Playgirl&#39;s Sexiest Men~circa 1979

Looking at this 1979 issue of Playgirl (with what we know now here in 2014) there are so many surprises with their picks as sexiest men. Some of their selections were no doubt debatable even back then. This was a time when men like Christopher Reeves (Superman), Neil Diamond and Warren Beatty were big-ticket hot draws in the sex appeal arena, but didn't make Playgirl's list.

Playgirl did select some guys who would go on to dominate modern culture in many ways. Sportsman Ted Turner would revolutionize media and journalism. Calvin Klein changed the American marketing of men's underwear in the 1980s and in the process helped make men sex objects in ads. Legendary TV talk show host Johnny Carson remains the gold standard of late night shows. Respected liberal U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy would have decades of work in support of the poor (and was one of the fourteen senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996). Amazingly still going strong today in popularity are Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Brown. Woody Allen would make many more hit movies (including this year) and would also make scandalous headlines about his personal life.

Calvin model

O.J. Simpson made the list as they proclaimed that he had "all the right moves" in football which unfortunately would not be what he would ultimately be most-famous for. It's reported that the jailed former football star is serving out a kidnapping, assault and robbery sentence in a Nevada prison. Out of all of the men on Playgirl's list, it's sad that Alan Bates is not recognized today as much as he deserves to be.

Bates

Alan Bates was a famous actor of the era. He was knighted in January 2003 for his work. Bates was married and fathered two sons but there were also those rumors concerning male lovers. Bates has been reported to have had many gay relationships throughout his life, including with Nickolas Grace, Peter Wyngarde, and Olympic skater John Curry. He passed away in 2003. Stay tuned for more about this man.

Which brings us to last but certainly never least on anybody's sexiest-men-list, Burt. 1970s sex symbol deluxe Burt Reynolds remains in a class of his own. Shown above in 1972, Burt looks like he could have easily been inspiration for many a sexual fantasy in a Tom of Finland story.