-O and promptly cast him as the lead in that movie. From there Dirk began appearing regularly on tv and in movies with his most famous roles being in Chopper One, and as noted Battlestar Galactica and The A Team.
After the cancellation of the The A Team Dirk continued with tv guest shots and the odd movie but his worked slowed down and Dirk has not worked that much on tv the past decade. Dirk also dealt with prostate cancer but refused surgery, and instead claimed to have cured his cancer through a macrobiotic diet recommended by Gloria Swanson, his co-star on Broadway in Butterflies Are Free, and by exercise and fasting. Dirk has been working at reviving his acting career and is due to appear in the new big screen adaptation of The A Team featuring Bradley Cooper.
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Dirk as Starbuck in 'Battlestar Galactica' (1978).
Below: Dirk in 'Sssssss' (1973)
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The closest I could find to a nude scene. Can anyone identify the movie?
