Ralph Macchio: Karate Bluesman?
There’s been a lot of fuss these last few years about the so-called Hollywood “Brat Pack”—that group of young movie stars that’ve been featured in such teenoriented movies as St. Elmo’s Fire, The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink. Yet, one name that never seems to get included with this group just may be the best of the bunch: Ralph Macchio.
Ralph Macchio: Karate Bluesman?
There’s been a lot of fuss these last few years about the so-called Hollywood “Brat Pack”—that group of young movie stars that’ve been featured in such teenoriented movies as St. Elmo’s Fire, The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink. Yet, one name that never seems to get included with this group just may be the best of the bunch: Ralph Macchio. No one plays the underdog who eventually makes good better than Macchio.
His characters have all been the likable “kid from next door”—and we often hear that the kid has genuine girl appeal.
Although he had bit parts here and there over the years, Ralph made his first big screen appearance in The Outsiders, Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel about teenagers growing up on the wrong side of the tracks. The very young (at the time) Ralph played the youngest member of the gang who is critically burned, spends most of the film in the hospital, and tragically passes away before the film’s conclusion. Many felt that Ralph stole the film with his sensitive, tear-jerking portrayal.