Who were your role models growing up?

[rucky]

Parents? Teachers? Public figures? Sports? Entertainment? Politics?

As a child of the Seventies, I had my dad and my grandfather, some very impactful teachers, but i can't really think of a public figure I can say I looked up to.

Is this part of the reason why some of today's parents feel threatened by a potential role model? Seems that even since Charles Barkley did that Nike ad, celebs took themselves off the hook and no longer feel obligated to set an example. :shrug:

[AngryAmish]

1. Art Arfons

[Stinky The Clown]

57. Hehehe .....

[immoderate]

2. JFK, Cary Grant, James Garner, Mr. Wizard...

I also learned some things from peers. My father was a big influence.

--imm

[Rebubula]

3. Role Models

My Nana and Papa and my Mom

I envied certain public figures (Jack Lambert, Lee Majors -mostly because he was with Farrah Fawcett - to name a couple), but never idolized or imitated them.

Sports people have never been seen as role models to me. Actors are fake by default...usually the same for politicians.

[seabeyond]

5. my thoughts... too. nt

[seabeyond]

4. parents. people i dont know couldnt convince me. parents i knew and could admire

and trust.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. JFK, Bobby, and Martin Luther King. My dad and one teacher, Mr. Farley.

[RDANGELO]

7. George McGovern, Carl Yastremski

[Kingofalldems]

8. Pick Temple

[Betsy Ross]

9. Albert Einstein

My father had a picture of him above his workbench. At the time, he was THE man.

[ixion]

26. Mine, too

One of the greatest minds ever, IMO.

[FSogol]

10. Roberto Clemente, Captain America, Smokey the Bear, and a neighborhood

mechanic that spent all his free time repairing bikes and toys to give to disadvantaged children.

[BlooInBloo]

37. No McGruff The Crime Dog?

:P

The bike-fixer guy sounds great tho. :)

[FSogol]

69. I was a beer drinking hooligan by the time McGruff made his debut.

And the bike-fixer was great. His back yard was full of sheds and his garage was stuffed to the gills with toys and bikes. I spent a lot of time fixing stuff with him.

[Donnachaidh]

11. my grandfather with a 3rd grade education, who did the NY Times crossword

EVERY day of his life.

John and Bobby Kennedy, and Mrs. Fusco, my 2nd grade teacher.

[TahitiNut]

12. Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Don Winslow (of the Coast Guard), ...

... and my grandfather. :dunce:

[closeupready]

13. Since Nixon is the first president I recall, and the anti-war demonstrations,

I would have to say that I have always admired countercultural, iconoclastic figures - people like Grace Slick, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Richard Pryor, or a lot of the first generation SNL personalities (Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner).

And I guess I would have to say that in becoming aware of current events in that era, it explains a lot about why I proudly consider myself a liberal, and always have.

[Captain Hilts]

14. It was tough for us girls....

Roy Chapman Andrews
Sonny Jurgensen
Katharine Hepburn

[madamesilverspurs]

68. You got that right,

At least in our neighborhood. We were raised with a thorough double-standard that didn't encourage us to think beyond 'how to make him happy.' That said, Mom howled with laughter at the TV moms who did housework in pearls and high heels. When my playmates brought out their Barbie and Ken dolls they invariably patterned their play on "Father Knows Best" or "The Donna Reed Show." That's when I'd go find the guys, they'd be cowboys and I'd be Miss Kitty. Don't know as that qualifies as a role model, but her role sure put plenty of ideas in my head...

[Captain Hilts]

83. Well, I couldn't follow dad into the Navy, I couldn't play professional baseball...what to do?

[HereSince1628]

15. Bullwinkle the Moose. and Tom Terrific. BM had low expectations, lower performance

a congenital inability to see Natasha and Boris as bad to the bone.

Tom Terrific had a great hat and a friendly dog.

[Romulox]

16. My childhood was not a good time for role models--"greed is good", red scares, etc. ad nauseaum...

[Bluzmann57]

17. Parents

And even though I'm 51 years old, they still are. I will say though, that I really liked Ernie Banks. I always thought he was a great ball player and a pretty nice guy as well. A couple of teachers as well, but mostly parents.

[flvegan]

18. My mother and father, Carl Yastrzemski, Terry O'Reilly, Ray Borque

Sports were a big part of my childhood.

[angel823]

19. Billy Jack

Fictional character, I know, but there was a liberal who could kick some ass.

[gauguin57]

47. Wow. I was just thinking about Billy Jack the other night, and how he dealt with folks who hated ...

... who hated Native Americans and treated them badly. You Don't Mess With the Jack!

[Dappleganger]

20. My teachers

Specifically a 7th grade teacher and middle school principal who went out on a limb for this very troubled young girl. They modeled love in more ways than I can count.

