Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: 13-Year Old Harry Shearer on the Pilot for “Leave It to Beaver”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r44M4CWEOlc You’ve probably heard that after 25 years on the show, Harry Shearer is finally planning to leave The Simpsons. Looking at Mr. Shearer’s biography, I was quite surprised to find out that he was a child actor during the … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: 13-Year Old Harry Shearer on the Pilot for “Leave It to Beaver”
Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in “Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxIvdtzfEPg Even though Woody Allen already had some notable credits to his name in 1971, he was still getting his feet wet as a filmmaker when he was hired to direct a 25-minute mockumentary called Men of Crisis: The Harvey … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in “Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story”
Before They Were Stars: Diane Keaton in a Deodorant Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWtwHSTCVTY Many famous actors have to start out their careers by doing commercials, but it does seem particularly undignified to have to do an ad for underarm deodorant where you act like smelling good for your man is the most … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Diane Keaton in a Deodorant Commercial
Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in “The Beach Boys: It’s OK”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XknChQA6mVk&feature=youtu.be&t=31m32s Even though Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had already been on Saturday Night Live for several months prior to making this, I think this particular project is obscure enough to qualify as a “Before They Were Stars” clip. In … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in “The Beach Boys: It’s OK”
Before They Were Stars: Jane Lynch in “Color Me Gay”
Jane Lynch is one of those openly gay entertainers who never felt the need to stay in the closet during her entire career. When she was still relatively unknown, Lynch decided to appear in a satirical 15-minute short film called … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Jane Lynch in “Color Me Gay”
Before They Were Stars: Ally Sheedy in Pizza Hut Commercials
As you probably know if you’ve been following the site these past few days, James Franco brought thousands of extra hits to the Back Row by linking to an old Pizza Hut commercial he did during a guest editorial in … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Ally Sheedy in Pizza Hut Commercials
Before They Were Stars: Sofia Vergara in a Pepsi Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznOT28yrH4 Yesterday saw the theatrical release of Hot Pursuit, a cop-buddy comedy featuring the unlikely teaming of Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara and a whopping 6 % approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. But if you’re one of those people who’s … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Sofia Vergara in a Pepsi Commercial
Before They Were Stars: James Franco on “Pacific Blue”
Yesterday, James Franco wrote a guest editorial for the Washington Post defending McDonald’s because working there helped him survive when he was a young struggling actor. During the article, he made mention of his first major acting job in a … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: James Franco on “Pacific Blue”
Before They Were Stars: 5-Year Old Billie Joe Armstrong Records His First Song
A few weeks ago, I posted some footage of a pre-fame Green Day performing at a high school in 1990. Well, believe it or not, at the time that footage was shot, Billie Joe Armstrong had already been making music … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Music
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: 5-Year Old Billie Joe Armstrong Records His First Song
Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): James Spader and Michael Madsen in “Diner: The TV Pilot”
Barry Levinson’s 1982 coming-of-age movie, Diner, is often cited as a prime example of a “Before They Were Stars” flick since it featured a ton of big-name actors in early roles, including Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, Paul Reiser, … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): James Spader and Michael Madsen in “Diner: The TV Pilot”