Michael Schoeffling [Actor / CEO Hand-crafted Furniture]

**TonjaLasagna** · August 3rd, 2009, 05:41 PM

Born Dec 10, 1960 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Michael is a retired American actor & Bruce Weber model, most famously known for his role as Jake Ryan in "Sixteen Candles." Graduated from Cherokee HS in NJ, and moved to New York at 18. He attended Temple University, majored in Liberal Arts and wrestled.

An accomplished youth and collegiate wrestler, Michael won medals in various national and international tournaments. He won a gold for the US in freestyle wrestling, as a member of the National Junior Wrestling Team in the European Championships held in Munich, Germany 1978. His considerable wrestling skills were downplayed as Kuch in Vision Quest, where he wrestled Matthew Modine, his teammate in the movie.

Undecided as to his career, he moved to Europe and traveled throughout the continent for the next year & half. In the early 80s, he began modeling for GQ. Photographer Bruce Weber paid for his acting classes at Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Manhattan. Besides income, modeling brought him worldwide travel for the next 2 yrs, as well as the attention of casting directors. Modeling not only altered Michael's work, but his personal life. He met his wife, Valerie Robinson, a model at the same agency, Zoli.

On Valentine's Day 2004, 20 years after the film's American premiere, The Washington Post ran an article entitled Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of "Sixteen Candles, which celebrated Michael, and his character Jake Ryan's enduring popularity.

Micheal Schoeffling's film credits are listed below his photos

Movies
Racing with the Moon (1984) Amputee soldier (uncredited)
Sixteen Candles (1984) Jake Ryan
Vision Quest (1985) Kuch
Sylvester (1985) Matt
Belizaire the Cajun (1986) Hypolite Leger
Let's Get Harry (1986) Corey Burck
Slaves of New York (1989) Jan
Longtime Companion (1990) Michael
Mermaids (1990) Joe Porretti
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991) Al Carver

Michael Schoeffling

The Model Archives of Marlowe Press

**levitt** · August 3rd, 2009, 05:58 PM

In some shots he reminds me of Matt Dillon, especially the last.

**heart_leigh** · August 3rd, 2009, 06:09 PM

^ He does, doesn't he?

Anyways, I loved, loved, LOVED him as Jake Ryan. So fucking hot! When Sixteen Candles came out, it made going through puberty a lot easier 'cuz of him. lol! *sigh*

**louiswinthorpe111** · August 3rd, 2009, 08:16 PM

I'm a loser because my oldest son's name is Jake Ryan. He's always been my ultimate.

**calcifer** · August 4th, 2009, 06:01 AM

is it wrong that i expected to see at least one picture of furniture?

**TonjaLasagna** · August 4th, 2009, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by calcifer

is it wrong that i expected to see at least one picture of furniture?

Not at all.

I read through various blogs, trying to find a pic of his special furniture. Managed to locate a blog written by a woman who met him at his furniture store in PA, while shopping with her parents. She didn't give the name of the store.......sigh........probably because my girlfriends & I wouldn't be the only ones making a special pilgrimage just to see him.

~~~~~~~~~

If He Was a Carpenter, and You Were His Lady...
From Anonymous: "I live in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and am as star struck as anyone else. We were in the middle of remodeling our home a few months back and looking for new furniture. We went to a couple of places and found nothing to our liking. Then we went to a third place.
As my parents were looking around I saw this guy in the back of the store and almost fainted.

It was Michael Schoeffling, the guy who played Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles. I immediately knew it was him because I've seen the movie more than 100 times (literally). He gained some weight and looked older, but I knew it was him. I wasn't going to, but I knew I might never get the opportunity again.

So, I casually approached him and asked him if his name was Michael Schoeffling. He laughed and said it was. I couldn't believe it. I told him how much I loved Sixteen Candles and how I wish it were real life for me. I asked him why he was now a carpenter instead of an actor in Hollywood, and he said that he knew movie roles were getting more difficult to get so he decided to move back to Pennsylvania and start his own business. He now makes his own furniture. ... I only got to talk to him for a few minutes because my parents were ready to leave. It's like a dream because he was so nice and I never ever would have believed I would have met a celebrity in Pennsylvania. And he was such a nice guy." (POSTED: AUGUST 2001)

**MaggieMay** · August 8th, 2009, 10:50 PM

Are there any recent pictures? I just saw this movie the other day, for the hundreth time, and just melted when he was waiting for her at the church. Sigh....I got teary eyed. Than her birthday cake on top of the dining room table. Sigh again.... Damn, some of those teenage dreams never die.

**FashionVictim** · October 6th, 2009, 04:00 PM

He was so handsome and sweet! I'm dying for a recent pic. There HAS to be one somewhere on the web!

**LynnieD** · October 6th, 2009, 04:03 PM

How the hell did I miss this one??

Oh how I loved him.....my oh my oh my.

**lisalucy69** · October 6th, 2009, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by MaggieMay

Are there any recent pictures? I just saw this movie the other day, for the hundreth time, and just melted when he was waiting for her at the church. Sigh....I got teary eyed. Than her birthday cake on top of the dining room table. Sigh again.... Damn, some of those teenage dreams never die.

I know, right? Jake Ryan was my first celeb crush, and i still get all dreamy eyed when i think about him. Sixteen Candles was my favorite movie when i was a teen and i still have a copy that i pop in from time to time. It never gets old for me. Love it.