https://www.youtube.com/w...o0jY4WvCIc

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https://www.youtube.com/w...d4C8_FMdjA

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[https://www.youtube.com/w...BZCt4mbKJM

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https://www.youtube.com/w...MsaIGXur5s

Was Alfonso considered cool on Silver Spoons? A few years ago the Silver Spoons cast reunited on some show for an interview. It was either Good Morning America or Today.

Hmmm.

Should I rename the thread?

not at all...he's STILL cool... and the Carlton Banks character was 'cool' in his own right

The man is still working, embraces his past as much as who he is right now. He's a family guy, and a solid individual. You've never really heard scandal around him or anything trashy. The guy has had hit after hit in a lot of ways. Pepsi w/ the Jacksons, Silver Spoons, then Fresh Prince, In The House, plus other things. He slayed Dancing With The Stars (even with an injury, winning the season's trophy), hosted various shows on GSN for a few years, was the host of Unwrapped on Food Network, has directed multiple TV shows, and now hosts America's Funniest Videos. He also has a radio show, 3-hours a pop.

Dude is WORKING his ass off!

Taking care of yourself and your family, and looking that good at almost 50, is about the coolest fucking thing one can do.

TrivialPursuit said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The man is still working, embraces his past as much as who he is right now. He's a family guy, and a solid individual. You've never really heard scandal around him or anything trashy. The guy has had hit after hit in a lot of ways. Pepsi w/ the Jacksons, Silver Spoons, then Fresh Prince, In The House, plus other things. He slayed Dancing With The Stars (even with an injury, winning the season's trophy), hosted various shows on GSN for a few years, was the host of Unwrapped on Food Network, has directed multiple TV shows, and now hosts America's Funniest Videos. He also has a radio show, 3-hours a pop.

Dude is WORKING his ass off!

Taking care of yourself and your family, and looking that good at almost 50, is about the coolest fucking thing one can do.

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

CynicKill said:

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

That's really the Bruce Springsteen dance though. Alfonso got it from the Dancing In The Dark video. I'm pretty sure Bruce is considered cool. Also he resurrected Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual for younger audiences too.

MickyDolenz said:

CynicKill said:

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

That's really the Bruce Springsteen dance though. Alfonso got it from the Dancing In The Dark video. I'm pretty sure Bruce is considered cool. Also he resurrected Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual for younger audiences too.

This is the coolest variation of The Springsteen in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/w...iuR3Zd1pTI

CynicKill said:

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

Yeah, I totally got where you're coming from. But you're comparing a young man to a grown ass adult pushing 50. None of us want to be compared to ourselves 30 years ago (cuz we were all bigger assholes when we were younger hahaha).

The Carlton dance... he's embraced it, but it's not defined him. I still think about how Dustin Diamond never really embraced Screech which made it haunt him, whereas Alfonso just went with the Carlton thing, and let it be whatever it was. I think about gay folks scared of coming out. I tell them, "if you don't make it a big deal, other people probably won't make it a big deal either." The sentiment sorta works here, too.

For me, Alfonso was never uncool. His nerdy character spoke to as many people as Will's character did. He even did the dance on the first episode (or the second) of AFV just to sorta get it out of the way. Done and done, no big deal.

And in the 80s, you're right - anyone who even got a whiff of MJ's dirty penny loafers was cool back then. haha

CynicKill said:

MickyDolenz said:

That's really the Bruce Springsteen dance though. Alfonso got it from the Dancing In The Dark video. I'm pretty sure Bruce is considered cool. Also he resurrected Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual for younger audiences too.

This is the coolest variation of The Springsteen in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/w...iuR3Zd1pTI

If we're being honest, that's a basic white girl dance. Friends actress Courtney Cox sorta did it in the Springsteen video, Ringwald did it, every other white girl if a taffeta dress from 1982-1989. hahaha

I think the Carlton role made him very cool. It was very obvious that his role on "Silver Spoons" was due to the show trying to get more ratings by adding the kid who had recently gained popularity by dancing in a commercial with Michael Jackson. By the time "Silver Spoons" ended though, the popularity of the Michael Jackson commercial had long faded and his character on "Silver Spoons" was not really a stand-out character that he would long be remembered for.

