# Best/worst celebrity career management **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217 "2006-06-26T15:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/61 "2006-06-27T15:13:27Z")
An interview once asked Arnold the secrets of his success: Work hard Save your money Marry a Kennedy. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/62 "2006-06-27T15:29:40Z")
When Pink Floyd kicked out Syd Barrett in 1968, their then-management dropped them in favor of handling Syd on a solo basis. Maybe it made a kind of sense: Syd had written and sung most of their material and was definitely perceived as the main creative force in the band. Still, getting thrown out of his own band for being incoherent and unreliable might’ve sent up a red flag or two. Five years later, Pink Floyd made _Dark Side of the Moon_; Barrett managed to make two interesting but mostly unnoticed albums before completely falling apart. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/63 "2006-06-27T17:12:05Z")
[QUOTE=Nonsuch] When Pink Floyd kicked out Syd Barrett in 1968, their then-management dropped them in favor of handling Syd on a solo basis. Maybe it made a kind of sense: Syd had written and sung most of their material and was definitely perceived as the main creative force in the band. Still, getting thrown out of his own band for being incoherent and unreliable might’ve sent up a red flag or two. Five years later, Pink Floyd made _Dark Side of the Moon_; Barrett managed to make two interesting but mostly unnoticed albums before completely falling apart. [/QUOTE] In a very similar but converse situation: when Black Sabbath kicked out Ozzy Osbourne, Sabbath’s manager, Don Arden, opted to keep managing the Ozzy-less band. His daughter, Sharon, left both his management company and his good graces to start managing the perpetually drunk and stoned singer’s solo career. 25 years later, it sure look slike a good move on her part. Oh, and she’s now Sharon Osbourne, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/64 "2006-06-27T17:41:46Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] I’ve said it before,I’ll say it again, the agent for **Will Farrell** , I think, has some forbiden gay porn and coke fests on a whole bunch of Hollywood exec’s because **Will Farrell** seems to be in every freaking comedy lately. [/QUOTE] I would say its probably because his agent throws really good gay orgies and coke fests that keeps Will Farrell in every comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/65 "2006-06-27T18:09:07Z")
A talented star with terrible career guidance/moves: **Whoopi Goldberg** She’s fantastically talented. She was screwed out of an Oscar for her first film role (Miss Celie) strictly because Geraldine Page was old and dying, but broke the “since Hattie McDaniel famine” for black actresses for _Ghost_, by which point she was in the proverbial catbird seat. _Sister Act_ was light fluff- didn’t help her acting chops but she didn’t need it and it did help her box office clout, and _Sister Act 2_ was total dreck but it paid $7 million- I’d have played a black nun working with street kids for a tenth of that at this point in my career. But then she just tanked. She’s made _DOZENS_ of movies but few people can name more than five or six because most just flopped like a spastic catfish on hot asphalt. Her sitcom was abysmal- worthy of UB or a Mama’s Family type syndication deal. She’s had some decent supporting roles in big movies (for Shenzi in _Lion King_, for instance) and some good low-budget low-gross pieces (_Long Walk Home_ [where I met her], _Ghosts of Mississippi_ [a role that had it been just a little shorter would have been cameo]) but she hasn’t had a role that’s really worthy of her in a decade. She also tarnished her image a bit with her potty mouth and just plain crude antics at Friars Club and on the Oscars and the like. She’s been lucratively coasting, which is a shame because she’s so gosh dogged talented and as she’s one of my favorite stars I’d love to see her come back with a huge bang. If _I_ were her agent, and since I’m pretty sure Whoopi is set financially, I’d turn down everything that was paint by the numbers dreck and look for the perfect script- don’t care if it’s made-for-TV or has a $290 budget or what- that would allow her to have the challenge to show her dramatic/comic/pathos/incredible talents like _Purple_ did, or I might even see if I could get her on Broadway playing Shug Avery in the musical, but something to remind the world what a splendid actress she is. OR, I’d also hire great writers to create a TV show tailored for her- not the lame sitcom she flopped in a couple of years ago but a drama with some comedic moments. SEEMS LIKE A HIJACK BUT ISN’T: A few years ago I heard the story of a New Orleans prostitute from the black slums who was wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of her john at 17 (by which time she had 2 children and a heroin addiction). The police _KNEW_ she was innocent but