Rad Daly: Almost a Teen Idol

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, kid actors were everywhere, and Willie Aames was at the top of the heap.  So producers tried to find a Willie Aames lookalike.  They found a likely candidate in Rad Daly, who had the same face and wavy hair, and was a veteran of cute-kid roles: North Dallas 40 (1979), 10 (1979), When Hell Was in Session (1979).

In 1979, Rad landed starring roles in two tv series!








The Bad News Bears, a tv adaption of the 1976 mega-hit.  Rad appeared in 12 episodes in the spring of 1979, along with a dozen future teen idols and adult soap stars: Billy Jayne, Sparky Marcus, Corey Feldman, Meeno Peluce, and Kristoff St. John (seen here as an adult, getting nude in support of PETA).  He didn't appear in the 11 episodes in the 1979-80 season.

Out of the Blue, about an angel assigned to work as a high school teacher and live with a family of orphans (including Rad, gay-vague Clark Brandon, and Jason and Shane Keller).  It lasted for nine episodes in the fall of 1979.

That fall, teen magazines went into hysterics about Rad, interrogating him on his musical tastes, leisure pursuits, and the type of girls he liked (every teen idol was asked this question, and the answer was always the same: "I like girls who are true to themselves.")

In 1980, Rad starred in two Disney movies: The Kids Who Knew Too Much, about model-building buddies (Rad, Dana Hill, and gay-vague Christopher Holloway) who stumble across a murder; and The Ghosts of Buxley Hall, as one of the many outcast boys partnered with a ghost.

In the fall of 1981, he got another tv series, playing the son of Sheriff Buford Pusser (Bo Svenson) in Walking Tall. Unfortunately, it only lasted seven episodes.

And that was about all. Small parts in Silence of the Heart (1984) with Charlie Sheen, and The Deliberate Stranger (1986), with Mark Harmon.  A few more during the last 20 years.  A recurring gig as The Apple in those Fruit of the Loom underwear commercials.  He also does stand-up comedy and theatrical work.

Why did his teen idol career fizzle out so quickly?



1.  In the 1980s, teen idols were all about beefcake: you needed broad shoulders, killer pecs, and six-pack abs.  Rad never appeared nude or shirtless on screen, but the fully-clothed shots made him look rather skinny.  Nor could he compete with Parker Stevenson in the underwear-and-Speedo department.

2. In the 1980s, teen idols were all about romance.  Your characters needed some emotional commitment, either to girls (like Robbie Benson) or to boys (like Clark Brandon).  Rad appeared in a  group, or as somebody's kid.

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