Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: Andy Serkis on “The New Statesman”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd9YSrsLHn8 Want to catch a glimpse of a young Andy Serkis long before he was the king of motion capture performance? His first onscreen role was appearing in a 1989 episode of The New Statesman, a satirical British sitcom which … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: 12-Year Old Julianne Hough as an Extra in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
Given that the casts of the Harry Potter movies are pretty much exclusively British pedigree, you wouldn’t expect a Utah-born future country music star to pop up in it. However, when she was 12 years old, Julianne Hough was living in London, … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: James Garner in “Man from 1997”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBlfxbH1w3Y Since the legendary James Garner passed away this weekend at the age of 86, I decided to dig up some early footage of him and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Conflict was an anthology TV series which … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: 10-Year Old Elisabeth Moss Does a Voice in “Recycle Rex”
Well, in addition to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, Frosty Returns and Animaniacs, here’s some more footage from the extensive childhood animated voice-over career of Elisabeth Moss. Recycle Rex is a 12-minute short film which is an unlikely … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Melissa McCarthy in “God”
Want to see a rare Melissa McCarthy starring role where she doesn’t act loud and obnoxious? Well, here’s a 1998 short film entitled God where McCarthy plays a clueless woman who describes her personal friendship with God. Incidentally, this short was directed by … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Leonard Nimoy in “Francis Goes to West Point”
During the 1950s, cinemas were flooded with wacky comedies featuring the adventures of Francis the Talking Mule and a total of seven of these films were made. The third entry in the series was Francis Goes to West Point and featured … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Lupita Nyong’o in a Kenyan Soap Opera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z70h_0KtUvw Well, I never thought I’d be posting footage of a Kenyan soap opera here at The Back Row, but here you go. Before she won an Academy Award this past year for 12 Years a Slave, the majority of … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Weird Al Yankovic Sings “It’s Still Billy Joel to Me”
Back in 1980, while he was still making his name by playing his music on the Dr. Demento radio show, Weird Al Yankovic recorded this rather scathing parody of the Billy Joel song, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”. … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Paul Reubens Sings on “The Gong Show”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8k1U3e3ASk Before he was Pee-Wee Herman, Paul Reubens got his first national television exposure by performing on numerous episodes of The Gong Show during the late 1970s. In this particular occasion, he appeared as part of a goofy singing duo called … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: 11-Year Old Robin Thicke on “The Wonder Years”
Once I found out that Robin Thicke was the son of Alan Thicke, I got curious to find out if his dad ever got him a gig on Growing Pains when he was a kid. Well, turns out I wasn’t … Continue reading
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