# Cinema's Greatest One Hit Wonders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057 "2006-02-12T00:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 12, 2006, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/41 "2006-02-12T05:03:23Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > He was God’s injured body in Dogma. That’s all I have on him. I am sure there is more. > > Jim He was the bond company stooge in “Life Aquatic”. He was also in one of the last episodes of Arrested Development. He was himself, the judge of the court room reality show “Bug Cort” Oh and the Tom Hulce movie about Stalin’s projectionist is called IIRC “The Inner Circle”. It is really amazing. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/42 "2006-02-12T05:04:38Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > What about Karen Allen from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_? I loved that movie and she was great in it, but what else did she do? [see my post #34](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7094628&postcount=34)😉 On preview: > [@Equipoise](#): > > …snip…Sez you. I love **Gas, Food Lodging**. It’s small and quirky, and features Brooke Adams, Fairuza Balk and Ione Skye, not to mention James Brolin (swoon) and Ione’s poppa, Donovan Leitch. It was directed by Allison Anders ( **Mi vida loca, Grace of My Heart** and the haunting **Things Behind the Sun** ). It wasn’t in-your-face brilliant, but it’s a sweet little film. Okay, I saw it again recently and didn’t like it much, but to each there own. > [@](#): > > My contribution to the thread is **Caitlin Clarke**. Her first movie was **Dragonslayer** , as the girl who pretends to be a boy to avoid the sacrifice lottery. She’s been in various things since then, but never got the roles she deserved. Good One, I forgot about her. Jim ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/43 "2006-02-12T05:10:52Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > **Animal House, Starman, Scrooged, The Perfect Storm, In The Bedroom**. Thought of another good Karen Allen movie: 1969, great little obscure movie. Shelley Long of Cheers was in it with her. Harvard Students. Anti-Vietnam Radicals. I haven’t seen it in years. I may need to add it to Netflix. Jim ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/44 "2006-02-12T05:11:30Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > What about Karen Allen from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_? I loved that movie and she was great in it, but what else did she do? I’m sure I’ve told this tale of ecstacy and humiliation before on the SDMB, but during my one evening with Karen Allen (she’s a FOAF), I learned that she mostly acts in small stage productions, stays at home (in New England) with her teenaged son a lot, and has basically retired from Hollywood film-making. She’s far more beautiful in person and intellectually, BTW, than she was on screen (and I considered her the loveliest screen presence I’d seen in quite a while, perhaps ever). I’m still almost fainting at the memory… ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/45 "2006-02-12T05:18:50Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] I’m sure I’ve told this tale of ecstacy and humiliation before on the SDMB, but during my one evening with Karen Allen (she’s a FOAF), …snip…QUOTE] What is a FOAF? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/46 "2006-02-12T05:21:58Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > What is a FOAF? Friend of a friend ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/47 "2006-02-12T05:23:28Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Four. He was the gamble-holic son in **Parenthood**. > > Time to start a Tom Hulce Appreciation Thread??? Also, an underrated sort-of-noir called **Slam Dance** with Virginia Madsen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, John Doe and Adam Ant. Used to be a staple on HBO in the late 80s. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2006, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/48 "2006-02-12T05:43:36Z")
What about the dude who played **Peter** in **Office Space**? It’s no Raiders of the Lost Ark but it’s a huge cult hit and I can’t think of anything else big he’s done. Since there’s no IMDB…I can’t even think of his name. heh ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/49 "2006-02-12T05:57:15Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > He is **Dexter Fletcher** , it looks like he has been working steadily and I just never noticed him. Funny I know all the pretty girls and I can’t remember a goofy name like Dexter Fletcher. I wonder why? 😃 I just caught him as one of the good guys in _Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/50 "2006-02-12T07:08:58Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Let’s say that actors / actresses who had a significant / major role in a picture and seemed on the verge of a break out but then whose potential never was realized. Doesn’t mean that they never played in another film nor even had a significant part in another movie but they didn’t reach that which everyone expected of them. Of course, lots of other actors would _kill_ to have had even one significant role in one movie (memorable enough that we remember the actor or the role), so it’s not such a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/51 "2006-02-12T07:19:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > What about the dude who played **Peter** in **Office Space**? It’s no Raiders of the Lost Ark but it’s a huge cult hit and I can’t think of anything else big he’s done. > > Since there’s no IMDB…I can’t even think of his name. heh That’s Ron Livingston. He was in the HBO miniseries _Band of Brothers_\* as well as guesting in _Sex in the City_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/52 "2006-02-12T07:21:49Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > That’s Ron Livingston. He was in the HBO miniseries _Band of Brothers_\* as well as guesting in _Sex in the City_. I think he qualifies for the Op so far. Going on 7 years without another big role. Jim ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/53 "2006-02-12T07:27:03Z")