railroaded her anyway because they were under pressure to wrap the case and this was a penniless drug addicted half-literate black prostitute- who gave a damn? She remained in jail for almost thirty years, during which time she got off drugs, earned two college degrees and studied law, eventually breaking her own case and overturning her conviction (though ironically the pimp who was sentenced with her who the same evidence exonerated remained in prison). Anyway, upon her release the woman was offered a full scholarship to law school and became a lawyer. When interviewed she was asked how bitter she was over her experience and said (I’m paraphrasing) that while she was furious with the NOLA detectives who railroaded her when they knew she was innocent, prison was the best thing that ever happened to her. Had she remained “free” she’d have been dead within a year or two due to the drugs and lifestyle and college was something she never would have even thought about considering- she was a high school dropout who thought school was for fools. She wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to giving legal aid to people in similar situations. WHEN I heard this story I though, some tweaking and that would be the PERFECT comeback role for Whoopi. Imagine starting it with a 4 hour miniseries (a different actress plays the teen ho), showing her prison conversion to education and cleanliving, then Whoopi takes over the role and wins her freedom, etc., becomes a lawyer at 45-50 and gets a big settlement from the state for her wrongful conviction which allows her to fund her own legal aid business. Meanwhile she has to reconnect with her children, one of whom is a hopeless druggie now [and she takes in his children to add a domestic plotline] and the other a devout Christian and respectable professional who wants nothing to do with the prostitute who abandoned here. Yes, it’s another lawyer show, but I think it could really work (and if anybody tries it I’ll point to this and sue 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/66 "2006-06-27T18:29:05Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] An interview once asked Arnold the secrets of his success: Work hard Save your money Marry a Kennedy. [/QUOTE] I read a quote that went something like, “See, most people won’t do squats until they almost pass out.” Obviously he had a genetic ability to respond to the workouts, but he really put in the effort. And it was apparently only slightly steroid aided. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/67 "2006-06-27T18:34:49Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] An interview once asked Arnold the secrets of his success: Work hard Save your money Marry a Kennedy. [/QUOTE] Apparently, you missed the tail end of that interview…I also heard: - Never fix the gap between your upper incisors, even though you’re a multimillionaire and it would cost about $800 - Make no appreciable improvement in your English diction in 35 uninterrupted years of U.S. residence What can I say, the man hit on a winning formula. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/68 "2006-06-27T18:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=Iggins] Cuba Gooding Jr. - Oscar win to Snow Dogs. [/QUOTE] And Oscar win to **Boat Trip**. :o ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/69 "2006-06-27T19:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] - Make no appreciable improvement in your English diction in 35 uninterrupted years of U.S. residence [/QUOTE] I read somewhere — don’t remember where, and I’m not sure I believe it — that Arnie deliberately **hasn’t** improved his English, both because it gives him an endearing “flaw” and because his accent has almost become a trademark in itself. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/70 "2006-06-27T19:20:33Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Shelley Long still gets a lot of flack for leaving “Cheers” after five years but I think that even if she’d stuck around until the series ended, her career would still be at where it is now. [/QUOTE] And Cheers probably would have ended sooner. OK, maybe not, but there are some characters you love to hate, and there are some characters you really do hate. I know I’m in the minority on this one, but she almost ruined cheeres for me. UGH! E3 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/71 "2006-06-27T22:25:56Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] - Make no appreciable improvement in your English diction in 35 uninterrupted years of U.S. residence [/QUOTE] That’s not true. For “Hercules in New York”, he was overdubbed because his English was so bad. Now he’s very understandable. Plus, someone on this board said he’s heard Arnie speak Austrian German, and he sounds funny with that, too. It’s just Arnie being Arnie. