Why the "Old School" guys are tougher.....

The recent posts have sparked some debate about me not embracing the "New Breed" of Hollywood tough guys. I have nothing against some of the modern actors. But when you talk "Larger Than Life" heroes-Say comparing today in 2013 to 1973.  Do you really, honestly believe that Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Russel Crowe, Colin Farrel, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Daniel Craig, Will Smith, Shemar Moore, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jeremy Renner and Channing Tatum stack up against John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds,Sean Connery, James Garner,Telly Savalas, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree,Ernest Borgnine, Joe Don Baker, Charlton Heston, Gene Hackman, Ryan O' Neal, Lee Majors, Bo Svenson, Donald Sutherland, Lee Marvin, Clint Walker, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and James Caan?.  Not even close. And here's the reasons why. # 1. To play an ass-kicker you have to look like you could kick somebody's ass. Now analysts are always saying that because of better pre-natal care, better nutrition, and steroids in food that people are naturally getting bigger-just compare the size of the average NFL or NBA player to the players of 30 years ago.  If that's the case, why are action heroes getting smaller? Check these facts- Of the "Old School" tough guys I listed nearly all of them were over 6 ft tall, and most were at least 6' 3'. Only Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Telly Savalas, and Ernest Borgnine were under 6 ft tall, and they were all at least 5' 10". Conversely, of the modern heroes, Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman, Ben Affleck and Will Smith are the only ones OVER 6 ft tall. The rest are all 5'11" or less, and a few, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon.Mark Wahlberg, and Shemar Moore, are 5' 8" or under!!  I wouldn't want to meet Dwayne Johnson in a dark alley. But your going to tell me that John Wayne or Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson would be intimidated by Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves? I liked "Gladiator"- but Russel Crowe is not as threatening as Charlton Heston ( Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes ) or Kirk Douglas ( Spartacus, Champion ). Even '80's tough guys like Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Dolph Lundgren have it all over the new guys in just looking tough. Like "Fonzie" said to Richie on "Happy Days" many years ago "You have to have a look in your eye that says at least once in your life you've hit somebody besides your little sister."  # 2. Fans like to believe that action heroes actually are tough. Steve McQueen was a legendary auto and motorcycle racer, and a martial-arts expert. He was one of Bruce Lee's first students when Lee came to America. He did almost all of his own stunts. Jim Brown held nearly every NFL rushing record for years until O.J. Simpson and Walter Payton broke them. He defiantly went to prison several years ago-well past age 60- instead of taking anger management classes over a fight between him, his ex-wife, and her new boyfriend. He told the judge he did not feel remorse and would kick their ass again if the situation arose again.  Clint Eastwood did all of his own stunts well into his 60's. He jumped off the bridge onto the bus in "Dirty Harry" and rarely used a double in the mountain-climbing scenes of "The Eiger Sanction". John Wayne was 65 when he did all the riding and roping stunts, and had the brutal fight scene with 30 years younger Bruce Dern in "The Cowboys".  Sean Connery was Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Wales, and famously beat the crap out of Gangster Johnny Stompanato who pulled a gun on Connery over Lana Turner. I already stated that Robert Mitchum beat up a heavyweight boxer in a street fight who was one of very few people to go the distance with Rocky Marciano. Sylvester Stallone actually did the jump off the cliff into the tree in "First Blood", and suffered several broken ribs and a punctured lung while sparring with professionsl boxers Earnie Shavers and Matthew Saad Muhammed for the "Rocky Movies". Dolph Lundgren was a professional kick-boxer before he was cast in "Rocky IV". In the Martial-arts flicks, whether it was Van Damme, or Norris, or even Jackie Chan, it might have looked inelegant, but at least you knew they were really doing it. I'm glad these modern guys live in the gym to look ripped, but 90% of the action is all CGI. If I wanted to play or watch one of my son's video games, I would. # 3. The Old-school guys kept their private lives private, and weren't media whores wanting constant attention. We know John Wayne had Cancer, as did Steve McQueen and Bronson's wife, Jill Ireland. We know that Mitchum and Connery were legendary drinkers. McQueen ruined two marriages when he stole Ali McGraw from producer Robert Towne while filing the "Getaway". Burt Reynolds had affairs with Dinah Shore, Country singer Tammy Wynette, and Sally Field before he married Loni Anderson. But he nor McQueen never publicly bashed their exes like Brad Pitt does to Jennifer Aniston, or Ben Affleck does about Jennifer Lopez.  We all know Clint Eastwood was a legendary man-whore who left his wife for Sondra Locke, then dumped her for someone else and fathered children with like 6 different women. But unlike Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Hugh Jackman and others they didn't whine about their marriages or stints in rehab on talk shows ( We didn't have "Oprah" or "The View", but there was Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Don Ho and others ). or in women's magazines like Redbook!!  They damn sure didn't talk about their sex lives.-Affleck and Smith make me want to gag. Jennifer Garner and Jada Pinkett are hot-we can see that. But Pam Anderson, Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria are hotter and you never heard Kid Rock, Reggie Bush or Tony Parker giving a sickengly sweet testimonial about how wonderful their partner was. They at least had old-school class-"A gentleman never talks about his lady." I'm sorry, these whiny "metrosexuals" of today are not the he-men the old-school guys were. Just like the modern cars with their traction control nannies, clutchless sequential trannys, heated seats, moonroofs, and navigation systems are not the lean, mean badasses like a Six-Pack Super Bee or an L88 'Vette.  Mastermind