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Favorite "Before They Were Famous" Appearance

The Gentrys did appear on "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour" in 1965,
not long before releasing their one-hit wonder. Not sure if
Player made any appearances, possibly on "American Bandstand."

David Letterman was a frequent panelist on "Liars Club" in the late
'70s.

And there was one Linda Evanstad, who made a few appearances
on "Bachelor Father" as Kelly (Noreen Corcoran)'s friend. You know
her better as Krystle Carrington--I mean Linda Evans.

And there's a long list of performers, not all TV stars, who made their
debuts on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts":

Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis (playing an accordion) (1950)
Steve Lawrence and Al Martino (1951)
Marian McPartland and Leslie Uggams (before she appeared on "Name That Tune")
(1952)
The Diamonds and Roy Clark (1956)
Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now") and Patsy Cline (1957)

Also in 1956 there was a group from Washington, DC: the Blue Grass Champs,
who surprised themselves by getting the most applause. Four of the five were
members of the Stoneman family, who had their own syndicated show in the late
1960s. Roni was not one of them, even though she had the greatest success as
a regular on "Hee Haw." Their father, Ernest, had had a brush with fame as a pioneer
of country music in the 1920s, and he returned to the limelight winning $10,000 in the
category of geography on "The Big Surprise" that same year (1956). He'd appear with
his kids on their show until his passing in 1968.

And I don't know if anybody's mentioned it, but Steve Allen announced wrestling shows
in Los Angeles, as did Jim McKay in Baltimore.
 
Another interesting one that I just caught: a pre-Beverly Hillbillies Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale) appearing as a colllege dean in an episode of Dobie Gillis. I found it interesting because he appeared sans toupee in all his chrome-domed glory. (I've read several sources that say that during his BH stint, Bailey was extremely vain about being seen without his rug!)
 
Above I mentioned a number of singers, some of whom went
on to fame as television stars, some who didn't, and I failed to
mention one who, while a recording star, was identified
with someone else's show.

To explain: in the late 1940s and early 1950s ABC had a talent
show for teenagers on Saturday nights titled "Paul Whiteman's
TV Teen Club." It originated in Philadelphia, quite possibly in the
same studio where "American Bandstand" would later originate.
At any rate, a winner on that show, who became a regular, was
a local kid named Robert Ridarelli. You know him better as Bobby
Rydell, and he's permanently linked with Dick Clark for his many
"Bandstand" appearances in the Philly years.
 
"I mentioned a number of singers, some of whom went on to fame as television stars,"

Not to mention one early-1950s winner of Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour during its run in prime time. He was then a calypso singer named Louis Wolcott, nicknamed "The Charmer", who made two separate appearances on the show, one as a concert violinist back in 1949 (where he competed well but lost) and another as a singer a few years later, when he competed successfully. He had a minor chart hit with one of his calypso records in 1955 after his win got him a recording contract.

A musician friend invited Wolcott and his wife to a religious rally and dinner later in the 1950s, which changed everything for him and caused him to drop his musical career.

We know him better today as Louis Farrakhan.

Certainly famous, although his fame has nothing to do with his past entertainment career.
 
Another winner on Ted Mack's show was Pat Boone; that is, until
someone on the show's staff discovered he'd been paid as minister
of music in a Tennessee church, forcing his disqualification after two
wins. He went on to appear on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts," was
hired to replace Julius LaRosa, and was soon making hit after hit (many
of them cover versions of songs by African-American singers, especially
Fats Domino and Little Richard). His primetime show on ABC lasted three years
(1957-60), and he had two other series, "The Pat Boone Show" (NBC daytime) and
"Pat Boone In Hollywood" (syndicated), in the 1960s. He later bought
KDOC in Anaheim, if I'm not mistaken, where Wally George made his name.

And I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jimmy Carter, who appeared on "What's
My Line?" in 1973 when he was still governor of Georgia. No one knew it yet, but
he was already looking toward the White House. Gene Shalit identified him after
seven "no" answers. IIRC, Carter appeared as a Mr. X (a person with an unfamous
face whose name might be a giveaway). (Two other future presidents, Gerald Ford
and Ronald Reagan, also appeared on "Line"--Reagan as a Mystery Guest in the '50s
when he was already a famous actor; Ford in 1969 when he was House Minority Leader,
and I believe he was also a Mr. X.)

And just as a sideline, and I know I've told this one before, a future-famous person
who did not appear on the show but whose parents did: in 1962 a couple from Wapakoneta,
Ohio, named Armstrong appeared on "I've Got A Secret." Their secret was that their son,
Neil, had been chosen for the space program earlier that day. After the game ended, Garry
Moore said, "Wouldn't it be something if your son was the first man on the moon?" Less than
seven years later, he was.
 
"I mentioned a number of singers, some of whom went on to fame as television stars,"

Not to mention one early-1950s winner of Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour during its run in prime time. He was then a calypso singer named Louis Wolcott, nicknamed "The Charmer", who made two separate appearances on the show, one as a concert violinist back in 1949 (where he competed well but lost) and another as a singer a few years later, when he competed successfully. He had a minor chart hit with one of his calypso records in 1955 after his win got him a recording contract.

A musician friend invited Wolcott and his wife to a religious rally and dinner later in the 1950s, which changed everything for him and caused him to drop his musical career.

We know him better today as Louis Farrakhan.

Certainly famous, although his fame has nothing to do with his past entertainment career.
Click to expand...

And that is why Rush Limbaugh calls him "Calypso Louie".
 
One that occurred to me as I was posting to another thread....

