The Antin Conspriacy

While watching BlowOut last week, I had what you might call a moment of clarity.

I have come to believe that coiffeur celeb Jonathan Antin has studied the gestures, movements and expressions of one Mr. Patrick Swayze. The physical resemblance, while striking (as noted by Variety in their review of BlowOut and uber-Blog PopMatters), is pure coincidence. The tilt of the head, sly grin and confident swagger? I'm not so sure.

Exhibit A:

In this promotion, notice how Antin is looking to the camera with his head slightly tilted. He has a full grin and his arms folded in a self-assured - but not arrogant - pose. He appears to us as a man of confidence, a magician who understands his new stardom!

Patrick Swayze strikes a similar pose in this publicity still from his 1979 feature film debut, "Skatetown U.S.A." Years before his role in "The Outsiders," or "Dirty Dancing" he was a struggling actor and dancer, but here he looks prepared to take on the world. Or the roller rink. Whichever.

Exhibit B:

Here both men have an intense gaze that confronts the viewer in defiance. Are they challenging men who find them intimidating? Are they looking to break down the defenses of women, rendering them hapless by their chiseled good looks? 

Notice too neither Jonathan nor Patrick are looking straight into the camera - they connect with the lens but in a slightly off kilter manner that suggests the viewer has startled them, stumbling into a reaction that seethes with passion! Or makes the most their angular man-jaws.

Exhibit C:

The "Jim Stark" Pose: the vulnerable tough guy in a t-shirt. Both stare into the camera with a brooding charisma that says "Take care of me - I'm only a wounded pigeon on the cold, unfeeling streets of life. But if anyone looks at you the wrong way in a bar, I'll kick their ass."

Could it have happened? Could Swayze and Antin crossed paths at some point? Could he have inspired the trade mark smirk, the smoldering half squint? I'm hardly the first to notice the resemblance However, I think I may be among the first to put the pieces of the mysterious puzzle together:

• If you've watched BlowOut at all, you'll note that Antin is a dancer (sister Robin is the "owner" of the Pussycat Dolls...although I'm not sure that you can own a Pussycat Doll). Robin and Swayze's mother, Patsy, are both LA-Based Choreographers according to this site.
• Elder brother Steve Antin and Patrick Swayze both appeared in episodes from the 1986 season of "Amazing Stories." ("Welcome to my Nightmare" and "Life on Death Row" respectively)
• Dig deeper into my conspiracy theory and we find that Patsy Swayze, a lovely woman whom I've had the pleasure of meeting, was at the innaugural CSU Dance Festival in 1985. In 1991, a woman named Eleanor Antin appeared as a guest artist at the "Art Performance Rooted in Ritual and Ceremony" at the same festival. Multiple dancing Antins is too peculiar to be pure happenstance. I've ruled out Eleanor Antin as a parent (she's listed as born in 1953; he in 1967...I'm guessing she didn't pop him out at 14) but perhaps she is a cousin? A lost sibling in the tribe of dancing Antins?

Compelling circumstantial evidence, but not nearly as persuasive as this: Jonathan's elder brother Steve served as an aerial stunt dancer on Swayze's late 80's instructional video "Swayze Dancing."

If you go by his bio, which suggests he was born in 1967, Jonathan Antin would have been 19 at the time "Swayze Dancing" was filmed. Did his brother Steve bring his starstruck younger brother to the set and make an introduction?

Instead of coincidence, I've decided to file my suspicions under a new term, coined blowincidence. How now, Antin, how now....
  

Comments

[Kady]

Yes, now what about the Snow/Matisyahu Conspiracy?
Don't hate me, just think about it.
Great blog (found it through Pop Candy).

[Juliet]

love this! my husband has thought the same thing for as long as we've been watching blowout.

[krystalyn]

People just don't want to be different anymore

[U Betcha]

Not quite so.

Birth name: Robin Lindsley Allen

Stage Names: Robin Allen, Lindsley Allen, Robin Antin & Lindsley Antin, etc. (see imdb)

Married Steve Antin in late 90's

[Jonas]

I have had the biggest crush on Patrick Swayze since I was in high school. When I first saw him in "Red Dawn", I was mesmerized by those bedroom eyes. Then later, I saw him in "Dirty Dancing"; I loved the way he moved his ass, and when he smiled at Jennifer Grey, my heart sunk. Later on, I caught a shot of his bare butt in "Road House". Delish. I was first in line to see "Ghost" when it came to the theater, and that erotic "pottery" scene sent me reeling. There is a shot of his growing bulge that almost made me forget about his ass.

Years later, I met and fell in love with my partner, whom I was drawn to because of his uncanny resemblance to Swayze. We have been together for almost 5 years now, (before, my record relationship was 364 days-I broke up with him one day before our first anniversary because it was just too tumultuous, and if I gave it a year, I felt that I would be obligated to 'stick it out'.)

Anyway, I fell for Jonathan Antin the first time I saw those eyes and that devilish grin of his (he is the reason I became a hairstylist at 30 years old). I go to the IBS Beauty Expo at the Jacob Javits convention center in NYC every year, and I always make a special trip to Sephora in Times Square so I can stock up on "Dirt" (I love using it, also, because it smells like "Disaronno"-my favorite drink-maybe it's the hot blond bartender in the commercial) and whatever new products that he has added to his line, i.e. "Silky Dirt" is hot!

Now that this comparison has been addressed, I concur with this assessment. Add my partner in there, too. Hot, Sexy, Gorgeous men.

[CandyShopGirl]

Hola!

What do you think about love? >:)