Andrew McCarthy taps into 80’s nostalgia with new memoir

Andrew McCarthy admits he “fled” from his shaggy-haired 1980’s persona and didn’t look back for decades

NEW YORK -- Andrew McCarthy admits he “fled” from his shaggy-haired 1980’s persona and didn’t look back for decades. Much like the slouchy blazers he wore in movies like “Pretty in Pink” and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” that Brat Pack moniker and image never really fit. But time has put a soft filter on that era for the actor and he’s ready to reflect on his early days as a movie star in his new memoir, “Brat: An 80’s Story,” which debuts this week. Now a TV director, acclaimed travel writer, and best-selling author, McCarthy has been busy in recent years, if under the radar. He decided it was the right time to look back on his early life in acting and share stories about his adventures in Hollywood, complicated family relationships, addiction and recovery. The book helps explain the evolution of the Brat Pack — a group of young actors including Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson who dominated movies in the 1980’s and set cultural trends — and how McCarthy and others swept into its vortex became the nostalgic “avatar of people’s youth.” In a recent interview with The Associated Press, he discussed reconciling his Brat Pack membership, his kids choosing to act, and which of his movies should be remade.