# "Artists" corporations thought would be the Next Big Thing so they were pushed relentlessly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699 "2015-01-01T18:33:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/21 "2015-01-02T17:41:52Z")
In the Nineties Gretchen Mol had a big push from her studio as “the new It Girl,” including a cover of _Vanity Fair_ IIRC, and then was hardly heard from again. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/22 "2015-01-02T19:46:48Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Julia Ormond? > > A very attractive woman and a decent actress, nothing more. But she was handed big roles in a number of high profile projects in the Nineties, when she was a relative unknown. She wasn’t bad in any of them, but she wasn’t great either, and I couldn’t figure out why she was getting so many huge opportunities. > > I figure that either > > 1. She was some Hollywood VIP’s mistress, or > > 2. She just WOWED some people during auditions, the way mediocre linebacker Mike Mamula wowed scouts at the NFL combine. I came in here to post this. There was a six-month period during which Ormond was on every magazine cover there was. Many of the articles mentioned how hard she was being hyped. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/23 "2015-01-02T20:50:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > In the Nineties Gretchen Mol had a big push from her studio as “the new It Girl,” including a cover of _Vanity Fair_ IIRC, and then was hardly heard from again. But Gretchen Mol actually WAS hot. Not sure why she never caught on. And she was in that Betty Page movie not so long ago. Not sure if that counts as being in a huge hit though. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/24 "2015-01-02T21:16:33Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > But Gretchen Mol actually WAS hot. Not sure why she never caught on. And she was in that Betty Page movie not so long ago. Not sure if that counts as being in a huge hit though. Probably not. She does seem to be working pretty regularly, though: [Gretchen Mol - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Mol) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/25 "2015-01-02T22:55:33Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Anyway, she told me she was at a few parties that Danny Thomas attended (she never escorted him) and said he was a total pervert. He not only propositioned her, but even offered to get her young daughter (who was also very pretty) into show biz. Color me unsurprised, though he done real good with St Jude’s. Everybody has one or two clay feet. ☹ > [@BeeGee](#): > > If you consider a pitcher to be an artist… Well, I do, but Clyde had the stuff until his arm gave out, so I don’t think he counts. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/26 "2015-01-02T22:58:50Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > doesn’t this apply to pretty much every teen pop star vat-grown in the Disney crap factory? Starting with Annette, or was there one before her? She, at least, was hot, unlike Hayley Mills, who also wasn’t even the best actor on _Saved by the Bell._ ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/27 "2015-01-03T02:39:26Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Jobriath](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobriath) was an attempt to manufacture an American David Bowie, but despite massive hyping his career crashed and burned, and is barely remembered now except as a cautionary tale. I’d disagree. His career ended because he had AIDS and died in 1983, not from lack of talent. I just listened to some of his songs and read the comments on YouTube and people not only remember him they love him. I have to say I enjoyed his music having heard it for the first time ever. It’s a shame he contracted AIDS and never got a chance to really shine. Watch “Little Dreamer - Jobriath” on YouTube Little Dreamer - Jobriath: [http://youtu.be/HYtjM9BjbBE](http://youtu.be/HYtjM9BjbBE) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/28 "2015-01-03T03:22:01Z")
Ann-Margaret Tammy Grimes Nancy Sinatra Linda Thorson ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/29 "2015-01-03T03:41:35Z")
That one’s a tough call, **April** , but considering the IMMENSE hype surrounding him ten years _before_ he died Jobriath still counts. He was talented, but would have needed to be the Second Coming of Gay Jesus to meet expectations. Then were all the Next Beatles, like [Klaatu,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiRUOzJ-FrE&list=PLygj9rLClX3mBi9St-V63JbwxbZq1EfHD&index=2&spfreload=10) especially with the rumors that they were really the Beatles in disguise. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/30 "2015-01-03T03:44:22Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Then were all the Next Beatles, like [Klaatu,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiRUOzJ-FrE&list=PLygj9rLClX3mBi9St-V63JbwxbZq1EfHD&index=2&spfreload=10) especially with the rumors that they were really the Beatles in disguise. No, no, no! The **Bay City Rollers** were the next Beatles; _everybody_ knows that! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/31 "2015-01-03T03:47:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Ann-Margaret > > Tammy Grimes > > Nancy Sinatra > > Linda Thorson Sadly, not a lick of talent among them, except for maybe Grimes, but Thorson was especially screwed because she wasn’t Emma Peel. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/32 "2015-01-03T03:51:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > No, no, no! The **Bay City Rollers** were the next Beatles; _everybody_ knows that! :smack: Almost went with [them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBn2ux5vRHk) but they didn’t have Klaatu’s rumors. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/33 "2015-01-03T03:52:01Z")
I remember when VH-1 debuted a half-hour late-evening program featuring hard rock videos. It was quickly obvious that the show was created solely to give Buckcherry’s “Lit” video a forum for airplay, since this was after MTV stopped playing videos except during the overnight hours. There were a ton of manufactured power trios in the late 1970s, too. Most of them sank without a trace. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/34 "2015-01-03T03:58:48Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Almost went with [them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBn2ux5vRHk) but they didn’t have Klaatu’s rumors. Hey, they made their American debut on Howard Cosell’s _ **Saturday Night Live** _! That’s, like, right up there with the Beatles appearing on Ed Sullivan! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/35 "2015-01-03T04:03:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sadly, not a lick of talent among them, except for maybe Grimes, but Thorson was especially screwed because she wasn’t Emma Peel. Sorry, but Nancy Sinatra knocked the James Bond theme song ["You Only Live Twice"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcIl_6amBvU)right outta the park. She had talent, but her stuff kept getting Vegased up. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/36 "2015-01-03T04:04:29Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I’d disagree. His career ended because he had AIDS and died in 1983, not from lack of talent. I just listened to some of his songs and read the comments on YouTube and people not only remember him they love him. I have to say I enjoyed his music having heard it for the first time ever. It’s a shame he contracted AIDS and never got a chance to really shine. [He wasn’t completely untalented, sure, but essentially he was just a blurred photocopy of Ziggy era Bowie, minus Bowie’s voice, presence, or sheer songcraft.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVTGcQX1Mi4). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/37 "2015-01-03T04:08:46Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Sorry, but Nancy Sinatra knocked the James Bond theme song ["You Only Live Twice"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcIl_6amBvU)right outta the park. She had talent, but her stuff kept getting Vegased up. Not a bad rendition, but she ain’t no Shirley Bassey or Tom Jones, IMHO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQ-nG0AlSg ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/38 "2015-01-03T04:24:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Ann-Margaret > > Tammy Grimes > > Nancy Sinatra > > Linda Thorson > [@dropzone](#): > > Sadly, not a lick of talent among them, except for maybe Grimes, but Thorson was especially screwed because she wasn’t Emma Peel. I guess Ann-Margret’s talent could be disputed, but she was featured in a lot of films…she may not have been as huge as people thought she was going to be, but most people have at least heard of her and can name things she’s been in. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/39 "2015-01-03T04:29:35Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Sorry, but Nancy Sinatra knocked the James Bond theme song ["You Only Live Twice"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcIl_6amBvU)right outta the park. She had talent, but her stuff kept getting Vegased up. You have me there. Better than Bassey for my money. Love _Thunderball_ because the movie’s title is wedged into it senselessly, except the Academy used to require the title in the lyrics so you couldn’t offer up any hit song for an Oscar. See: _Against All Odds._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699/40 "2015-01-03T14:27:54Z")
The Bosstown Sound. In 1968, MGM promoted several groups – Orpheus, The Beacon Street Union, The Ultimate Spinach, et al.-- together with the idea that the Boston music scene was as hip and groovy as the San Francisco scene of the time. The fact that no one has heard of these groups today shows how well it worked. The groups actually had some talent, but the hype prevented them from finding succcess, and the Bosstown Sound connection kept them from being taken serioiusly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-corporations-thought-would-be-the-next-big-thing-so-they-were-pushed-relentlessly/708699.md?page=3)