Jay Leno, in the mid-1970's, appeared on an episode of Good Times that dealt
with the subject of venereal disease (STD's to those of you in Rio Linda who are
under 35).

Jay and JJ meet and talk in the waiting room of a clinic while they wait to see a doctor.
Leno is billed in the credits on this episode as "Guy With V.D."

Betcha Jay will never live that one down.
 
...Robert Klein also appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour as a member of a doo-wop vocal group performing "A Sunday Kind of Love." Klein included a clip of the kinescope on one of his HBO specials...
 
Soaps have been a breeding ground for future-famous actors; a few
who come to mind: Meg Ryan ("As The World Turns"), Marg Helgenberger
("Ryan's Hope"), Tom Selleck ("Young And The Restless"), Larry Hagman
("Edge Of Night," where he played a lawyer named Ed Gibson), Judith Light
("One Life To Live"), Melina Kanakaredes (sp?) ("Guiding Light"), Don Knotts
(believe it or not he played on "Search For Tomorrow" in 1953 as a catatonic
named Wilbur Peterson, who would speak only to his sister), Christopher Reeve
("Love Of Life"), Kate Jackson ("Dark Shadows"), Hal Holbrook and Patty Duke
("The Brighter Day"), and Robert Mandan ("From These Roots," where a young
Richard Thomas also appeared).
 
...Robert Klein also appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour as a member of a doo-wop vocal group performing "A Sunday Kind of Love." Klein included a clip of the kinescope on one of his HBO specials...
Click to expand...

I remember him talking about that on Carson! He said his group was called "The Teen Tones" (does that sound like a Ted Mack group or what?) and they lost to a one armed classical pianist.
 
spencerkarter85 said:
My Top Ten List:

For TV:
5.)Howard Hessman, Peter Bonerz, and the late Mel Stewart (were in the improv group The Committee) in a July 15, 1969 Dick Cavett appearance with the late Janis Joplin.


FILM (also Made for TV films too):
3.)The late Susanne Pleshette in the 1970 ABC Movie of the Week Along Came a Spider.
Click to expand...
Howard Hessman also appeared in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show in various roles, being billed as Don Sturdy.
And Susanne Pleshette not only appeared, but STARRED in several movies during the MID to LATE 60s, namely "Support Your Local Gunfighter" with James Garner, Walt Disney's "The Ugly Dachsund" with Dean Jones and "Nevada Smith" with Steve McQueen, so she was HARDLY an unknown by the time she appeared in "Along Came A Spider".
 
jwk1979 said:
spencerkarter85 said:
My Top Ten List:

For TV:
5.)Howard Hessman, Peter Bonerz, and the late Mel Stewart (were in the improv group The Committee) in a July 15, 1969 Dick Cavett appearance with the late Janis Joplin.


FILM (also Made for TV films too):
3.)The late Susanne Pleshette in the 1970 ABC Movie of the Week Along Came a Spider.
Click to expand...
Howard Hessman also appeared in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show in various roles, being billed as Don Sturdy.
And Susanne Pleshette not only appeared, but STARRED in several movies during the MID to LATE 60s, namely "Support Your Local Gunfighter" with James Garner, Walt Disney's "The Ugly Dachsund" with Dean Jones and "Nevada Smith" with Steve McQueen, so she was HARDLY an unknown by the time she appeared in "Along Came A Spider".
Click to expand...

Suzanne Pleshette also had a notable supporting role in Hitchcock's The Birds. I saw the movie in the theatre as a kid and was quite taken with her - much more so than the rather icy Tippi Hedren, who was the star of the film.
 
How about Christopher Reeve in one of the CBS soaps before he became "Superman?" Or one of the "Beverly Hills 90210" actors who starred on "Growing Pains?" Shame his character got killed in a drunk driving accident.
 
I mentioned that Reeve played on "Love Of Life." He was the adult
Ben Harper, a child when the show debuted in 1951 (and played by
actors Dennis Parnell and Tommy White until 1958). He then disappeared
until 1974 (he and his mother Meg left Rosehill for sixteen years), when he
was brought back with Reeve playing him. The last
actor to play Ben was somebody named Chandler Hill Harben, and when the
show ended Ben was on trial for a battery he did not commit but the story
was never brought to a proper conclusion.
 
Ha! Today's episode of Kojak on ME-TV features a young Jerry Orbach, looking like a Halloween Geraldo in a very fake-looking black wig and mustache! ::)
 
I don't know if this was mentioned yet, so pardon me if I'm repeating.

Jack Nicholson (at about age 28 or 29) had a guest-star role on The Andy Griffith Show
circa 1965 or 1966, playing a man wrongly accused of theft. It was a color episode. I'm not sure if there were 2 color seasons or just one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttGg5xGamHI


Nicholson also made his living early on in Roger Corman's generally Grade B movies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQSiTIb2Ac
 
Another actress who got her start (albeit briefly) on a soap was Dana Delany.
During the last year of "Love Of Life" (1979-80) she appeared as college student
Amy Russell, who turned out to be the illegitimate daughter of Bruce Sterling who,
along with wife Vanessa, had always been a character the others could turn to
when they got in trouble; this revelation probably came as a real surprise to longtime
fans of the show. But that's soaps for you.

A few others who went from "Love Of Life" to bigger things: Carl Betz (Collie Jordan, ca.
1954-55), Bert Convy (Glenn Hamilton, 1963), Roy Scheider (Jonas Falk, 1965-66), Ja'net DuBois
(Loretta Allen, 1970-72), Irene Cara (after her appearance on Ted Mack's show she
played Daisy Allen, 1971-72), and Paul Michael Glaser (Dr. Joe Corelli, 1971)
 
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