# Actors who left show business for another career? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280 "2010-03-04T14:45:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/41 "2010-03-05T12:16:04Z")
Alexandra Bastedo - best known for playing Sharon McReady in the secret agent show The Champions - has run an animal sanctuary for the last 25 years, although she still takes the occasional bit part on tv and appears on stage sometimes… ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/42 "2010-03-05T13:34:20Z")
What is it with Animal Sanctuaries & actresses? Linda Blair formally of The Exorcist also set one up and runs a charity. [http://lindablairworldheart.org/](http://lindablairworldheart.org/) - ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/43 "2010-03-05T13:44:08Z")
Robert Blake, star of the movie _In Cold Blood_ and the TV series _Beretta_ planned to change careers and become a convicted murderer serving life in a California jail. Circumstances prevented this happening and instead he became a recluse. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/44 "2010-03-05T14:04:25Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > What is it with Animal Sanctuaries & actresses? > > Linda Blair formally of The Exorcist also set one up and runs a charity. > [http://lindablairworldheart.org/](http://lindablairworldheart.org/) > > - From what I hear, she’s still turning heads, though. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/45 "2010-03-05T15:38:30Z")
I understood Tippi Hedren was forced out of acting by Alfred Hitchcock, in retaliation for refusing his advances while filming “The Birds”. He had enough connections to blackball her effectively. John Kerr, who played Navy lawyer Lt. Joe Cable in “South Pacific”, was inspired by the character to go into a legal career himself. He didn’t get to marry France Nguyen, though. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/46 "2010-03-05T15:41:25Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > Jaimee Foxworth, the little sister on Family Matters (with Urkle), left acting in mainstream roles to become a porn starlet. I guess that’s still showbusiness. :shrug: She was written out of the show and didn’t leave of her own accord. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/47 "2010-03-05T16:11:23Z")
[Andrea Thompson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Thompson) quit NYPD Blue to get into TV news. [Rick Lawless](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0492521/) of Herman’s Head fame now manages part of a proposals group in a high tech company that I’m fairly intimate with. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/48 "2010-03-05T16:23:41Z")
Apparently the woman who played Blossom is back acting (looked this up the other day in response to this thread, can’t be arsed to find the name now), having taken time out to get a PhD (!) in Neurology (!). ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/49 "2010-03-05T16:47:23Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Apparently the woman who played Blossom is back acting (looked this up the other day in response to this thread, can’t be arsed to find the name now), having taken time out to get a PhD (!) in Neurology (!). Mayim Bialik (sp?) has appeared in several episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Lauren Tewes (Julie, on the Love Boat) is a cheese steward (whatever that means!) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/50 "2010-03-05T16:57:43Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I understood Tippi Hedren was forced out of acting by Alfred Hitchcock, in retaliation for refusing his advances while filming “The Birds”. He had enough connections to blackball her effectively. She was under contract with him, but no longer wanted to work on his films. So he kept her on payroll for two years, refusing to lend her out to other production companies. By the time she got free of him, she was also turning down work from Universal, and she wasn’t hot stuff any more. I don’t think there was anything sexual or romantic about it–he just wanted to control her career, kind of like baseball owners in the reserve clause days. She’s still in acting, working here and there. She also runs some kind of lion preserve. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/51 "2010-03-05T18:34:34Z")
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t doing much acting these days (other than tourism commercials for our state), busy governing. Similarly, Jesse Ventura gave up show business for a time (he was the governor of Minnesota) but I guess he’s back on TV these days. Harry Reems left the adult movie world in his past and became a real estate agent. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/52 "2010-03-05T18:53:55Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Robert Blake, star of the movie _In Cold Blood_ and the TV series _Beretta_ planned to change careers and become a convicted murderer serving life in a California jail. Circumstances prevented this happening and instead he became a recluse. LA did finally convict a celeb of murder, Phil Spector, but it took them 2 tries. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280/53 "2010-03-05T19:03:44Z")
[Michael St. Gerard](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820544/), who was gorgeous back in the day ([pics](http://www.freewebs.com/michaelstgerardfan/pictures.htm)), and is best known for starring in the original (non-musical) HAIRSPRAY and for playing Elvis in a couple of vehicles, left acting to become a youth minister in Harlem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-show-business-for-another-career/531280.md?page=2)