Livingston was also in Swingers (before Office Space) and had a role in some romantic comedy with Britney Murphy. I don’t think it’s that he’s a one hit wonder so much as Office Space became an unexpected hit. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/54 "2006-02-12T07:36:40Z")
If you really want one hit wonders from Office Space, what about the guys who played Samir and Michael Bolton? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/55 "2006-02-12T07:37:01Z")
Nobody from _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ became a real star on film aside from Susan Sarandon, and possibly Tim Curry depending on how you define stardom. He’s found steady work, especially in cartoons and almost always as a villain, and he has released at least a couple of albums. Seems he’s quite a singer. [Maybe this is to be expected from a cult film.] Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) (asshole!) never did anything else very famous - now that I think about it, though, he was also a regular on _Spin City_. I think Peter Hinwood (Rocky) never made another film. If this thread included TV as well as film, I’d say Adam West is the ultimate one-hit wonder. _Batman_ made him a star, and every role he gets nowadays, he’s playing Adam West. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/56 "2006-02-12T07:50:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Nobody from _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ became a real star on film aside from Susan Sarandon, and possibly Tim Curry depending on how you define stardom. He’s found steady work, especially in cartoons and almost always as a villain, and he has released at least a couple of albums. Seems he’s quite a singer. [Maybe this is to be expected from a cult film.] Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) (asshole!) never did anything else very famous - now that I think about it, though, he was also a regular on _Spin City_. I think Peter Hinwood (Rocky) never made another film. > > If this thread included TV as well as film, I’d say Adam West is the ultimate one-hit wonder. _Batman_ made him a star, and every role he gets nowadays, he’s playing Adam West. I would consider Tim Curry a star. He is well recognize for Movies, TV and Broadway. He was Darkness in Legend BTW. He was the star of Clue. I know there are more but my brain is getting fuzzy. He was awesome in Spam-A-Lot. (Play). Rock Lobster was a cult hit for quite a while. Hunt for Red October was a good and major role. Jim ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/57 "2006-02-12T09:32:35Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > What about Karen Allen from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_? I loved that movie and she was great in it, but what else did she do? Saw her in a recent L&O/SVU rerun. She was a dead giveaway as the killer, because the killer is always the biggest-name cameo. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/58 "2006-02-12T09:42:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) (asshole!) never did anything else very famous - now that I think about it, though, he was also a regular on _Spin City_. > > If this thread included TV as well as film, I’d say Adam West is the ultimate one-hit wonder. _Batman_ made him a star, and every role he gets nowadays, he’s playing Adam West. Barry Bostwick hasn’t done much on film, but he’s had a pretty stage successful career, including a number of Broadway performances. And as for Adam West, he also starred in the softcore porn masterpiece _Young Lady Chatterly 2_, opposite the incomparable Harlee McBride (now Richard Belzer’s wife, IIRC). Even then, he was still essentially playing Adam West. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/59 "2006-02-12T10:52:05Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Sloan and Cameron didn’t seem to rise to the next level. Cameron was the Captain of the friggin Enterprise! Granted he was inept and Kirk had to take over, but still. I think I saw Sloane in the TimeCop and Birds of Prey tv series but yeah they didn’t quite rise to fame. I guess the same thing happened with Rocky Horror - Frankenfurter and Janet went on to do well but not the others. I guess Brad was on Spin City. I always expected Virginia Madsen and Rosanna Arquette to get a little more recognition. Jaye Davidson did get to play the alien Ra the next year in Stargate which was pretty cool but haven’t seen him since. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/60 "2006-02-12T16:03:47Z")
When I wrote my initial post for this, I was thinking of **Candy Clark** , but I forgot to include her. She is another one of those terrible actors who has one good performance under her belt. She was nominated for an Oscar for her second film, _American Graffiti_, but has done nothing but embarrass herself ever since. She was adequate in _The Man Who Fell to Earth_, but every other time I’ve seen her my reaction has been, “What the hell happened?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057.md?page=4)