I ♥ Kristy McNichol

Who could forget Kristy McNichol's fresh, tomboyish good looks from the 1970s and 80s?  You could?  Oh.  Well, I definitely couldn't.

The first time I really recognized her face and knew I had seen her before was when ads for "The Pirate Movie" were running constantly on television in 1982.  There was something about those distinctively chipmunk-esque cheeks and her illuminating gaze that captured my nine-year-old heart.  It was one of those infatuations born of the first blush of puberty when wanting to be like someone and wanting to kiss them sometimes crossed their wires.

It wasn't until one late night a few years later while babysitting and surfing the neighbour's cable that I found Kristy McNichol again.  She starred opposite Tatum O'Neal in the movie "Little Darlings", and though I was only able to watch a few scenes before my two-dollar-an-hour babysitting gig ended, I never forgot Kristy in that film.  In fact, I just spent the entire last week of my life trying to track down a copy of it, but $41 on Amazon.com seemed a bit steep to me, so I watched it again in choppy instalments on YouTube instead.

For a movie about two teenage girls at summer camp engaged in a race to lose their respective virginities, it surprised me with its liberal peppering of emotional and psychological depth.  Take this scene (watch it until the 3min20sec mark) between Kristy's character Angel, who is wearing a jean jacket, and Tatum's character Ferris: click to watch video.

Kristy quite simply shines in her portrayal of this wrong-side-of-the-tracks teenager stumbling toward womanhood.  Or maybe I just want to jump back in time twenty-eight years, kick that useless love interest of hers, Randy (played by a sixteen-year-old Matt Dillon), out of their boathouse cum love nest, and make out with her.  (Let us please dismiss the fact that I am presently thirty-five, she was eighteen at the time of the movie, and this is all really a dreamy fantasy of my pre-pubescent, early 1980s self that was concocted out of the boredom of suburbia, a television that had only four channels, and the lack of a VCR.)

After watching the piecemeal version of "Little Darlings" that I pulled together on YouTube, I began to wonder where this brilliant young actress had gone.  The last I saw of her, she was in a few seasons on the television series "Empty Nest" playing the character of Officer Barbara Weston, but that lacklustre late-80s/early-90s sitcom couldn't have been the end of her career, could it?

It was.  Aside from a couple of forgettable roles over the next two years, she removed herself from public life.  As it turns out, she was dogged by rumors of drug addiction for years, especially after she walked off the set of a film in 1982 without warning following a nervous breakdown.  She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which is characterized by wide mood alterations with periods of both depression and mania.  It is a condition that is exacerbated by stress, which is why, at the top of her twenty-four-year-long career that began with a commercial for Kraft cheese in 1969, she chose to leave the profession.

Frankly, I miss her, or at least I miss the vulnerable, tomboyish, and occasionally badass sweetheart that she represented.  In a culture that is now fed such hyper-constructed versions of what is deemed to be physically and personally beautiful, a perfection that is just about as attractive as a high-end blow-up doll, it is easy to become nostalgic for Kristy's imperfect yet radiant characters.  She was girl next door we could all dream of actually becoming one day.  She had humanity.

Also? She could really kick some ass when she needed to.

Comments

[Loralee]

I loved the Pirate Movie. (I still do. Shhh...don't tell anyone!)

Kristy McNichol is one of those people that I followed in my head from childhood because my older sister and I watched her tv show "Family".

I still hope that one day she'll return to acting. It would be great to see in something again.

[Donna]

Thanks for the update on Kristy McNichol. I also wondered what happened to her - few child stars are as natural on screen as she was, and in the 70's, it was thought she would go far. I'm sorry she's been plagued by drug problems and bipolar disease (which is probably what was at the heart of the drug problems) -- but pleased to find out she was intelligent enough to remove herself from a business that has killed many a talented person. More power to her.

[Susanna]

I remember watching Little Darlings on TV one Saturday afternoon long, long ago. I remember being incredibly pissed off at the other girls who encouraged the "competition" at the end of the movie. I never knew what it was called, though. Thanks for the reminiscence!

[Mrs. Flinger]

I so love the whole "women kickass" scene. But I love it when they're imperfect and human and STILL kicking ass. Makes it more hopefuly that I, too, can kickass. Even if I don't look like Lara Croft.

