Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: Salma Hayek on a Mexican Soap Opera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N32Ux9ZYqc Before she moved to the U.S., Salma Hayek became a fairly prominent name in her native Mexico by playing the title character in a popular soap opera (a.k.a. telenovela) called Teresa. Hayek played a poverty-stricken woman who attempts to … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Salma Hayek on a Mexican Soap Opera
Before They Were Stars: Jimmy Fallon Performs at the MDA Telethon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_yMesAFDqU This is probably the earliest existing television footage of Jimmy Fallon. In 1996, he was called on to perform some comedy sketches at the annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Labor Day Telethon. And you can’t tell it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Jimmy Fallon Performs at the MDA Telethon
Before They Were Stars: Will Forte in a David Letterman Sketch
It’s not uncommon for famous comedy figures to start off their careers as writers for famous comedy shows and sometimes pop up as a bit player in sketches. Hell, that’s how Conan O’Brien got started on Saturday Night Live. Another … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Will Forte in a David Letterman Sketch
Before They Were Stars: 16-Year Old Charlize Theron’s First Television Interview
Charlize Theron has certainly proved herself to be a kickass action hero in Mad Max: Fury Road, but you probably never would have anticipated that based on her early career as a model. In 1991, the 16-year old Theron moved … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: 16-Year Old Charlize Theron’s First Television Interview
Before They Were Stars: David Letterman Hosts a Failed Game Show Pilot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR-cYYQMq8A As you probably know, David Letterman hosted his final episode of The Late Show last night, so it’s only appropriate that I dig way back into the archives to uncover what is probably his first hosting gig on television. … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: David Letterman Hosts a Failed Game Show Pilot
Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Dustin Hoffman and Alan Alda in a Failed Television Pilot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu8USw2ARyw So, let me get this straight: they once made a television pilot where Dustin Hoffman cross-examined Alan Alda on the witness stand and it never got picked up?! Well, at the time, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Alda were unknown … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Dustin Hoffman and Alan Alda in a Failed Television Pilot
Before They Were Stars: Miles Teller in a High School Short Film
In 2004, when Miles Teller was a 17-year old student at Lecanto High School in Florida, he and his friends made an 18-minute short film called Moonlighters in which Teller played a teenager who is dumped by his girlfriend and … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Miles Teller in a High School Short Film
Before They Were Stars: Mel Gibson in “Summer City”
In tribute to this past weekend’s release of Mad Max: Fury Road, I thought I’d post the original trailer for a 1977 Australian film named Summer City, which happened to be Mel Gibson’s screen debut and was made two years … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Mel Gibson in “Summer City”
Before They Were Stars: Yeardley Smith in an ABC Afterschool Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THVSMR8mT2g In 1984, the future voice of Lisa Simpson herself, Yeardley Smith, got her first television role when she was cast in an episode of ABC Afterschool Special entitled “Mom’s on Strike”. Smith played the teenage daughter of an overworked … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Yeardley Smith in an ABC Afterschool Special
Before They Were Stars: Nancy Cartwright in “Twilight Zone: The Movie”
You’ve probably seen the classic “The Bart Zone” segment on the “Treehouse of Horror II” episode of The Simpsons where Bart has omnipotent powers, giving himself the ability to do anything with his mind. The segment was a parody of “It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Nancy Cartwright in “Twilight Zone: The Movie”