FRIDAY FAB 40+ ERIC CLOSE

There are some actors who seem to have an eternal youth about them. They've been around for a couple of decades and yet they seem to be no older than when we first discovered them. Nothing could be truer for this week's treasure...

ERIC CLOSE

Born Eric Randolph Close on May 24, 1967, in Staten Island, New York, but grew up in Indiana, Michigan and San Diego. It seems like just yesterday that he was bringing his blue-eyed, boyish good looks and square jawline to entertainment, but it has been 21 years since his debut in the Jeff Bridges film, American Me. 

Eric has yet to have a solid turn on a TV series. He was briefly on the soaper Santa Barbara, a perfectly hideous show with perfectly beautiful men, hence the latter enabling us to forgive the former.  From there it was a single season in McKenna and Dark Skies, and two seasons in The Magnificent Seven. 

From M7, he's not even recognizable with that long hair, standing next to hottie Michael Biehn of Terminator fame. 

Then in 1999, in either an uncanny irony, or an example of Hollywood's limited ideas for titles, Eric starred as a bionic man in the series Now and Again, which premiered the same season the family drama Once and Again. Good thing, too, because Now lasted only one season, and that enabled Eric to go on to Once and have a great season there.   

As the bionic man in Now and Again, Eric got lots of chances to show off his body...

In his early days, Eric wore his hair rather long. As a preacher of the message that "hair is everything," I must say that Eric was not flattered with long hair in the least. 

I will say that he's cute with the preppie blond hair grown rather full, though he looks far too young for me to find him that hot here. 

 Just as handsome, Eric needed to mature in a more manly handsomeness. 

While Eric has gone on to be the perfect guest star, TV movie lead or occasional villain, he has spent a lot of time in suits and ties...

Finally in 2002, Eric hot the jackpot with a great seven year run on a quality show, Without a Trace. I wouldn't say that the show's producers always knew what a hottie they had, but at least they did give us this magic shirtless moment...

There are countless shots of Eric shirtless and in states of undress, thankfully.

Just a little off the top, please. 

...and countless collages of shirtlessness and shower scenes filmed through foggy glass....

Thanks to Now and Again, we have these classic video shots of Eric bathing, but alas, no nudity.

DOWNLOAD ERIC LIVELY FROM NOW AND AGAIN- CLIP 1

DOWNLOAD ERIC LIVELY FROM NOW AND AGAIN- CLIP 2

DOWNLOAD ERIC LIVELY FROM NOW AND AGAIN- CLIP 3

Last TV season, Eric got to play Jessica Lange's husband in American Horror Story.  Yes, there's about 20 years between them, but he was playing her husband in the 70s.  In his very first moment, he drops his pants and tries to rape the maid. Again, no nudity as there was with Dylan McDermott, but there are some nice shots in tighty whities:

If eternal youth has a name, it is Eric Close. 

Eric's next role is in the ABC series Nashville, in which he will be playing Connie Britton's husband. The show is an All About Eve set in the country music world, and Britton is a Reba McEntire type up against and less talented auto-tuned hot young singer played by Hayden Panitierre. So far critics have picked it as the best new show of the season, so hopefully we will get a lot more Eric Close hotness! 

ERIC CLOSE:  FABULOUS WHETHER NEAR OR FAR