Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: J.K. Simmons in a Broadway Revival of “Guys and Dolls”
J.K. Simmons did not start his career in film and television until the mid-1990s, spending many years before that working on Broadway. In 1992, he played the role of Benny Southstreet in a Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. He’s … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Other Stuff
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: J.K. Simmons in a Broadway Revival of “Guys and Dolls”
Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant Host an Early Version of “The Ricky Gervais Show”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpbnnYzGY0o After finding fame with The Office in 2001, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant became co-hosts of the radio programme, The Ricky Geravis Show, on Xfm, starting off their collaboration with producer Karl Pilkington. However, many people don’t realize that when they … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Other Stuff
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant Host an Early Version of “The Ricky Gervais Show”
Before They Were Stars: Fred Willard in an Abraham & Straus Commercial
Founded in 1865, Abraham & Straus was a very prominent department store in Brooklyn before it was combined with Macy’s during the 1990s. Many years ago, they got an unknown Fred Willard to appear in one of their commercials, as … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Fred Willard in an Abraham & Straus Commercial
Before They Were Stars: Pierce Brosnan in “The Mirror Crack’d”
In 1980, Pierce Brosnan started off his feature film career with two very brief, dialogue-free bit parts alongside two legendary actors. Brosnan had the distinction of kidnapping Bob Hoskins at the end of the underrated gangster classic, The Long Good … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Pierce Brosnan in “The Mirror Crack’d”
Before They Were Stars: Seth Green on “Mr. Belvedere”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfm0YOPFHvg I bet you were all on the edge of your seat, wondering if I would someday be able to do a “Before They Were Stars” feature on the immortal 1980s sitcom, Mr. Belvedere. Well, your prayers are answered. At … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Seth Green on “Mr. Belvedere”
Before They Were Stars: Bill Paxton in “Taking Tiger Mountain”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikx5Fw2EvT4 When Bill Paxton was working in Hollywood in the early 1980s, he was still doing small parts in films like The Terminator, but his first official lead role was in Taking Tiger Mountain, an ultra-obscure low-budget black-and-white sci-fi flick from … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Bill Paxton in “Taking Tiger Mountain”
Before They Were Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis in “Gandhi”
Believe it or not, even Daniel Day-Lewis was a struggling actor at one point. During the early stages of his career, he had nothing but minuscule bit parts. However, it’s only appropriate that his first speaking role in a feature film … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Movies
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis in “Gandhi”
Before They Were Stars: Milo Ventimiglia as “Party Guest # 1” on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
I’ve already done “Before They Were Stars” features on early appearances that Don Cheadle and Hank Azaria (who plugged us on his Twitter, incidentally) made on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 1995, Milo Ventimiglia got his very first role … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Milo Ventimiglia as “Party Guest # 1” on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
Before They Were Stars: James Avery Voices the Junkyard Dog on “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdvkSbFFq9k 2014 got off to a bit of a sad start with the announcement that James Avery, a.k.a. Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 65. While he’s best … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, TV
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: James Avery Voices the Junkyard Dog on “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling”
Before They Were Stars: Taylor Swift as “Island Girl 1” in a School Film Project
It’s always amusing when homemade footage leaks out onto the Internet of famous celebrities appearing in school projects. This very thing happened to Taylor Swift because when she was in the 8th grade, she appeared in one of her friends’ … Continue reading
Posted in Before They Were Stars, Other Stuff
Comments Off on Before They Were Stars: Taylor Swift as “Island Girl 1” in a School Film Project