Among my many faults as a human being is the fact that I can’t remember my first celebrity crush. But I’m guessing it was either Phoebe Cates in Gremlins or the lady gremlin from Gremlins 2: The New Batch. One of those is probably accurate. Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling not only remembers his first celebrity crush, proving that he is more talented, more handsome, and has a better memory than me, he remembers the exact moment when he felt ~things~ for the first time. It involves the Muppets.
The Barbie star was asked by W magazine to name his first cinematic crush. “I saw Raquel Welch on The Muppet Show when I was young,” he replied. “She was dressed like a cavewoman. She was dancing with a big puppet spider, and I liked it. I liked it more than anything I’d ever liked before.” Some people had the One Million Years B.C. poster; others rewatched The Muppet Show on VHS.
Here’s the musical number that influenced Gosling to make La La Land (I assume):
When Welch passed away last year, she received a tribute post from the Muppets’ Facebook account. It reads, “We’ll never forget our remarkable friend Raquel Welch, one of our favorite guests on The Muppet Show. From dancing with a giant spider to inspiring Fozzie Bear, and duetting with Miss Piggy, Raquel could do it all!” We should all be so lucky.
(Via W magazine)