Welcome to Mamapop! You, my dawl, are an amazing writer. You fit in well here.

[the ex]

I think it's very sad. Bipolar is something that's very rarely understood until way too late. Great intro post, btw!

[Suebob]

AND she had brown hair, which, as a brown-haired girl, I could appreciate. It seemed like blondes, redheads and black-haired female actors got all the roles. Kristy looked like a normal person.

[schmutzie]

I just want to clarify that Kristy McNichol did NOT have problems with drugs. It was her bipolar disorder that led to those rumors.

[Snarky Amber]

I LOVE Kristy McNichol. True fact: she is the first woman I can recall having a thing for. It was the Pirate Movie that did it; I think I watched that movie about eleventy thousand times. In fact, I had such a thing for Kristy, that I watched the interminably lame Empty Nest (with Joe Isuzu!).

I salute this post.

[Lisa Russell has 6 girls]

I always just imagine that these celebrities fade away because they're busy raising kids, like me. I wonder if she'll ever make a comeback.

[Michelle Lamar]

Kristy and Matt Dillon film love was the stuff of pimply teen dreams. Seriously. I wanted to be her, tube top and all. GREAT post.

[mp]

LUV LUV her... Don't forget about Family. I loved that show! She played Buddy. I also was the proud owner of her album..you folded it open and she's was on Jimmy's shoulders..who's Jimmy? Oh please, her brother!

[Lindsay]

I loved this movie when I was a kid. Cynthia Nixon plays a hippie camper at the camp!

I just tried to see if this was available on Netflix, and it isn't! Boo!

[Katie Kat]

Dude, you should go watch "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"! Kristy AND Mark Hamill - together. It's really horrible greatness.

I LOVED Pirate Movie - even have the soundtrack. "Pumpin', blowin'..." I thought she was adorable. When she'd have a sad scene and those puppy dog eyes would well up, it'd get me every time! I hope she's happy in post-celeb life!

[palinode]

I really want to draw a stylish handlebar mustache on the header image of McNichol, but every time I scroll up or down, the mustache stays in place. The only solution is to send a fake mustache to Kristy McNichol with a very earnest and clear letter persuading her to wear it in public.

[mp]

Oooo and First Love w/ Christopher Atkins... I read on You Tube and I agree 100%.. Kristy McNichol was My Hannah Montana/Miley Cirus

[KimPossible]

My first thought on Kristy was "Eight is Enough", but knew that wasn't right in my heart of hearts. I honestly can't remember with much clarity (and I'll be 40 in October) what she was in. I wasn't allowed to watch "Family", as my mom is strict Baptist, so boo hoo to me.

The one thing I distintly remember is that mole on her face, it drove me crazy! Wasn't it above her lip or something? Sorry to dis Kristy, but she always made me think of John Boy (which of course I was allowed to watch).

[missbanshee]

I've always enjoyed her, and it makes me sad that her bipolar disorder was made into a media circus. It's a helluva disease she and I share, and although I always appreciate people getting educated about it, I wish she could have been treated with a little more dignity in the media. I wish her well.

[Marie]

Oh my gosh! I had such a crush on Kristy! You really nailed her appeal. I think I remember Family best, which is to say, fuzzily, but I definitely remember the crush-rush. Ah, Kristy, I hope you're doing well these days.

[Dana]

Love her. I watched her on "Empty Nest" as a kid and then watched her other stuff from there.

[Marinka]

I love Kristy McNichol too. I remember when Jane Fonda loved her too and wanted her to play her daughter--I can't remember if they ever did a movie together.

[Suzy Q]

I also have fond memories of Kristy. Hope she's doing well.

[deezee]

"The Night the Lights Went Out..." - Kristy and Dennia Quaid, actually.

And I will tell you that she was a genuine and kind teen. My dad was her manager for years...

[AmeliaB]

I loved Kristy. She was my favorite actress, and she looked a great deal like my best friend at the time who turned out to be...wait for it.... bipolar. Weird.

[blissfully caffeinated]

I LOVED Little Darlings! One of my favorite movies from the childhood years. It still comes on cable every once in a while, you'll just have to keep your eye out for it and TIVO.

[Cheri @ Blog This Mom!]

What girl didn't have a girl-crush on Kristy? Excellent post.