.

If I remember correctly, I think his costar, Rick Shroder, who was the main character, got a role on a short lived series playing a police officer or sheriff or something like that and it flopped. He was too young to be taken seriously for the role and too old to still play a role that was too kiddy looking. The Carlton role was perfect for Alfonso who was also at the awkward age as an actor. The nerdiness of the role gave it maturity which was how he was looking and could still be pulled off by someone who was grown but not mature enough looking to play an adult role yet. The character also was the complete opposite of the main character which let him shine and get his own attention from playing it rather than just blending in with the other characters and become forgotten. If he had tried to continue cashing in on the popularity of the Michael Jackson commercial, if he got lucky enough to get another role, it would have flopped and that would have been the end of his career unless he went another route altogether and tried to get into the world of dance and that wouldn't have lasted either if he kept doing the Michael Jackson dances.

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[Edited 2/3/21 7:29am]

CynicKill said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The man is still working, embraces his past as much as who he is right now. He's a family guy, and a solid individual. You've never really heard scandal around him or anything trashy. The guy has had hit after hit in a lot of ways. Pepsi w/ the Jacksons, Silver Spoons, then Fresh Prince, In The House, plus other things. He slayed Dancing With The Stars (even with an injury, winning the season's trophy), hosted various shows on GSN for a few years, was the host of Unwrapped on Food Network, has directed multiple TV shows, and now hosts America's Funniest Videos. He also has a radio show, 3-hours a pop.

Dude is WORKING his ass off!

Taking care of yourself and your family, and looking that good at almost 50, is about the coolest fucking thing one can do.

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

Only to young people though. Older people remember the stuff he did prior to that. But the same could be said for every other star though. Look at Prince and Rick James. For the longest, if their name came up, the first thing young people would say is.... "Purple Rain" or "Super Freak". And nowadays, when their name comes up, the first thing even younger people mention are those damn Dave Chapelle sketches. I mean damn, I enjoyed them too when they first aired but I tell ya, if I never see those god awful looking pictures of Dave dressed up like them or hear the damn words "pancakes", "game blouses", or "fuck yo couch" again it will be too soon.

TrivialPursuit said:

CynicKill said:

This is the coolest variation of The Springsteen in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/w...iuR3Zd1pTI

If we're being honest, that's a basic white girl dance. Friends actress Courtney Cox sorta did it in the Springsteen video, Ringwald did it, every other white girl if a taffeta dress from 1982-1989. hahaha

Not just white girls, but white boys too. Lord, I remember watching "American Bandstand" and seeing an entire room full of people doing it and thinking to myself...."do they know any other damn dances than that silly one".

Back in the day I thought Belinda Carlisle invented the dance which leads me to believe the dance has early valley origins. She displayed a masterful version of it by the time "Head Over Heals" came out.

And is it just me or is this the hardest damn dance to do? It looks so simple but I don't have the coordination to do it, much less The Carlton!

https://www.youtube.com/w...Qyazt4RDTM

Eddie Murphy called out white people dancing in "RAW". I still crack up when I see that clip.

vainandy said:

CynicKill said:

Ok I concur.

But he was REALLY cool as a kid.

It was that Carlton dance for me though.

As you've said he's done a LOT for himself, but sometimes it feels like that damn Carlton dance is all he's known for, hence the title...

Only to young people though. Older people remember the stuff he did prior to that. But the same could be said for every other star though. Look at Prince and Rick James. For the longest, if their name came up, the first thing young people would say is.... "Purple Rain" or "Super Freak". And nowadays, when their name comes up, the first thing even younger people mention are those damn Dave Chapelle sketches. I mean damn, I enjoyed them too when they first aired but I tell ya, if I never see those god awful looking pictures of Dave dressed up like them or hear the damn words "pancakes", "game blouses", or "fuck yo couch" again it will be too soon.

Fuck you couch. Show Eddie Murphy your titties bitches