And Meat Loaf, of course. (OK, maybe not on film so much, but he had at least a major role in Fight Club)
Ron Livingston.
Had a big part in Band of Brothers and a reoccuring role in Sex in the City.
Oh, I’m very familiar with that thing. I grew up watching it. (I wonder if we’ve still got it on tape?) My thinking was that the show made him famous, and then came the movie.
I thought of Meat Loaf as a guy who stayed famous, but not from movies.
Buy the DVD. It’s a hilarious movie – I had no idea as a kid that it was a comedy – and the audio commentary and extras are great.
Three words: Cuba Gooding Jr.
GOOD CALL. He went from “Jerry Maguire” to…what? “Rat Race”? That dog-sledding movie? The one where he’s on the cruise ship? So much talent wasted…
Charmiane Carr — amazingly won an Oscar for her first (and last) movie role, Liesl in The Sound of Music. She even got her own song! She must have seemed poised for stardom. But that was it for her film career.
TV doesn’t count per the OP, but on the subject of Dean Cain he hosted a syndicated Ripley’s Believe It or Not show for a number of years and had a pivotal role in the gay romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Club, as well as doing some other film work. I thought I saw mention of him in a recurring role on a new show as well.
How about the father-daughter team of Joel Grey and Jennifer Grey? I don’t think I saw them mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Joel scored an Oscar for Cabaret and I can’t off-hand think of another film role (although he’s had relatively recent successes in non-counting TV appearances on Buffy, Oz and Alias, as well as originating the role of The Wizard in the also-not-counting Broadway musical Wicked). Jennifer was in the huge Dirty Dancing, then got her nose fixed and never did anything significant again.
o/ I am sixteen going on obscurity...o/
Joel starred in the action movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, as the Korean martial arts master, Chun. Much as I loved it, it’s not a quality piece of film, but he was pretty good in it.
Not to mention *Sideways
*
Ione Skye was also in Four Rooms, but it was a supporting role in only one fourth of the movie.
Despite a dozen crappy movies he did do Radio & Pearl Harbor & was Robin William’s dead son? in that strange but visually intense surreal Painting film about the doctor that lost his family. There might be a few more.
Jim
What Dreams May Come- lots of people hated it but I liked it.
Tidbit- Jennifer Grey got her nose fixed during the filming of Wind with Matthew Modine, without telling anybody she was going to do it. The director was seriously pissed, and apparently couldn’t reshoot enough footage to keep the continuity clean. So she looks like Pinocchio throughout the film (big nose, small nose, big nose, small nose…). Pathetic and unprofessional. No surprise she doesn’t get much quality work anymore.
My first thought was “Daryl Hannah.” She once made quite a “Splash,” then became better known for bad movies and her mostly memorable role was her song-and-dance with Jackson Browne and JFK Jr.
Linda Lovelace should be mentioned here. :o
Jeff Fenholt and Carl Anderson were good in Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was it for both of them.
Mark Hammil has three characters to his credit. He was the Trickster in the TV Flash TV show, which is relevant to this, as he essentially reprised the role as ‘Cock-Knocker’ in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Of course, it was an in-joke.
And more importantly, he was the Joker in Batman:The Animated Series, including two of the best Batman movies of all time: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Rumor has him in serious consideration for the Joker in the next Batman Begins.
Jeff Fenholt has since become an Evangelic minister whose shtick is talkking about how he played Jesus Christ while boozin’ and doing drugs, but has now found the light. A friend who’s herself very religious that way loaned me a tape of one of his sermons. Very strange. I saw him on stage performing Jesus Christ Superstar. I think I even got his autograph at the time.
There is also always Billy Bibbit from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (can’t recall the actors name.) He was excellent in that movie, but never became anything. I’ve seen him in a couple of bit parts in David Lynch films, and as the creepy dude keeping the King drugged in The Lord of the Rings, but essentially he’s just a minor character actor (and not turning in particularly impressive performances either.)
And of course let us not forget the wonderful Vincent Gallo who after making Buffalo '66 went on to become famous only for being one of the true great detestible creeps in the movie business.
Brad Dourif?
Good point, The entire cast of **Godspell ** pretty much disappeared also.
Lynn Thigpen went on to do lots of character work on TV, I saw her on Rosanne and a PBS kids show “where in the world is Carmen Sandiego” but no more movie roles that I recall. She was on Broadway a lot I think.
The rest I never saw in anything.
Someone let me know if I am wrong.
Jim
Well, Louise Fletcher has been in showbusiness since the 50s, so it was hardly a break-out and she’s still working. Granted, nothing as great as Nurse EvilPants, but still.
Cameron was working steadily on that Michael J. Fox show (the political one). Sloan has done some stuff, but no…she didn’t keep the momentum.