Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
We start with this excerpt from from his book The O'Reilly Factor:
My thing was the music: I was a dancing machine. Sock it to me, Donna Summer! Let's shake this place, Gloria Gaynor! Get down! Now, this was the lad of a quarter century ago, okay? But I make no apologies. I loved the all-out dancing, and quite a few girls loved to dance with me. The dancing got me dates. The dancing said (since you couldn't hear any words in those places under the rotating mirror balls), Hey, let's have some fun and see what happens next. Even Catholic girls had their inhibitions lowered by the howls of the Bee Gees or Sylvester. A few hours at clubs like Septembers or Shenanigans and most of my dates wanted to extend the evening at their place or mine.
And then we add the following picture:
And now you know where the Ron Burgundy character came from. Get out your flute and play that funky music, white boy. That picture makes you feel like you need to take a shower afterwards - but no loofah. And no falafel either.
Comments
I'm willing to bet a lot of these "girls" (assuming that's what they were) needed some bifocals added to their beer goggles.
Posted by: llDayo | August 24, 2006 1:15 PM
We all change as we get older, but for some people, smarminess lasts forever.
ps: You should have listed this as Not Safe For Work.
pps: You should have posted a bio-hazzard warning with this.
ppps: You shoould have posted a Not Safe For Men, Women or Children.
HTH!
Posted by: J-Dog | August 24, 2006 1:49 PM
Male gigolo? I thought they all were.
Posted by: Bob C | August 24, 2006 2:07 PM
He's like a poor man's fat Tom Hanks.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 24, 2006 2:18 PM
What a gorgeous polyester tie. They don't make 'em like that any more.
Posted by: Jim Anderson | August 24, 2006 2:31 PM
Yikes. If I'd found that I'd danced with this man, I would feel the need to take a bath in turpentine.
Posted by: Gretchen | August 24, 2006 3:09 PM
"The dancing got me dates."
Of course, probably not without a "gratuity" of $100 or so (more when he wanted the Marv Albert bites-on-the-back treatment).
Posted by: kemibe | August 24, 2006 3:25 PM
Those faux fur lapels are stylin'. I bet they keep the falafel from getting all over his brand new tie.
One question, where does he keep the loofa?
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | August 24, 2006 5:19 PM
He's like a poor man's fat Tom Hanks.
Oh, it's not that bad a picture. Looks kind of like an aloof fella (awful fallal, yes, but at least there is a full coiffure.) More like a young Arthur Laffer.
I'm so very, very sorry for that.
Posted by: 386sx | August 24, 2006 5:27 PM
Wow, he actually looked smugger back then than now.
Posted by: Matthew | August 24, 2006 5:31 PM
Fess up, Ed--you KNOW you want him....
Posted by: David Mazel | August 24, 2006 6:33 PM
DaveScot has a bedspread with that design!
Posted by: Rich | August 24, 2006 10:57 PM
Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer? I remember these being faves of gay men during that time. Hmmmm...is he sure it was girls and not "girls" he was dancing with?
Posted by: King Spirula | August 25, 2006 11:22 AM