# Celebrities with other remarkable achievements **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863 "2011-07-30T21:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/41 "2011-07-31T16:27:16Z")
The actress Melina Mercouri became a very successful member of the Greek parliament, including being the first female Minister for Culture. (Hopefully she didn’t play a role in the long-term economic stability of the country.) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/42 "2011-07-31T16:48:24Z")
[Shirley Temple Black](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Temple_Black) was the US Representative to the 24th General Assembly of the United Nations, United States Ambassador to Ghana and the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States. And as of 1990, still pretty adorable looking. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/43 "2011-07-31T20:59:18Z")
From the OP: > [@OP](#): > > I’d also leave out achievements that are made easier because of fame, such as Arnie becoming governor or Reagan becoming President. I’m thinking more along the lines of achievements in sports, or art, or science. Arguably, this includes Shirley Temple Black, Arnie, Shirley Temple Black, and maybe my nominee Jack Larson. Well, composing classical music is hard to do, period, so maybe fame doesn’t help there. But he did it BEFORE he was an actor, so I guess that does not count as evidence that Larson aged gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/44 "2011-07-31T21:14:15Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > From the OP: > Arguably, this includes Shirley Temple Black, Arnie, Shirley Temple Black, and maybe my nominee Jack Larson. Well, composing classical music is hard to do, period, so maybe fame doesn’t help there. But he did it BEFORE he was an actor, so I guess that does not count as evidence that Larson aged gracefully. You said Shirley Temple Black twice. You like Shirley Temple Black. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/45 "2011-07-31T21:21:26Z")
I’ve seen many of her films and Shirley Temple is white. Bill Robinson is black. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM) Happy to clear that up. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/46 "2011-07-31T21:26:55Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Christopher Lee was in the special forces/esponiage unit SOE during the second world war. David Niven was in some sort of Commando comms unit during the war, as well as making a couple of propaganda films. He had been a regular in the Army before going to Hollywood, where he had some success. When the war broke out he re-enlisted and moved back to Britain. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/47 "2011-07-31T22:18:55Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’ve seen many of her films and Shirley Temple is white. Bill Robinson is black. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM) > > Happy to clear that up. I think Biggirl was just saying I would PREFER that Shirley Temple was black, and yes, I WOULD prefer that, but that has nothing to do with Bill Robinson! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/48 "2011-07-31T23:31:48Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > She worked on this with the composer George Antheil. But the idea really probably came from her ex-husband, an arms manufacturer. Witali and Wladimir Klitschko, brothers who have both held world heavyweight boxing titles, are also both PhD’s in physical education. Eddie Albert invented the drinking-duck toy. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/49 "2011-08-01T00:15:22Z")
A lot of guys left baseball for a stint in a war then came back to play more baseball. Most notable was Bob Feller who kicked ass playing baseball, went to WWII and kicked some ass there, then came back to kick more ass at baseball and then visit the Indians Fantasy Camp every summer and say angry things about “baseball today” on the radio until he died last year. Here’s a list of all the[MLB military veterans](http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Category:Veterans) if you are so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/50 "2011-08-01T05:09:59Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Most notable was Bob Feller who kicked ass playing baseball, went to WWII and kicked some ass there, then came back to kick more ass at baseball and then visit the Indians Fantasy Camp every summer and say angry things about “baseball today” on the radio until he died last year. > . Not as notable as [Moe Berg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg)- catcher, lawyer, and spy. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/51 "2011-08-01T05:48:17Z")
In addition to the bodybuilding, acting and politics, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pretty competent violinist and can be seen playing bluegrass fiddle in [Stay Hungry.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoYkug89aK4) Back in the early 1980s Ricky Gervais was the frontman of a new-wave band called Seona Dancing, who had a surprisingly listenable hit, [Bitter Heart.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXhSqmfRTfY) ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/52 "2011-08-01T12:05:15Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I could have sworn I read that Peter Quaife (bassist for the Kinks) went on to become an astronomy professor, but his Wikipedia entry doesn’t say anything about it. Maybe he was just an amateur astronomy enthusiast. I’m pretty sure I once saw a photo of him posing with a telescope. He wasn’t a professor, but he did have some success publishing – he drew a number of cartoons that ended up in a book called _The Lighter Side of Dialysis_ (he was an accomplished artist), and he published fiction (posthumously) – _Veritas Part 1_ came out earlier this year, and its sequel will be published this autumn. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/53 "2011-08-01T12:35:47Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Kinda of a reversi- The host of Science Channel’s Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, [physicist Brian Cox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_%28physicist%29) used to be in the band D: REAM. A pop/synth band. They did Things Can Only Get Better. Ironically, according to the law of entropy, things won’t ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/54 "2011-08-01T14:59:28Z")
