I’ve realized that most of my romance heroes I write about have dark hair.  Not that I have anything against blond men, because I don’t.  In fact I try to mix things up a bit by making some of my heroes golden-haired, but I have to admit, I don’t like them as much. Oh, I’ll grant you that Brad Pitt is a gorgeous man, but my heart truly goes out to the black-haired guys.

             So where did this love of tall, dark and handsome come from? When I search my memories, my very first crush that I can recall was on Batman.  Yes.  Honestly.  The wham, pow, corny Adam West version. As young as five years old, I used to create scenarios in my head where Batman would have to burst in and save me.  Bruce Wayne had dark hair.   So did Superman and I had a little thing for him too. (I loved Underdog too, but I don’t think he counts.) 

            I also grew up watching endless I Love Lucy reruns and I freely confess to having a mad crush on Ricky Ricardo.  He was so handsome in a tuxedo, and the way he sang “Cuban Pete” and always forgave his crazy wife no matter what she did, completely won me over.  He had beautiful dark hair too.

            Now I must address my great love for Elvis. Was there ever a dark-haired man sexier than he was?  I honestly don’t think so.  Well, the young Elvis anyway. Those pouty lips.  Those heavy-lidded eyes.  Don’t get me started on his hips!  And that voice! That voice that just melts your heart. “Anyway you want me…”  Sigh.

            As a huge fan of Gone With the Wind, which I first watched when I was ten years old and even then I knew there was no way I could love the wimpy, blond Ashley Wilkes.  None at all!  It was the sexy, manly, witty, and decidedly dark-haired Rhett Butler that made my heart swoon. He’s a man who knows exactly what he wants and goes about getting it. (Although, I can somehow forgive Clark Gable’s mustache, in general I can’t abide facial hair of any kind.)            

            During my formative years, I think it was these early crushes that formed my partiality for black haired men. Batman.  Ricky Ricardo.  Clark Gable.  Elvis. When I watched old movies with my mother it was Cary Grant, Robert Taylor, and Glenn Ford that I loved.  That brunette theme just continued for me throughout the years.  Harrison Ford.  The young Alec Baldwin. Pierce Brosnan.  Ben Affleck over Matt Damon. John Stamos.  Chris Noth.  Kyle Chandler.  Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  John Hamm. And of course, my all time favorite, George Clooney, although now he has become charmingly gray.          

            There is just something about a handsome, clean-shaven, dark-haired man in a tuxedo that will win me over every single time. 

            There’s only one other blond man who made my heart race, besides the aforementioned Brad Pitt, and that was Robert Redford. (I don’t know that there is a more beautiful human being than he is in The Sting or The Way We Were.  Good God.)  My only two defections in a lifetime of tall, dark and handsome crushes.

            So what do you think?  Blond or Brunette?