[blue sky at night]

21. seems like many people aren't good role models themselves...

drinking, partying, swearing and smoking in front of the kids....my nephews can't go one friday night without a baby sitter so they can go out and drink...maybe they don't like the fact that kids need someone to look up to. I also find that many young people today are clueless in their social skills....two of my niece-in-laws are jerks, can't even acknowledge the families of their husbands at social gatherings; they won't extend the common courtesy of saying "Hello" back when told the same, then sit around and ignore everyone.

[deaniac21]

22. Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Roy Face, Dick Groat and

Harvey Haddox.

[Greybnk48]

23. My dad, teachers, JFK, Muhammad Ali, John Wayne (yuck), Babe Ruth's legend,

to name a few. Let me add Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Annie Oakley, Wilma Rudolf, and the Lone Ranger for sure. I did not look up to my mother because many mom's at that time were treated as ancillary personnel to the big guy...Dad. Sort of like June Cleaver. She was no exception. :, (

[pecwae]

24. My father.

[Burma Jones]

25. Dad, Pastor, Trumpet Teacher, Beethoven, Miles Davis

Boy, that Pastor thing did NOT stick..........

[HereSince1628]

30. My coronet teacher broke one of my front teeth.

He got pissed because I wouldn't hold the thing up off my belly.

He smacked the bell hard and the mouthpiece took off half a lower front tooth. Maybe it was rotten, maybe not.

My father said I had it coming! Did he miss the lottery of American lawsuits or what?

[Burma Jones]

35. Hey, you were just playing like Miles.......

and why do you think Dizzy Gillespie had that angle in his horn?

I had a teacher make me lie down on the floor while he stood on a piece of plywood on my belly and had me play scales. Really got that diaphragm moving.....

If he had knocked out my tooth, my folks probably would have said the same thing your Dad did. Times have changed.....

[Journeyman]

27. There were a few public figures -- John Wooden foremost. . .

but few other sports figures, and none whom I admired solely for their athletic prowess. In the realm of entertainment, there were a few outstanding individuals -- Sidney Poitier, for example, but few others whose personal lives impressed me to the extent that their screen and stage personas impacted me, and strictly speaking, a decent role on the silver screen or impressive talent on stage doesn't equate to an emulative model (at least, not for me).

Politics gave me a fair share but society's brutality took most of those far too early.

I never got to know my father; his experiences in the war drove him mad, then alcoholism drove him away. I learned to admire him in later years, when I learned the details of what he did that so devastated him, but pretty ribbons and colorful tales don't inspire so much as they awe.

Teachers? In the main, we didn't see eye-to-eye. I came to understand in later years the wisdom of GB Shaw, who when informed by a new acquaintance that the fellow was a "self-made man," replied, "As are we all."

I guess my oldest brother was the largest impact on my life, and remains so today. And my dogs. I try to be more like my dogs in some respect every day: happy to meet everyone they know, cautious of strangers but quick to make friends, always willing to join in if it helps brighten the day.

[Captain Hilts]

84. Wooden, like Bill Russell, is actually a terrific philosopher on many levels. I use him too. nt

[rockymountaindem]

28. I honestly can't think of any

Which is strange, I think. I never cared for pop culture (still don't), so I didn't have anybody I looked to in film or music. I always liked baseball, because my dad does, and when I was a kid my favorite player was Andres Gallaraga, but I didn't aspire to be like him. After all, I'm not a great athlete and I had no idea what he was like off the field.

I was always quite interested in history, and I liked reading about Christopher Columbus when I was a kid, but since I can't replicate what he did, I never thought of him as someone I could be like. After that I became very interested in WWII (still am) and my favorite figure from that period was Francis Gabreski because he shot down more Nazis than any other American. But, again, those days are over and while I think he was a good guy, I can't model myself on him.

I have been pretty successful in my endeavors this far, but personally I would say that was because my parents taught me to do my best and always made sure that I lived up to my potential.

[Taverner]

29. My personal trifecta: President Jimmy Carter, Rev Glenn Fuller and John Denver

Again, I was about 6-8 when I came up with this list

Rev Fuller was the pastor of the church I went to as a kid - and he was big in the peace movement at the time.

[InvisibleTouch]

31. Mostly fictional characters...

...in television, movies, and books. Every bit as good, I will maintain, as "real life" people. They served me well.

[BlooInBloo]

32. Had I been bright enough at the time, Ali would have been.

[rucky]

34. +1

I wanted to say Ali, but he's more of one in my adulthood.

[Roon]

33. Elton John..i thought he and i were the only gay people on the planet

eom

[liberal N proud]

36. The Superintendent of the School and Football coach

When I was growing up my parents were good friends with the school Superintendent.

