Dear Mr. Lowe,
Sure, you may be conventionally too old for us here at the Gloffice. And you might be married with kids (who are closer to our age than we are to yours). But, damn boy, you're fine.
The former Brat Packer turns 49 (49?!?!?) on Sunday (also St. Patrick’s Day—Erin go Bragh!). For those of you unfamiliar with this perfect human specimen, he rose to fame in the mid-1980s, thanks to roles in films including The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire, and About Last Night… But, more than anything, what cemented his place as a Hollywood megastar were the friends he kept and the party-boy reputation he earned, originally documented in a New York magazine cover story in 1985. Along with Emilio Estevez—his childhood friend and neighbor—Demi Moore, Anthony Michael Hall, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy, the Brat Pack ruled the box office and won the hearts of young (and some old) America.
But unlike many of his pals, Lowe has maintained a successful career (though The Mighty Ducks' Coach Bombay may be the greatest role ever played by a Brat Packer—good on you, Emilio), first with the award-winning role as Sam Seaborn in The West Wing (starring along side his Brat Pack bro’s dad, Martin Sheen), his “literally” fantastic turn as Chris Traeger on Parks and Recreation, and his faux-Brad Pitt character on Californication. Clearly, Lowe is going nowhere. He also wrote a 2011 memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, which is a truly fantastic read.* More remarkable than anything, he's managed to stop the aging process and, though fifty may be creeping up on him, few people have ever worn it better. Here, a look back at the most inspiring Brat Pack moments.
So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROB! We love you. Please, continue to never change.
*Really though. It’s amazing. Even the New York Times thought so: "[Lowe] writes viscerally and insightfully...He looks back at the aberrant highs of his heart-throb days, the changing nature of stardom in Hollywood, the trade-off he has made between high life and home life, and the step-by-step effort behind his show business survival. He looked like the callowest kid in the ‘Outsiders’ crew. Now he looks like the sturdiest of them all”
P.S.: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rob will narrate the National Geographic Channel’s new miniseries, The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us. Mark you calendars for April 14-16. There’s a new, albeit much more sophisticated and legitimate, version of VH1’s I Love the 80s in town.
[1] Rob Lowe, [2] Demi Moore, [3] Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, and Rob Lowe, [4] Ally Sheedy, [5] Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald, [6] Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy, [7] C. Thomas Howell, Francis Ford Coppola, and Matt Dillion on the set of The Outsiders, [8] Ally Sheedy and Andrew McCarthy, [9] Demi Moore, [10] Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick, [11] Molly Ringwald, [12] Robe Lowe and Melissa Gilbert, [13] Ally Sheedy, [14] Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore, [15] Molly Ringwald, [16] Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore, [17] Ally Sheedy, [18] Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe, [19] Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson, [20] Andrew McCarthy, [21] Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez, [22] Rob Lowe and Melissa Gilbert, [23] Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore.
