when i was a baby millennial,
while the straights were crushing on ashley banks in the 90s,
i was crushing heavy on a wolf named romeo on the steve harvey show…
his real name was merlin santana…
This muthafucka was so FIONE to me when I was a kid.
i use to whip it out whenever he would take his shirt off on the show.
he def was one of the wolves who helped my young gay ass “find” himself.
it wasn’t just his bawdy but his face card could not be denied.
he knew was fione.
unfortunately,
my romeo was killed back in 2002.
( x read more here )
the news of his death devastated me when i heard it.
first aaliyah the year before and then him?
random celeb death were coming in waves at that point.
like other 90s black heartthrobs,
i often wonder where his career would have been in this era.
le sigh.
rip to one of my first crushes,
merlin santana.
Merlin would be up there with Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Trevante Rhodes, Aldis Hodge, Idris Elba, Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Manteen, Jason Momoa, I mean I can go on.
Hakeem from Moesha too. I was watching Tales From The Hood and when he was sitting in that chair and that dick was thick and juicy bulging and busting out his underwear and Joe Torry in the movie Sprung.
Preach! And no you didn’t bring back Joe Torry in Sprung! Whew! He had quite a little fan club I’ve since come to learn!
Honestly, I do get sad when I think of Merlin Santana or Lamont Bentley who played Hakeem on Moesha or Aaliyah for that matter.
I wasn’t going to originally comment on this but then I got to thinking and wanted to raised a question, when people die young they stay frozen in that particular time, but had these people lived they would all be in there 40’s almost 50, so my question would be would they still have viable careers especially in mainstream Hollywood.
The 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’’s was a sort of renaissance for African Americans in Hollywood but how many people really came out of that who are still viable today especially who were kids. I think you have Regina King (227), Malcom Jamal Warner (the Cosby’s), Raven Symone (the Cosby’s), Tia and Tamera (Sister Sister), Brandy (Moesha), Jason Weaver, and Lorenz Tate. Outside of them I think everyone else pretty much fell by the wayside. Wouldn’t Merlin probably be like his Cosby co-star Deon Richmond who played “Bud” who stared in somethings in the 90’s post Cosby but largely forgotten in current Hollywood.
I can see Merlin like a ll cool j or shamar Moore. Not a list but still a household name and working consistently on tv. At the least he would be hosting some reality tv competition.
I think Aaliyah would still be a star but work less. She was moving into movies and big Hollywood ones at that. I see her with a few more classic albums under her built but mostly acting or commentary. Like a jada pinkett. She would have married well which would also have helped cement her legend status (will and Jada, Beyonce and Jay, and Russell and kimora)
Aaliyah also would have come out with a fashion something. she was known for her looks.
Merlin played his role on the Steve Harvey show. It was so sad to hear of passing back then. Just imagine if he had lived what contributes that he would have made in the world of acting.
😅 He had all of us millennials in heat. He was the definition of a heartthrob and it’s truly was saddening learning how he passed. Now I don’t think he was going to be anybody’s leading man and that music surely wasn’t going to go anywhere but I’m sure we would have seen him more on television in the years to come.
You used to whip it out! How early were you jacking off? But yeah, he was cute as fuck. Dominican Tupac. Reminds me of your 90’s fine article from a few days ago. If he was alive today he’d probably be hulked out with muscles on muscles, veins on veins bursting, pecs flexing, with a Bin Laden beard. I see him being a cast-member on Love & Hip-Hop.
You told no lies! That brotha was FINE! Was def 1 of my first crushes.
What are all of the clips above from? Like, the ones where he’s in the club.
Oh yes absolutely this man was everything. Like someone else already stated he was legit the only reason I watched The Steve Harvey Show which wasn’t a bad show at all but it was one of those shows I just didn’t really care for…unless Mr. Santana was on the screen not for nothing 😂
He had such a bright future. I watched him grow up literally on TV. Stanley on the Cosby Show. The short-lived but amazing show Under One Roof. And then of course The Steve Harvey Show. His death was so stupid and senseless. To this day I can’t watch The Steve Harvey Show because it makes me sad to see all that talent go so soon. Today, he would be 47 years old – in his prime and playing leading man in romances and action movies. And he had a talent for rapping — maybe he would be in music. The possibilities were there. But like Tupac, and Biggie and Nipsey Hussle we will never know what new greatness they would have attained. They died so soon. Over bullshit.
I agree, Merlin was fine as fvck…tbh I use to watch the Steve Harvey show just to see Merlin. And I too was heartbroken when he died, especially under those circumstances.
Merlin was EVERYTHING!
You know it. I was so sad when he was killed. He was one of the first of the late 90s/early 2000s wave of Afrolatino actors/TV personalities. RIP Merlin Santana.