This week’s 80′s Crush is: Michael Schoeffling

Birth Name: Michael Schoeffling

Birth Date: 1960

Age Today: 46

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

80′s Crush Because: His role as “Jake Ryan” in Sixteen Candles qualified him for crushworthy status for teenage girls everywhere. He was the most popular boy in school . . . the whole package. Handsome, sexy, polite, empathetic, wealthy, and definitely not a drug addict, nor an asshole, nor an emotional fuckwit. Jake Ryan was the guy who got back Samantha’s panties from Farmer Ted. In doing so, he spared her more embarrassment and also managed to not show them around to all his buddies beforehand. That would never happen today before they were photographed and shown all over the internet!

First Real Acting Gig: Racing With The Moon (1984) – Have you ever seen this movie? Me neither.

Other Notable Roles: He did fashion modelling for GQ Magazine and was mostly photographed by Bruce Weber throughout the mid-1980s. Also featured in Vision Quest (1985) along with Madonna and some guy jumping rope. Schoeffling went on to several other forgettable films during the decade and hasn’t been seen onscreen since 1991.

Where Is He Now? Nobody knows what happened to him, other than he was last interviewed in 1991. At that time, lived in Pennsylvania where he owned his own carpentry business and was happily married with two children.

Interesting Factoids: Schoeffling grew up in New Joisey and went to college at Temple University, where he participated on the wrestling team and majored in liberal arts. Thus, he became an actor. Let that be a lesson to us all.

Still Crushin’?: In a way, I always will be crushin’ on Jake Ryan, as lives on as the ideal man for most females who grew up watching Sixteen Candles.

Crush Meter: Undefinable. Jake Ryan’s character is timeless, from his adorable smile down to his wardrobe of cargo pants, plaid shirt, and well-groomed hair. Women everywhere will always unconsciously measure a man’s potential relative to the unfortunately fictional Jake Ryan. Indeed, we’re all still waiting for Jake Ryan to come and get us.

As always, go check out the 80′s Crush over at the Ex-Donkey Blog!