Must it be actors? Author Roald Dahl helped develop a medical shunt designed to (I believe, I’m not a doctor) relieve pressure in the brains of patients with hydrocephalus. The valve in the shunt is called the Wade-Dahl-Till valve. Dahl was an established author by the time the valve was developed, but he hadn’t written many of his major works yet. It looks like **James and the Giant Peach** had just come out the year before, though. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/55 "2011-08-01T15:12:10Z")
In 1954, the most famous athlete in the world was Roger Bannister, the first man to run a 4 minute mile. Most of the outside world never heard of him again, but Bannister completed his medical studies and was one of England’s most respected neurologists for decades afterward. If there’s any justice, he’ll be the man to light the torch at the London Olympics next year. I mean, who has ever better represented the old-fashioned virtues of British amateur athletics? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/56 "2011-08-01T15:35:43Z")
Creed from the Office used to be Creed, the lead guitarist for 60’s rock group “The Grass Roots”. IIRC, the show has hinted a few times that Creed on the show is either supposed to be Creed from the rock band, or stole his identity. ETA: and on rereading the OP, Creed doesn’t count since he wasn’t an actor first. Ah well. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/57 "2011-08-01T18:41:40Z")
There are a lot of good examples here, but also a few that missed the requirement in the OP: I was specifically thinking of actors who accomplished something in another field _after_ they became successful actors. I’d apply that to musicians and other celebrities, too. I think there’s something particularly interesting about people who are already rich and famous for some achievement in the arts who then turn around and demonstrate that they have other extraordinary abilities, or who give up the wealth and fame to achieve something in another area. But it could also be a transition from one art to another - an actor who becomes a great painter, for example. So Jimmy Stewart counts, because he was a big Hollywood star before he went on to be a distinguished aviator. But Ed McMahon probably doesn’t, because he was already successful in the military before he went into show business. On of the reasons for the distinction is to eliminate those people who make it big in show business primarily because they became famous for their other achievements - making the show biz part somewhat irrelevant. Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier of WWII, and he also had a career in Hollywood. But his career in Hollywood was a direct result of his achievements in WWII, so it’s not quite the same thing as someone who does it the other way around. The same applies to former bodybuilders, wrestlers, Olympians, models, and other people who achieve fame and use that to launch them into acting. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/58 "2011-08-01T21:52:57Z")
There have been a few celebrities who have gone on to become musicians, but it’s difficult to tell how much of their musical success is due to their celebrity status. Two come to mind as having become legitimately well respected in their field. [Steve Martin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin#Music) has won two Grammys for bluegrass and has collaborated with the likes of Earl Skruggs. He’s also a pretty well respected artist and writer. Former NY Yankee center fielder [Bernie Williams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Williams#Music_career) is currently touring as a Classical-Jazz guitarist, has 2 albums that cracked the top 5 on the US Jazz charts, was nominated for a Latin Grammy, and has collaborated with Bela Fleck and Bruce Springsteen among others. Both of them seem pretty dedicated to their music and not at all trying to make a cheap buck off their other successes. But speaking of absurd celebrity musicians, isn’t Shaquille O’Neal a sworn reserve Police Officer in LA and Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/59 "2011-08-01T22:47:56Z")
Tommy Rettig, the kid in the TV show **Lassie** , went on in later years to become a rather well-respected database programmer for Ashton-Tate. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863/60 "2011-08-01T22:55:32Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Come on, people, let’s not exaggerate. There is no reason to think that Christopher Lee was the model for James Bond, the character created by his step-cousin Ian Fleming: > > [James Bond - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond) > > Fleming never indicated that any particular person was the model. There are a number of other people that could equally well be some part of the inspiration for Bond, and there’s no reason to think that Fleming even wanted Bond to be like any one particular person. Furthermore, Fleming was himself part of British intelligence services during World War II: > > [Ian Fleming - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming) > > Similarly, although Julia Child was part of American intelligence services during World War II, she wasn’t a “master spy”: > > [Julia Child - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child) Oh sure, if you want to ground us in reality a bit… I might as well point out that as much as Brian May gets publicity for the astrophysics, it’s not clear that he’s a “respected astrophysicist” given it took him 40 years to finish his PhD and isn’t doing any practical work as far as I can tell. I mean mad propz to the degree and such, but come on… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-other-remarkable-achievements/590863.md?page=4)