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TV Performers You Like Regardless of Their Politics

M

MattParker

People in the Andy Griffith thread have been talking about Ol' Ang's apparent liberalism (he appeared in a spot for passage of health care reform) but some say they still like Andy Taylor and Ben Matlock. Got me thinking about other performers who are so likeable that I don't care how they vote:

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer): Turns out he is a wing-nut and even wants to start a right wing talk network. Frasier is still my hero.

Maggie O'Connell (Janine Turner): Also a wing nut but so hot, I don't care. But if she dumped Alec Baldwin for being liberal, what chance would I have?

Ward Bond but I still love Wagon Train (the seasons he was in it). All his movies, too.

Ronald Reagan: TCM just showed The Winning Team and I watched it again. Same for Knute Rockne, All American and several others. Can't help but like the guy.

Ben Stein: One of Nixon's Nazi's but I'd love to win his money and I bet I could.

Lt. Reginald Barclay, the only geek in Starfleet (Dwight Schultz).

Bing Crosby: The guy could do everything but dance. He was cool before cool was cool. With all his money I suppose he couldn't help hating taxes but in return for his money he gave us tape recording, frozen OJ and the Road Pictures.

Sgt. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), who couldn't like this guy?

Moses, Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston): The guy's acting is a stoney as the tablets he brought down from Mt. Sinai. A guilty pleasure. They will take DVDs his movies "out of my cold dead hands."

Ah-nold: OK, I like the Governator. I shouldn't but he has a sense of humor about himself that is somehow charming.

Cary Grant, a conservative, not that there's anything wrong with that?

Anybody else have favorite performers whose politics you can't stand?
 
Country singer, the late great Patsy Cline. Myself I never had problem with her politics and personal life but over the years I have met a LOT of people who did such as Patsy's love of "..men, beer, smokes and a song..and looking for a hook up". Old timers still tell of Patsy's taste of men who had smoked cigars and her hanging around bars looking for sex.

I used to work for a radio station who had once employed Patsy but even in recent times every once in a while we would still get a phone call from those who didn't approve of Patsy Cline's lifestyle..even though she had been dead since 1963.

Yes..some people should get a life.
 
"Ah-nold: OK, I like the Governator. I shouldn't but he has a sense of humor about himself that is somehow charming."

Since whatever his party label he's been a pretty moderate, centrist guy for a long time, and governed that way as best he could, he probably drives people at both ends of the spectrum more than a little nuts in these polarized times. ;)
 
I couldn't tell you which side of the aisle my favs are on. I don't know and don't care.
 
...Merv Griffin. Hopeless reactionary, but he knew enough to keep it at home when interviewing liberal activist entertainers...
 
Carroll O'Connor- Ultra Liberal but thought he was a great actor. Same goes for Rob Reiner

Sean Penn (OK he's not TV) but again great actor; just don't agree with his politics.

Whoopie Goldberg - Funny at times, wonderful actress.

Walter Brennan- Racist (would not work with African-Americans) but thought he was great as Amos McCoy.

John Wayne- Member of the John Birch Society; but a movie (and TV) icon.
 
yes, yes, yes, Patricia Heaton. That is one gorgeous Republican that this liberal would like to have some alone time with. Except that I think she's married so....
 
Sheryl Crow - she may be a liberal idiot who only wants to issue us each one square of toilet paper
a day....but at least she's a cute idiot! :D

Peter Boyle - thought he was hilarious in Young Frankenstein and Everybody Loves Raymond, even though
his politics were straight out of an SDS rally circa 1968.

George Clooney - found him very entertaining in O Brother Where Art Thou, Leatherheads, and many other films.

George Carlin - his comedy always resonated and had a big impact with me, despite being a time-warped hippie.

Lynda Carter - sycophantic liberal wife to one of the all-time Democrat DC Beltway Insiders...but...I mean....
just look at her! Especially in the Wonder Woman costume! :D

Paul Newman - one of the all-time classic uber-liberals, but he made so many great films like Cool Hand Luke,
The Hustler, Slapshot, etc. In Paul's favor I must say at least he put his money where his mouth was (donated
100% of the profits from his salad dressing) instead of always putting the tax man's hand in my pocket to pay
for his good works.

Ed Asner - insufferable partisan Democrat liberal, but he was really great as Lou Grant
 
firepoint525 said:
Didn't Reagan start out as a Democrat, a liberal one at that (by his own admission), back when he was president of the Screen Actor's Guild?
Click to expand...

