Sarah Palin!  Just the name conjures emotions and images that have taken on a life of their own.  For some?  A rather attractive Governor of Alaska.  Others immediately think of a wild woman hanging from a helicopter shooting at defenseless animals.  Others think of Tina Fey portraying Sarah Palin.  Even a few think of the British host from The Weakest Link.  Not sure why, other than the glasses are sorta similar.  Either way, Sarah Palin insists that she is just one of us.  Her inadvertent affect on style got us thinking about the other notables that history cannot afford to forget.  The people who came out of nowhere to affect the way we think, speak and dress.

#1) Boner Stabone.  Don’t offended, it was his actual name.

You likely remember Boner from the hit sitcom Growing Pains.  Although Kirk Cameron was arguably the star of the show, Boner was clearly the most influential.  He was single handily responsible for Alan Thicke uttering “Boner” on a regular basis. He also taught us kids that it was okay to have a name that some may consider embarrassing.  Gaylord, Harry, Peter & John all got a break when Boner deflected the attention.  He certainly made it easier for my friend Nipple.

#2) Sloth (seen on the right)

He’s the unlikely hero from The Goonies.  What he lacked in good looks, he made up for in crooked smiles,muscle and love.  Did we mention that he was very much fashion forward?  It’s hard to argue that he is the true inspiration behind today’s obsession with worn and torn jeans accompanied by a tight fitting retro t shirt.  Add the oldest style sneaker you can find too.  If done correctly, you shouldn’t look completely homeless.  Sloth was rocking this style decades before we all caught on.  Even his action figure looks like he’s on his way to a red carpet.

#3) Murdock

He’s the 1/4th of the infamous A Team.  Unlike his partners in crime fighting, he didn’t rely on muscles, good looks or even smarts.  Murdock was a genuine nut case.  He was famous for being famous.  Like many of the celebrities we look up to today.  His clothes were a mix and match of anything ridiculous and his personality was awesomely insane.  His ability to switch personalities from one moment to the next is all to common in tinsel town these days and I thinks it’s only obvious that Murdock started it all. 

#4)  Jem

“Jem my name, no one else is the same, Jem is my name!”  Those are some of the enchanting lyrics from this cartoon megastars TV show open.  Stop me if you’ve heard this premise before: 

“The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego, Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures.”  STOP!

A cute young woman leading a double life as a pop singer?  Sounds awfully familiar to me.

Although it should be pointed out that Hannah leads a double life as an ordinary school girl, not someone working in an office, so it’s a totally different premise.  Jem had a rival group of musicians know as the Misfits (not to be confused with the Jonas Brothers).  They attacked Jem head on with cutting lyrics like “We are the Misfits…we are much better.” Jem always kept a cool pink head though and let her music do the fighting for her. ”glamour and glitter, fashion and fame! Truly, truly, truly outrageous…ooooh Jem!”  Although, I think those characteristics have also been swiped! 

 In summation, Sarah Palin, Boner Stabone, Sloth, Murdock and Jem are all funny references.  Palin is the latest in a long line of pop culture icons that are ripe for the picking. Like the Growing Pains theme song says…. ”The best is ready to begin!”