He had a log cabin in the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota, were fortunate enough to get invited there on many occasion. Even after he retired.

He was a very eccentric man but so wise. I learned my love of woodwork from him and much about nature as well.

My football coach in high school was one of those guys who was in it prepare kids for the future.

I was truly lucky

[Javaman]

38. Mickey Mantle, Gandhi, Albert Einstein, MLK and Neil Armstrong.

Not necessarily in that order.

[Blue_In_AK]

39. I don't really recall having any role models.

There were people I admired, but I was always kind of a "go your own way" kind of person.

[MineralMan]

40. My parents, followed by

Albert Schweitzer, Thoreau, and Gandhi.

[madmom]

41. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs Thomas.

[eShirl]

42. Kirk, Spock & Bones, Jesus, George Fox, Steve Martin

[BuyingThyme]

43. I never related to the concept.

[abq e streeter]

44. Maynard G. Krebs---still is too

[gauguin57]

46. Cool, Daddy-O!

[abq e streeter]

58. the coolest--what could be cooler than being a beatnik...

and when you think about it, probably the first sympathetic portrayal on TV of someone rejecting traditional white-bread America; even if they had to make him a buffoon, he was still lovable as opposed to being a threat. I really did think that being a beatnik was the coolest, daddy-o, and I think Maynard helped inspire a lifetime of non-conformity.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

62. I kind of identified with him (I'm a woman) but he wasn't a role model for me.

[gauguin57]

45. Cher.

I wanted to be Cher. And I also wanted to be a "Soul Train" dancer. And I also wanted to be Ethel Merman.

Beyond that, my real role models were probably my parents: Teachers who were educated, well-read, engaged and involved, interested in the issues and the arts, generous with their time and talents, community-minded.

Politically, I was cuckoo for most prexys/legislators who had a "D" after their names ... Kennedys, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, etc. etc. And I also really, REALLY looked up to Ralph Nader. *sigh* Those were the days.

And, while I was in high school, Jesus Christ was probably my major role model.

[gauguin57]

48. This is a wonderful thread, by the way.

I'm loving reading all of your answers!

[Uncle Joe]

49. James West; the James Bond of the Wild Wild West.

Living on a train seemed pretty cool too.:)

[bigmonkey]

50. Bucky Fuller, Stewart Brand, Abbie Hoffman, Thomas Jefferson, RFK

A motley crew. I didn't understand my parents' perspective until much later.

[peace frog]

51. JFK, parents, grandparents and teachers

They were role models in both positive and negative ways, but I learned from all of them. When JFK died, the first of my role models to exit this life, I think my childhood was officially over. Felt like I grew up in a hurry after that fateful day.

[TheKentuckian]

52. Jesus, Leto II, Zaphod Bebblebrox, Ted Kennedy, Pink Floyd (Roger Waters, though not personally),

James T. Kirk, Data, MLK, Johnny Bench, my mother, and George Lucas.

[abq e streeter]

53. and on a more serious note, Martin Luther King, and the Freedom Riders

and all the other people who risked ( and sometimes lost) their lives in the civil rights movement.

[branders seine]

54. John F Kennedy

my dad

my uncle

Woody Guthrie

Johnny Cash

[abq e streeter]

55. and as far as sports role models--Little Louie Aparicio--

showed that a little guy like me could compete with the big guys and become a great, and ultimately hall of fame ballplayer.

[Stinky The Clown]

56. My parents, hands down. Mom ..... and Dad.

The best parents in the world, even when they made errors in raising my brother and me. And they did. But they were a hundredfold ... a thousandfold fewer than their successes. They did their best and my brother and I turned out healthy and happy.

[rucky]

59. Bugs Bunny, too. :)

[Mari333]

60. pretty sad that I see so few women role models on here. nt

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

64. It is very sad but when I tried to reach back into my past, all I could really say

was Shari Lewis! Dale was too attached to Roy, my Mom, although I loved her had a narcissistic personality, my Sister...nope... Most women were glorified for their beauty. I did have a couple of neat teachers...going to edit my reply! :)

[Mari333]

75. I know, I had to dig deep to find women and I finally did

when I got older..do you think a lot of wonderful famous women like eleanor roosevelt and dorothy parker and all of the incredible women of the 20th century were purposely not shown to us as kids because it was the 50s and we were supposed to know our place?
when I got older I sought out the women I wanted to emulate..starting with Isadora Duncan as I recall, and then working towards many others...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

82. OMG! I just remembered one of the most influential women. Don't laugh, Auntie Mame.

Will respond later to the rest of your post. :hi:

[Mari333]

91. yes!!!! she was HUGE as a role model to me!!! there you go!!