Like all children of the Depression, Reagan grew up a Democrat and remained one during his tenure as
SAG President. I believe he switched to Republican shortly before Barry Goldwater decided to run for
President (famously saying that "the party left me")
 
firepoint525 said:
Didn't Reagan start out as a Democrat, a liberal one at that (by his own admission), back when he was president of the Screen Actor's Guild?
Click to expand...

FreddyE1977 said:
Like all children of the Depression, Reagan grew up a Democrat and remained one during his tenure as
SAG President. I believe he switched to Republican shortly before Barry Goldwater decided to run for
President (famously saying that "the party left me")
Click to expand...

Both correct, but also in need of context. Let's not forget that 1956's liberal would be a conservative by today's standards. An honest study of President Kennedy's policies would reveal an administration that would be somewhere right of center today - even though he was center-left back in 1961.

Likewise, many influential Democrats of the 70s like Scoop Jackson were ideologically quite similar to John McCain, if not even a little more hawkish. One wonders what Sen. Moynihan would think of today's Democratic Party. So, what President Reagan said about the Democratic party really is true....because his ideology didn't track to the left along with them.

Harder to say the same about the Republican party because they were run by the country club set back in the 50s and 60s and weren't all that conservative socially. They've probably stayed about the same as the dems have veered left. To be fair, society in general has tracked leftward as well.

Anyhow (back to TV), Reagan had a point. Charlton Heston did too - he was a major-league Democrat back in the 50s and early 60s but ended up as a rather conservative Republican by 1980. If Sinatra were alive today, he'd certainly be more aligned with the R's than the D's. He was already headed that way in his later years.
 
There are four people I'm surprised never ran for office:
Alan Alda, Robert Redford, Robert Vaughn (he has a
graduate degree in political science), and Phil Donahue.
I've never known any of them to be shy about their
political beliefs, but I wonder if any of them could get
elected, all being fairly liberal? And would anyone like
to see Oprah as the first woman President?
 
bpatrick said:
There are four people I'm surprised never ran for office:
Alan Alda, Robert Redford, Robert Vaughn (he has a
graduate degree in political science), and Phil Donahue.
I've never known any of them to be shy about their
political beliefs, but I wonder if any of them could get
elected, all being fairly liberal?
Click to expand...

Maybe that just proves how intelligent they are.

bpatrick said:
And would anyone like to see Oprah as the first woman President?
Click to expand...

A vacuous talk show host? Why on Earth do you think she would be in any way qualified?
 
71dude said:
Patricia Heaton
Click to expand...

I just love the way that she's complained that sometimes she can't get work because of her conservative politics, but it's her precious right wing that has the history of blacklisting performers.

A TV writer friend of mine predicted that sooner or later, she's going to cause problems, that it's only a matter of time.

On the set of the failed sitcom, Back To You, in which she co-starred with Kelsey Grammer, it was reportedly World War 3 between her and Grammer.
 
I'm not holding my breath that Oprah would run; her
long suit would be name recognition which, as I'm sure
you'll agree, doesn't qualify her to hold office but wouldn't
hurt her chances all the same; I mean, if Sonny Bono could
get elected to Congress... ::)

Anyway, I want the question to be a "what if" scenario.
 
bpatrick said:
There are four people I'm surprised never ran for office: Alan Alda, Robert Redford, Robert Vaughn (he has a graduate degree in political science), and Phil Donahue.

I've never known any of them to be shy about their political beliefs, but I wonder if any of them could get elected, all being fairly liberal?
Click to expand...

Too many left-leaners in show-biz have a habit of running their pie-holes incessantly, but not putting their money and time where their mouths are and actually running for something. This is why I respect Al Franken even though I don't agree with him very often - at least he walked the walk.

It may have been a win reminiscent of Dubya, and I wouldn't have voted for him if I lived in Minnesota, but at least he earned my respect for actually doing something other than babble like most show-biz folks.

Most Hollywood-lefties won't do that. Most famous people who actually run for something are Republicans (Reagan, Gopher, Ahnuld, etc.). Franken, John Glenn, and Bill Bradley are the only famous Democrats I can think of right now that entered politics after becoming well-known in their previous jobs.

And would anyone like to see Oprah as the first woman President?
Click to expand...

Good gawd, NO! Besides, she'd never accept the 99.9% pay cut. ;D
 
Ultimajock said:
...Merv Griffin. Hopeless reactionary, but he knew enough to keep it at home when interviewing liberal activist entertainers...
Click to expand...


He kept it at home mainly because he had plenty of closet skeletons of his own. Supposedly, an entire graveyard's worth. Some secrets apparently died with the man.
 
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