# Celebrities remembered for incidental career points **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688 "2015-01-01T17:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/41 "2015-01-04T06:50:57Z")
To start, for baby boomers William Daniels will be known as a prolific film & TV actor from the 60s & 70s, his biggest role being Dustin Hoffman’s dad in _The Graduate_. For Gen-Xers like me he’ll always be the acerbic Dr. Craig from _St. Elsewhere_ (and to a lesser extent KITT). It’s only Gen-Yers who remember him from _Boy Meets World_. > [@panache45](#): > > Charlton Heston – NRA Sorry, but no. Regardless of how you feel about guns Heston was an bonafide, genuine, A-list leading man & ole’ timey Hollywood movie star. He was Moses fer Christ sakes! 😃 > [@Gatopescado](#): > > David Carradine will always be the guy who choked himself while choking himself. Again, people have already forgotten that. He’ll always be Kwai Chang Caine from TV’s _Kung Fu_ (and although it often gets parodied it really was a great show, something to be proud of). > [@cochrane](#): > > William Shatner for his Priceline commercials. Seriously?! I really think he’ll be remembered for something else. And for a very, _ **VERY** _ long time… > [@Octarine](#): > > Hugh Laurie will also be associated with House, even though most of the other characters he’s played in his long career have been well-meaning dimwits (Bertie Wooster, the various employers of Blackadder, tons of characters in _Fry and Laurie_, etc, etc). In America at least, I think this will be true. He was a household name in Britain but completely unknown here before _House_. His American accent was so impeccably perfect that to this day even I find it disconcerting to hear his regular speaking voice! Always sounds like he’s doing a bit or something. It’s a shame too, cause he is an enormously talented guy. > [@hogarth](#): > > Margaret Hamilton and Maxwell House coffee (although you might have to be pretty old to make that connection). Again, from baby boomers to maybe just before millennials, she will forever be the iconic Wicked Witch of the West. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/42 "2015-01-04T07:51:30Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > William Shatner for his Priceline commercials. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Seriously?! I really think he’ll be remembered for something else. And for a very, _ **VERY** _ long time… T.J. Hooker? Rescue 911? $#\*! My Dad Says? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/43 "2015-01-04T11:58:48Z")
Hail Ants, for me William Daniels was always first and foremost that annoying friend (and annoying Ruthie’s dad) from _Two for the Road_ – but that’s because my parents had done the same cheap hipster newlywed France road trip thing in the late 60s themselves, and so introduced me to the film when I was a young child. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/44 "2015-01-04T12:33:29Z")
British comedian Freddie Starr eating a pet rodent. The story was later admitted as being untrue. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie\_Starr#.22Freddie\_Starr\_ate\_my\_hamster.22](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Starr#.22Freddie_Starr_ate_my_hamster.22) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/45 "2015-01-04T14:09:22Z")
Joe Pesci is a brilliant actor, but he’ll always be known to the American public as that guy who let a little kid drop a sack of hammers on his head. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/46 "2015-01-04T14:24:48Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Joe Pesci is a brilliant actor, but he’ll always be known to the American public as that guy who let a little kid drop a sack of hammers on his head. Huh? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/47 "2015-01-04T14:31:26Z")
O. J. Simpson had a distinguished career with the Buffalo Bills, but will prob be known for some legal troubles he got into later in life (I don’t have all the details). ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/48 "2015-01-04T16:00:34Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Hail Ants, for me William Daniels was always first and foremost that annoying friend (and annoying Ruthie’s dad) from _Two for the Road_ – but that’s because my parents had done the same cheap hipster newlywed France road trip thing in the late 60s themselves, and so introduced me to the film when I was a young child. No, sorry, William Daniels will always be _1776_’s obnoxious and disliked John Adams. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/49 "2015-01-04T16:04:31Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Huh? Cite? Most people know him as one of the Wet Bandits in Home Alone. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/50 "2015-01-04T17:00:17Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Most people know him as one of the Wet Bandits in Home Alone. I think that’s 4th on the list at best. He is much better known for Casino, Goodfellas and My Cousin Vinny. And the Lethal Weapon movies before Home Alone. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/51 "2015-01-04T19:23:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think that’s 4th on the list at best. He is much better known for Casino, Goodfellas and My Cousin Vinny. > > And the Lethal Weapon movies before Home Alone. No doubt. I had long ago forgotten that he was even in Home Alone. I’d make Raging Bull 4th and make Home Alone just an honerable mention. Also, how did we get this far without mentioning Bill Cosby? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/52 "2015-01-04T20:04:50Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No doubt. I had long ago forgotten that he was even in Home Alone. I’d make Raging Bull 4th and make Home Alone just an honerable mention. > > Also, how did we get this far without mentioning Bill Cosby? I’d remember him for his role in Easy Money with Rodney Dangerfield before Home Alone. O.J. Simpson was one of the greatest football players ever and had somewhat of a film career but he will be remembered for losing his temper one time. And then that other time. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/53 "2015-01-04T21:28:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Henry Winkler for his ad for reverse mortgages. > > . To the point that I call reverse mortgages a Fonzie Scheme ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/54 "2015-01-04T22:06:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > O.J. Simpson was one of the greatest football players ever and had somewhat of a film career but he will be remembered for losing his temper one time. And then that other time. Mentioned a few posts before you: > [@CGav8r](#): > > O. J. Simpson had a distinguished career with the Buffalo Bills, but will prob be known for some legal troubles he got into later in life (I don’t have all the details). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/55 "2015-01-04T22:26:16Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No doubt. I had long ago forgotten that he was even in Home Alone. I’d make Raging Bull 4th and make Home Alone just an honerable mention. Home Alone is, at worst, third. Goodfellas first, then My Cousin Vinny. Casino is a Robert DeNiro movie and if you remember it at all, you remember that Pesci was in it for a few minutes (I know it was more than that, I do like Casino after all). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/56 "2015-01-04T23:02:59Z")
Farrah Fawcett shaved Joe Namath for Noxzema shaving cream. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/57 "2015-01-05T01:43:07Z")
For a younger generation that has grown up watching annual reruns of “Home Alone” every Christmas, Joe Pesci will, indeed, be remembered the most for this film. I believe it still ranks as the highest grossing comedy of all time, and my kids have seen it a dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/58 "2015-01-05T01:45:08Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > John Wilkes Booth – Assassinating Lincoln His notices for that were mixed at best. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/59 "2015-01-05T15:08:36Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Art Linkletter, Ed McMahon and Alex Trebek for pimping life insurance for geezers. The first thing I think of when I see Art Linkletter’s name is the $100,000 bill in the Game of Life. And did I miss it, or has no one mentioned Richard Gere? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688/60 "2015-01-05T15:21:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > To start, for baby boomers William Daniels will be known as a prolific film & TV actor from the 60s & 70s, his biggest role being Dustin Hoffman’s dad in _The Graduate_. For Gen-Xers like me he’ll always be the acerbic Dr. Craig from _St. Elsewhere_ (and to a lesser extent KITT). It’s only Gen-Yers who remember him from _Boy Meets World_. I only know him from _1776_ and an episode of _Soap_. Apparently he was also Captain Nice, but in those days I didn’t pay much attention to actors’ names. > [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > The first thing I think of when I see Art Linkletter’s name is the $100,000 bill in the Game of Life. _House Party_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-remembered-for-incidental-career-points/708688.md?page=4)