my god, you are right. must have been a LOT of us boomer gals out there DESPERATE for a woman role model who owned her own MIND..I also liked Emma Peel. she was another one.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

92. And Mame didn't just own her own mind. She was loving, kind, progressive,

compassionate, creative and fought prejudice. I saw this film when I was all of 7 and I knew I wanted to be Auntie Mame when I grew up. Not that I was ever able to take my kids on flights of fancy around the world, but they both have said to me, Mom, there is no way I can rebel against you. :)

As to Emma, she was the first kick ass woman action hero but I think I enjoyed The Avengers because it was delightful to look at visually and very interesting story lines. :)

In your post before this one, you mentioned Isidora Duncan. I became introduced to her through the film Isadora with the fabulous Vanessa Redgrave portraying Isidora. I guess I was in my teens when I saw it and had already started to form as the person I am today but considering the times she lived in, she was in most ways a "free spirit".

One woman that I am now interested in and was interested in as a teen, is Elizabeth Siddall. She was considered the first "super model" and sat for the Pre-Raphaelites in the mid 1800s in England. She became a fine artist and poet in her own right. I was first introduced to her in a PBS production "Dante's Inferno". Being sometimes a little wicked, I manage to procure on the net some British shows and just finished watching the first season of "Desperate Romantics" It's a show about the Pre-Raphaelites and it once again piqued my interest in Lizzie Siddall. Now I have the Internet to read as much about her as I can, including being able to see her works of art.

I guess my whole point of this spiel is that there were so many strong, creative, productive women before our time and we were basically given the same shit, just a little less modern, that girls are getting today. It's still all so much about beauty and or moderate talent. Even with Michelle Obama, it's all about the arms and the clothes......

:shrug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

61. Shari Lewis, my brother, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, MLK, John Lennon and

a local Quaker Meeting House.

Edited to add Miss Burke, 3rd grade teacher at Seaford Manor.

[gauguin57]

65. Shair Lewis rocked!

I loved Lamb Chop.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

67. Awwwwwwwww look how young they both are in the photo! :)

Thank you! :hi:

[Cleita]

63. Nobody.

My parents discouraged hero worship and wanted me to think for myself, not be influenced by famous figures no matter how acceptable they might be as a role model. Secretly though I thought Wonder Woman was super.

[Echo In Light]

66. Philosophers, and stand up comics (Carlin, Hicks, Bruce)

[aikoaiko]

70. Jim Morrison

[Joe Fields]

71. my parents, JFK, MLK, Ghandi....

[Rowdyboy]

72. In the early 1960's-astronauts: Especially Gus Grissom and John Glenn....

It was a simpler time....

[Morning Dew]

80. "Heroes" - these were three of mine. Not role models necessarily, but

Grissom, White and Chaffee affected me - their deaths saddened me greatly.

[otohara]

73. Joni Mitchell - JFK, MLK

Joni helped me through many decades - I related to her because she too had polio and her words inspired me.

[Dr Fate]

74. Fictional characters. n/t

n/t

[htuttle]

76. Zorro

The old series. It was running in syndication when I was a kid.

[B Calm]

77. Mickey Mantle, Roger Marris and JFK

[Fire1]

78. My family. n/t

[DainBramaged]

79. Hubert Humphrey, Don Garlits, Sean Connery, Teddy Roosevelt

Those four had the greatest influence on my youth.

[Saphire]

81. Elvie Copenhaver, my Grandmother.

[Captain Hilts]

85. There are practically no women mentioned in this thread. Wow. Not even Eleanor R. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

86. Alan Shepard

Pissed himself fifteen minutes before becoming the second human on his way to space, and then got pissed at the guys in mission control. At T- minus two minutes and forty seconds and counting, Shepard heard that dreaded word, "Hold". There was a computer problem. Frustrated, he yelled "I've been in here more than three hours. I'm a hell of a lot cooler than you guys. Why don't you just fix your little problem and light this candle?"

I always thought it was pretty bold; volunteering to crawl into a rocket when NASA's failures FAR outweighed it's successes.

When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat on top of the Redstone rocket waiting for liftoff, he replied, "The fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder." Bold Indeed.

#2 Nolan Ryan

[H2O Man]

87. My brothers,

a couple of uncles, and a few professional boxers.

[pipi_k]

88. Mighty Mouse, Betty Boop, Pepe le Pew, and Bullwinkle

Which probably explains a lot of things about me now.

[foxfeet]

89. Growing up gay in Appalachia during the '50s and '60s

I had no role models. I was a Martian child as far as I was concerned.

[Thothmes]

90. U.S.Grant, W.T Sherman, Abe Lincoln

Ike, Chester Nimitz.