Leader of the (Brat) Pack
Rob Lowe's autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography, will be released April 28. And I can't wait. The May issue of Vanity Fair has an excerpt in which Lowe recalls his gruelling audition for Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 The Outsiders where he competes with Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Val Kilmer.
Watch these audition tapes for The Outsiders. Part 1 and Part 2.
Lowe, a member of the so-called Brat Pack, a wild group of young actors in the 80s which included Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Jon Cryer, Robert Downy Jr., and Charlie Sheen, is no stranger to scandal. However, Lowe stayed ahead of the pack, survived the 80s, and has a fairly solid career in television (The West Wing, Brothers and Sisters, Parks and Recreation).
Listen to the podcast of Lowe reading from his excerpt in the May issue of Vanity Fair.
- You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation by Susannah Gora (2010)
- "The Birth of Hollywood's Brat Pack" by David Blum, New York Magazine 1985. These actors loathed the term "Brat Pack" – and some even blame this article for the declines in their careers.
2 thoughts on “Leader of the (Brat) Pack”
Can the TPL get in a copy of St. Elmo’s Fire? I’ve looked before and haven’t been able to find it. Thanks!
You are not the only one looking for this excellent 80s classic….it was out of print for a while – but we are looking into getting copies.