1970s Teen Heartthrobs: Bobby, Leif & More! We Ask, Where Are They Now?

Remind Staff July 2, 12:00 pm

You know these guys graced your walls growing up and they were on the cover of every teen magazine. See what your favorite hunky dream guy is doing now.

Bobby Sherman (81)

Gene Trindl/TV Guide/Courtesy Everett Collection; Jason Kempin/Getty Images for The Brigitte and Bobby Sherman Children’s Foundation

Bobby Sherman … is 80. As we let that one sink in, we should recall that history’s hottest paramedic first made a splash in the mid 1960s and parlayed appearances on Shindig! into the start of a singing and acting career. Here Come the Brides (1968-70) earned him a legion of fans thanks to his vulnerable, stuttering Jeremy Bolt, and it was that plus hits such as “Little Woman,” “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me” that made him a favorite Tiger Beat cover face.

But it was a guest spot on Emergency! in 1974 that famously birthed his service-oriented career with the LAPD, giving first aid classes, aand becoming a technical reserve police officer and a medical training officer. But he hasn’t left music behind entirely (he was part of a Teen Idols Tour with Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz, and did a solo gig in 2001). With his second wife, he founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children’s Foundation, which encourages students in Ghana to pursue their dreams through an education and music program. Since 2011, the foundation has provided nearly 650,000 meals to schoolchildren in the impoverished nation.

Leif Garrett (62)

Courtesy Everett Collection; Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Pantages Theatre

There were probably 40 bazillion teenage girls who plastered their bedroom walls with posters of Leif Garrett throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Tiger Beat magazine religiously followed the sleepy-eyed, flaxen and feathery-haired dreamboat’s every move — from playing Kristy McNichol’s boyfriend on Family and his bubble-gum pop ballads like “I Was Made for Dancin’” to his mega movie hit The Outsiders. Garrett told our sister publication Channel Guide Magazine that he doesn’t hide from his celebrity past (“I’m not a recluse by any means”) but prefers to stay free of the gossip and tabloids (which were once relentlessly covering his drug abuse, rehab and arrests). He’s humbled by his past celebrity, also saying: “I feel privileged to have gone through it even with the downsides of it — my management being complete thieves, and making some bad decisions, and stuff like that. Even with all of those things, I wouldn’t change it.”

While he’s mingled with Hollywood and royalty, he knows how to make the man on the street feel comfortable, too. “I’m a people person and I don’t want to be put on a pedestal. Because I think we’re all in this together.” And being in it together is definitely what Garrett’s legions of fans are doing — giving him grace, love and support, as he asked on social media — while his sister Dawn Lyn (former My Three Sons child star) continues to recover from a brain surgery that left her in a coma. We reached out to get an update on his life, but his publicist shared that he wished to hold off for now on doing any interviews. Instead, keep the prayers coming for Leif and his sister.

Micky Dolenz (79)

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Amazon Studios

The Monkees most certainly live on, courtesy of last-surviving member, Mickey Dolenz. The onetime child actor was plucked out of college for his role in the TV series — alongside fellow players Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork — that was inspired by the Beatles’ high jinks in films such as A Hard Day’s Night. For a couple of years, they were on top of the world — and on top of the pop charts with “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer” and more — before complications with the band and the format of the show led to the series’ cancellation.

What remained, of course, was the music, and Dolenz spearheaded several reminiscing tours alongside his bandmates through the decades once MTV resurrected their popularity. He has also directed television, appeared as a radio DJ, done stage work, and continues recording and performing. You can hear his 2023 EP Dolenz Sings R.E.M. on Spotify — it was produced by Nesmith’s son, Christian. The father of four (including actress Ami Dolenz) has been married to his third wife, Donna, since 2002.

Rick Springfield (74)

Mario Casilli/ABC/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection; Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive

For several decades, swooning fans have wished that they could have the guy who wished that he had “Jessie’s Girl.” In fact, it’s hard to recall a time when Aussie rocker Rick Springfield wasn’t a heartthrob, going back to his days on General Hospital (in the first of two stints as Noah Drake) and writing and performing the Grammy-winning song he’s most famous for in the early 1980s. Springfield really never went away, and has continued to release albums and appear in series TV and films (he was back on GH from 2005-13).

Now 74 and married for 40 years to his wife Barbara Porter, Springfield is in the midst of another tour — both rocking with his band and doing acoustic sets with Richard Marx — and remains a strong advocate for mental health, having very openly struggled with depression for decades. Yet he continues to be optimistic and grateful, not to mention in amazing shape. “I work out every day,” he told People last year. Most of those workouts are gym-based, as opposed to his preferred lockdown workout of “lots of sex” with Barbara. Where can you find a man like that?