# Entertainers who "got out of their lane" and failed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, tv-shows-scripted, music\ **Created:** [April 10, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621 "2022-04-10T16:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/161 "2022-04-30T17:50:22Z")
Elvis did well as an actor when he was playing Elvis. His movies were not great, but the movie business was waiting to change so an Elvis movie was sadly not that far from the mainstream at the time. I do recall mention of Elvis for one of the Duke’s movies, but I couldn’t see the Colonel accepting second billing. All in all, Elvis didn’t fail in the movie business, he just didn’t strike gold. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/162 "2022-04-30T18:05:32Z")
But which of the many Elvis films are remembered today? Maybe some people remember the titles from those that were named after songs (Love Me Tender, Viva Las Vegas), but who remembers the stories? Yeah, those films made money at the time, but Elvis squandered his talents by focusing on them. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/163 "2022-04-30T18:14:58Z")
Again, not an Elvis problem but a Col. Tom problem. Remembering the plots is easy. Hell, there were only 3 or 4 plots to start with. (Not unlike John Wayne making the same movie 3 times!) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/164 "2022-04-30T18:24:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Again, not an Elvis problem but a Col. Tom problem. Yes, that’s also my point. The colonel pushed him into the film business, while Elvis could have made some of the greatest music of the 60s instead (his comeback in 1968 proved that he still got it in him). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/165 "2022-04-30T19:40:21Z")
31 movies is not a failure. I’m sure they all made money because they cost so little to make. But it is not realistic to say Elvis failed as an actor. And just to be clear, I’m no Elvis fan. I consider him largely a joke, and he was lucky that Col. Parker made his career what it was. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/166 "2022-04-30T20:56:55Z")
My brother loves his movies, and bought them all on VHS, then DVD, then Blu-Ray. Then he started sending us Elvis movies as Christmas presents. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/167 "2022-04-30T22:04:49Z")
Considering how he played tennis, yeah, I’d call John McEnroe an entertainer. For some reason he thought he could pull off a talk show, and on MSNBC in the mid-2000’s he lasted for not even a year, I think, at it. Almost too-white looking, to the point of looking like a cadaver, stiff as a board, looking like a skeleton awkwardly trying to attempt confidence and bonhomie, and failing (flailing!), horrifically. First time I ever saw David Cross was on there, looking downright glum (Mr. Show, at that point, had still eluded my radar), and a patient Henry Rollins. Funny how hideous and gross a sight JM was, though. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/168 "2022-04-30T22:20:09Z")
Yeah, but his wife (Patty Smyth, of the band Scandal [who was apparently trying to become the next Doc Severinsen]) was fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/169 "2022-04-30T22:23:45Z")
Just remembered that WKRP in Cincinnati did an entire episode about former Reds manager Sparky Anderson trying (and failing) to host a sports talk show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_gz_TMv65QI/maxresdefault.jpg "WKRP In Cincinnati: Sparky 2.12") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gz_TMv65QI) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/170 "2022-04-30T23:49:05Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Well, Keanu Reeves got waaay out of his lane for “_Much Ado About Nothing_” but he still prospered quite well when he went back to his lane. It didn’t help that he was in an ensemble cast with heavyweight Shakespeareans like Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, and Brian Blessed. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/171 "2022-05-01T06:22:03Z")
A lot of famous people have flopped when they tried to host talk shows. In addition to John McEnroe (already mentioned in this thread), there’s Chevy Chase, Magic Johnson, Katie Couric, Martin Short, and Wanda Sykes. Evidently, hosting a talk show is harder than it looks. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/172 "2022-05-01T10:32:51Z")
He was _still_ better than Keaton. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/173 "2022-05-01T11:34:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@Morgyn](#): > > > > the lone exception being a John Wayne western that he did a decent job. > > You sure about that? Because I’ve seen pretty much every Elvis movie made, and I don’t recall him ever co-starring with The Duke. You’re thinking of [Love Me Tender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Me_Tender_(film)), which _was_ a Western, but not a John Wayne film. Elvis was third billed. He played the protagonist’s younger brother. Not a bad film, and Elvis did a pretty decent job. The film was loosely based on the story of the [Reno Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_Gang). There had been [another film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_at_Dawn) about the Reno brothers a year earlier. That starred Randolph Scott. Possibly you are conflating the two. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/174 "2022-05-03T11:25:59Z")
Richard Pryor sings! And, admittedly, doesn’t fail at all. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AiP5rGCm9pE/hqdefault.jpg "Richard Pryor - Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out (1966)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiP5rGCm9pE) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/175 "2022-05-03T11:52:50Z")
Here’s Muhammed Ali (back when he was still “Cassius Clay”) doing a pretty decent job with “Stand by Me”: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BtIF0OqRnOE/hqdefault.jpg ""Stand by Me" sung by Muhammad Ali") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtIF0OqRnOE) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/176 "2022-05-06T17:41:15Z")
The Dixie Chicks as political commentators…pretty much killed their music careers as well. Got to know your audience. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/177 "2022-05-06T20:08:27Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > _The Dixie Chicks as political commentators…pretty much killed their music careers as well._ The two sisters were talented musicians but were never successful until they hired that spitfire blonde as the third chick. That’s when they took off. She was always a loose cannon, though, and her offhand remark about Bush was a flat-out stupid thing to do, even a bit arrogant, considering the makeup of the Country audience. In the ensuing flap, the other two could have thrown her under the bus, hired someone to replace her, and it may possibly have blown over. To their credit, they defended her, and pretty much ended their careers. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/178 "2022-05-06T21:15:13Z")
Yeah but IMO that’s not “getting out of their lane and failing”, that’s just taking the consequences of not playing along with the “shut up and play” attitude towards entertainers and athletes. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/179 "2022-05-06T21:17:14Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I picked up a copy of The Wrestling Album for a friend. I transferred it to CD as I didn’t think he had a record player. Though he was greatful, he already had a copy. Is it art? no. Is it great music? no. Is it fun? yes, it is. Can’t talk about _The Wrestling Album_ without bringing this up. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9wV-wtISG-E/hqdefault.jpg "captain Lou Albano's slow descent into madness song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wV-wtISG-E) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621/180 "2022-05-06T21:24:28Z")
Thanks for showing me that. I am in your debt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-who-got-out-of-their-lane-and-failed/962621.md?page=10)