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/72 "2006-06-27T22:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] That’s not true. For “Hercules in New York”, he was overdubbed because his English was so bad. Now he’s very understandable. . [/QUOTE] Having seen the UNDUBBED version… Arnie is sometimes hard to make out but it really isn’t that much different than his normal voice. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/73 "2006-06-27T22:37:41Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] Having seen the UNDUBBED version… Arnie is sometimes hard to make out but it really isn’t that much different than his normal voice. [/QUOTE] You beat me to this. I’ve seen both versions. I really think they decided to overdub him in _HiNY_ because they weren’t sure America would buy his thick accent, but the accent itself wasn’t too far from his current one. It was more due to them not recognizing Arnold’s unique star power yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/74 "2006-06-27T23:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] What’s next? I don’t know, but this man hasn’t failed yet at anything he set out to do. [/QUOTE] He did receive a smackdown in last fall’s special election. All of the ballot measures he championed were rebuffed by the voters. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/75 "2006-06-28T00:39:35Z")
Bad career choices: **Roger Hodgson** left **Supertramp** at the height of their success to pursue that amazing solo career he wound up having. **Louis Gossett Jr.** turned an Oscar winning performance in “An Officer and a Gentleman” into quality roles such as the ‘Iron Eagle’ series. Good Management: **Wayne Rogers** left acting to become a financial advisor to other Hollywood stars, and made millions at it. **William Shatner** , despite having limited range and some severe typecasting, managed to avoid the fate of almost every other _Star Trek_ alumni and keep a career going into his 70’s, mostly by cleverly re-inventing himself whenever he started to become stale. In fact, he may be more popular now than he’s ever been, and he’s a big star on one of the most popular TV shows. **Howie Mandel** has managed to stay high up in the TV game for decades, also by re-inventing himself and finding new niches when the old ones no longer fit. His career is at its peak now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/76 "2006-06-28T01:55:37Z")
A cheap shot would be to include somebody like Dana Plato. I only mention it because I had such a huge crush on her being of the same age as a young teen. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/77 "2006-06-28T02:16:10Z")
[QUOTE=F. U. Shakespeare] (As did, like, 99.999% of _Saturday Night Live_ cast members). [/QUOTE] Caddyshack National Lampoon’s Vacation National Lampoon’s European Vacation National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/78 "2006-06-28T02:24:46Z")
Hit the enter key too soon. Animal House The Blue Brothers Trading Places Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Ghostbusters Dragnet Driving Miss Daisy 48 hrs Beverly Hills Cop Nutty Professor Dr. Doolittle Groundhog’s Day Lost In Translation I would take the money any of these movies made and live quite comfortably the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/79 "2006-06-28T02:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Well, neither Hoffman or Cruise are quite that short. Somewhere in the 5’7" range, and those three inches can make a huge difference, but he lacks a certain gravitas that those other guys had. His height is only part of that equation, but I’d say his choices are quite limited. Frankly I think he should be credited for achieving what he has. [/QUOTE] Granted, it wasn’t an exact comparison - I suppose I was just trying to suggest that, just because a man isn’t tall doesn’t mean he can’t rise to the top. You’re right, though, those two factors can make a difference in role choices, I imagine. [QUOTE=Sam Stone] **Roger Hodgson** left **Supertramp** at the height of their success to pursue that amazing solo career he wound up having. [/QUOTE] Roger _who_? :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217/80 "2006-06-28T05:05:08Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Neil Patrick Harris definitely does not belong in this thread. He’s had a respectable career on stage (Cabaret & Rent, then the original casts of Broadway’s Assassins and London’s tick…tick…BOOM). And he is the best thing in How I Met Your Mother. [/QUOTE] And **Starship Troopers**! 😃 Back to Seth Green (and why not?), I would LOVE to have his career. **Robot Chicken** is a vastly entertaining show, and if you watch the DVD, it’s obviously a lot of fun for him. It’s not just some vanity project to put his name on, he puts a huge amount of work into every episode. Other than that, I’m sure he makes a very comfortable living doing the voice for **Family Guy** a couple of hours a week. That guy is not strugglilng, that’s for damn sure. If he’s not getting movie roles, it’s only because he doesn’t want them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-celebrity-career-management/362217.md?page=5)