Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: The “Annie Hall” Version
I love doing “Before They Were Stars” features on projects which happen to feature multiple performers before they were famous and one of the most prominent examples of this has to be Annie Hall. Of course, this is the film where … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: The “Annie Hall” Version
Before They Were Stars: Dean Cain Plays College Football
There are a lot of famous actors who attempted to embark on athletic careers and could have easily found success in their original field if things had gone differently. During the 1980s, Dean Cain was a college football star at … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Other Stuff
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Dean Cain Plays College Football
Before They Were Stars: Michael Keaton in “Rabbit Test”
In 1978, the late Joan Rivers wrote and directed her first and (thankfully) last feature film, Rabbit Test, a comedy featuring Billy Crystal in his first starring role as a pregnant man. As Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Junior demonstrated, comedies about pregnant … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Michael Keaton in “Rabbit Test”
Before They Were Stars: Joan Rivers Performs on “The Sammy Davis Jr. Show”
In tribute to the late Joan Rivers, here is what may be the earliest surviving footage of her performing on the short-lived Sammy Davis Jr. Show during the 1960s. Maybe it’s just me, but one of the likely reasons The … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Joan Rivers Performs on “The Sammy Davis Jr. Show”
Before They Were Stars: Tenacious D in “Bio-Dome”
During the mid-1990s, Jack Black was a character actor who frequently popped up in minor supporting roles in movies and television shows. It was around this time that Black finally teamed up with Kyle Gass to form their band, Tenacious … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Tenacious D in “Bio-Dome”
Before They Were Stars: Reginald VelJohnson in “Ghostbusters”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2in2VPgDGI Okay, I’m sure everybody in the world knows about this one, but this past weekend was the 30th anniversary theatrical re-release of Ghostbusters. At my screening, the audience broke into spontaneous cheers when a pre-Family Matters Reginald VelJohnson popped up for … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Reginald VelJohnson in “Ghostbusters”
Robin’s Underrated Gems: Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
It goes without saying that the recent suicide of Robin Williams was one of the most shocking celebrity deaths of all time. Sadly, the year 2014 has been chock full of them. Another famous artist who left us this year … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Robin's Underrated Gems
Comments Off on Robin’s Underrated Gems: Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Before They Were Stars: 12-Year Old Giovanni Ribisi on “Married with Children”
A lot of people don’t know that Giovanni Ribisi was a child actor who worked pretty frequently on television during the 1980s under the name “Vonni Ribisi”. In 1987, during the first season of Married with Children, he had a bit … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: 12-Year Old Giovanni Ribisi on “Married with Children”
Before They Were Stars: Jeremy Irons on “Play Away”
It’s amusing to see Academy Award-winning actors starting out as performers on children’s shows. Much like when Morgan Freeman was a cast member on The Electric Company, Jeremy Irons performed in the cast of a low-budget British children’s television series called … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Jeremy Irons on “Play Away”
Before They Were Stars: Morgan Freeman on “Ryan’s Hope”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRfan5ARoD8 If I had to make a list of actors I could never visualize appearing on a daytime soap opera, Morgan Freeman and Ron Perlman would probably be right near the top. But just like Ron Perlman in 1979, Morgan Freeman … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Morgan Freeman on “Ryan’s Hope”