THE TEN FAMOUS WOMEN WHO KICK STARTED MY SEXUAL AWARENESS

JULIE NEWMAR

She first entered my life as Rhoda the Robot in the short lived sitcom, My Living Doll. Robert "Love That Bob" Cummings was the lucky psychiatrist given the task of training Rhoda  to act like a real human, and I remember thinking, "Wow, she has to do everything he tells her to do. I was only seven at the time. A couple of years later, Miss Newmar returned to television as the original Catwoman on Batman. I must say, she looked even sexier prancing and sliding around in that tight fitting shinny black Catwoman costume. Meow for sure, pussycat. I especially like the way her nifty Catwoman utility belt hung down on her curvy hips. Later that same year she popped up on another one of my favorite shows as a Laundromat lady in love with all four of The Monkees. I think this was the first time the concept of a gang bang entered my psyche.

MINERVA THE MERMAID

Diver Dan was aimed at children and ran daily in short segments on The Ray Rayner Show on WGN-TV in Chicago, and probably elsewhere in the country on similar programs. First of all, the diverís name was Dan, so I had to take note of that coincidence. More importantly the female lead in the show was a hot mermaid. Sure Minerva had a fish tail, but I was too young to figure out at the time why that would be a problem. I just knew she was pretty and smart and nice...and she showed a lot of skin! Because it was a kids show, I donít think anything was ever done about the obvious sexual tension between Dan and Minerva. Fortunately they were always immersed in cold water.

NANCY SINATRA

Long before Madonna there was Frankís kid. No, not Frank, Jr. Nancy. She hit the charts big with her tough talkiní "These Boots Were Made For Walkiní" but it wasnít her singing that made guys go ga-ga over this girl in go-go boots. It was the sunshine blonde hair, the bright smile and those amazing mini-skirts. Then on the cover of her Sugar album Nancy posed in a hot pink bikini and nothing was every the same for me again.

BATGIRL

As seen on the TV version of Batman, this caped crusader had much the same effect in her costume as Catwoman did in hers. The difference is Batgirl seemed like the kind of girl you could go to the movies with and Catwoman would probably just toss you into a pit of lions. Batgirl also had the nice utility belt on the hips look, but as added bonus she had that great high leg kick. Oddly enough I felt no attraction towards Batgirlís real identity, Barbara Gordon or the actress that played her, Yvonne Craig.

HONEY WEST

Anne Francis played a female detective in the program named after her character Honey West and for some reason I was smitten with her well before the showís premier. That was back in the days when TVís new fall season was highly anticipated by a generation that was appreciative of the limited viewing possibilities offered by the three network system. Anxious to make sure you sampled their new shows first, the networks began promoting them early and often. So I got to see a lot of Miss West prior to the fall season and I liked what I saw. Then the show premiered, I battled and won selection rights for that time period and, well, the show stunk. It only lasted one year, but I think my crush disappeared somewhere around the second commercial break.

MARY ANN

Come on, who really picks Ginger over Mary Anne in the great Gilliganís Island debate? First of all, Ginger was nothing but a fucking tease. In the words of the philophers Hall and Oates, "I canít go for than, no can do." And Mary Anne really had the nicer body, she just had a more tasteful way to show it off. Besides, Mary Anne, as expertly portrayed by Dawn Wells, was the kind of girl you could take to the movies. Ginger would probably just toss you into a cave with a giant fake spider.

BETTY & VERONICA

Okay, so they were just characters in a comic book. But you gotta admit, they were stacked. I guess when a guy is sitting around in a room by himself drawing pictures of young chicks, itís only natural heís gonna sketch some big hooters on them. What I donít understand is why these two hot and prematurely developed high school vixens were always chasing after that loser doofus Archie. Yeah, maybe after he fronted them on "Sugar Sugar" and became a rock star, but they were hot for his monkey long before that. They should have been hanging out at the campus doing some serious bang-shang-a-langiní with those well-to-do college types. Or at least with Reggie. Thereís a guy whoís sure to have a pair of handcuffs in the glove compartment.

LAURIE PARTRIDGE

No, not Susan Dey. Only the character she played in The Partridge Family. Donít ask me why, but in my mind theyíre two different people. Although she came later in my life than most of these other women, the lust was secondary when it came to my affections for this sweetie. Could I have been in love? I know I had fantasies (wait for it!) of having dinner at the Partridge house, playing a game of fish with Chris and Tracy afterwards, helping Danny with his homework and then kissing Laurie goodnight on the cheek at the bottom of the staircase. Of course, after everyone was asleep Iíd sneak back for a private midnight snack with Shirley Partridge, but my heart would always belong to Laurie.

THE WOMAN ON THE COVER OF THE BOYCE & HART ALBUM

I donít know her name or anything else about her. Sheís just a sultry babe with large breasts posing on a bed on the cover of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hartís I Wonder What Sheís Doing Tonight album. Yeah, I spent a lot of time staring at that album cover. I wonder what sheís doing right now. Sigh.