The above article, which is kind of mean spirited, is the spark behind this thread. I admit to being surprised Kutcher was the biggest winner from That 70’s Show. I thought it would be Topher. Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx were surprises too. Foxx was no slouch but I didn’t see him going from comedian to dramatic actor/Oscar winner.
The Cosby Kid doing the most post-Cosby is probably Raven Symone. I think Lisa Bonet was expected to do more but she seems to just work when she wants too.
Clooney was obvious in retrospect but there seemed to be a period of time after he left ER where Clooney wasn’t ‘going to happen.’
Does Jennifer Aniston even need to be mentioned?
Kadeem Hardison of A Different World works regularly but I thought he might be a bigger star. Same with Jasmine Guy.
Let’s go with “Laugh-In”.
Goldie Hawn, as was obvious from the start, was the big breakout star.
Lily Tomlin had a pretty stellar career.
Ruth Buzzi and Henry Gibson worked steadily for decades.
Jo Anne Worley and Arte Johnson basically became professional game show guests.
The two “why weren’t they huge” cases: Judy Carne had lots of drugs and personal problems (she said later quitting the show for a nightclub career was the biggest mistake she ever made), while Teresa Graves converted to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and retired from showbiz.
And on the bad side, none of the kids from either “The Waltons” or “Eight is Enough” seemed to have any career after the show. All I remember about “The Waltons” kids is that Judy-Norton Taylor posed in Playboy. And the “Eight Is Enough” kids were a long list of disaster, especially drug related (Lani O’Grady’s overdose death, Susan Richardson being institutionalized, Adam Rich robbing a pharmacy).
Sex symbols are often the break out stars of a TV show. They don’t have to be great actors, just attractive to a segment of the population. Younger actors are often over-rated also. It’s not hard to play a child or teenager. And another factor is having a good agent and a willingness to make good career moves instead of pursuing personal satisfaction.
John Boy has gotten pretty steady work, post-Waltons. Most notably in the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s “It”. I always see him guest star in TV shows as well. Most recently, on Rizzoli and Isles.
I agree that he seemed destined for bigger things.
I was always surprised that Frankie Muniz fizzled so abruptly after Malcolm in the Middle. I know he did the Cody Banks features, but that didn’t exactly shoot him into the A-list.
I get the impression that he has enough money now that he doesn’t have to work and so he doesn’t.