# Entertainers with better second careers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493 "2006-10-15T03:31:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/1 "2006-10-15T03:31:37Z")
Clint Eastwood is a better director than actor. Mark Wahlberg shows far more talent as an actor than he did as Marky Mark. Who else in the entertainment field can you think of who became famous in one field, but proved to be more talented in another? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/2 "2006-10-15T03:58:05Z")
Ron Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/3 "2006-10-15T04:01:06Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Clint Eastwood is a better director than actor. Mark Wahlberg shows far more talent as an actor than he did as Marky Mark. Who else in the entertainment field can you think of who became famous in one field, but proved to be more talented in another? [/QUOTE] Merv Griffin made more money producing game shows than he did as a singer or talk show host. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/4 "2006-10-15T04:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=Neptunian Slug] Merv Griffin made more money producing game shows than he did as a singer or talk show host. [/QUOTE] And while I am at it are you kidding me about Clint Eastwood? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/5 "2006-10-15T04:04:57Z")
The guy who played Jimmy Olson on the 50s Superman TV show turned out to be a pretty good composer. Red Skelton painted clowns as well as attempted comedy. The clowns weren’t all that funny, but they were about as funny as his comedy. Call it a draw. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/6 "2006-10-15T04:26:18Z")
Red Skelton also wrote music. We played one of his pieces in band, “Red’s White & Blue March.” Never saw his paintings but the music, yeah, on a par with his comedy. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/7 "2006-10-15T04:46:18Z")
[QUOTE=Neptunian Slug] And while I am at it are you kidding me about Clint Eastwood? [/QUOTE] Number of times Clint Eastwood has won the Best Actor Oscar: 0 Number of times he’s won Best Director: 2 No, I’m not kidding. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/8 "2006-10-15T04:46:50Z")
Was Reagan a more talented politician or a more talented actor? ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/9 "2006-10-15T04:57:45Z")
Paula Abdul, present existance as art critic \> former existance as artist? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/10 "2006-10-15T05:00:24Z")
Danny Elfman is much better as a film score composer than he was as a rock band leader (his film work \> Oingo Boingo). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/11 "2006-10-15T05:05:08Z")
Well, I’m not a big fan of any of the followiung, but… 1. Fannie Flagg has been more successful as a writer than as a TV personality 2. Margaret Truman has been FAR more successful as a mystery writer than as a pianist! 3. Dick Francis has been more successful writing mysteries about horse racing than he was as a jockey. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/12 "2006-10-15T05:08:54Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Number of times Clint Eastwood has won the Best Actor Oscar: 0 Number of times he’s won Best Director: 2 No, I’m not kidding. [/QUOTE] Number of Grammys Pink Floyd has won: 1 Number of Grammys Kelly Clarkson has won: 2 The point is that there may be better yardsticks to measure quality than big awards won. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/13 "2006-10-15T05:58:46Z")
Both Ice T and Will Smith have had better acting careers (Ice T’s porn notwithstanding) than rapping careers. They’ve both been very successful at both, but I think they’ve gained greater notoriety on the big and small screens. On the other hand, Governator should have stuck to acting, and Jesse Ventura should have stuck to wrestling – or just retired altogether. (I’ll except his role in Predator) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/14 "2006-10-15T13:18:06Z")
Anson Williams (Potsie on Happy Days) has apparently become a fairly successful director. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/15 "2006-10-15T13:55:40Z")
Actor Chad Brown has been far more successful as a poker player. ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/16 "2006-10-15T14:23:06Z")
Wayne Rogers is now a very successful investment counselor who’s made fortunes for himself and his clients, many of whom are Holywood stars. Gabe Kapan is now a professional gambler. Omar Sharriff is now a professional bridge player. He plays for very high stakes in European and Middle Eastern bridge tournaments. George Montgomery became a furniture maker. I’ve seen a few of his pieces and they are beautiful and well-made. Raymond Burr became a vintner, as did Fess Parker. Lots of actresses have become _poules de luxe_ when their careers faded. I could tell you a few names, but a lot of them are alive and I don’t want to get sued. Come to think of it, quite a few actors have followed the same path. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/17 "2006-10-15T14:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] 3) Dick Francis has been more successful writing mysteries about horse racing than he was as a jockey. [/QUOTE] Well yes, kind of, but as a jockey he was one of the best known champion jockeys over jumps in England. He was the Queen Mother’s jockey from 1953 - 57 and was enough of a celebrity that the first book he wrote, _Sport Of Queens_, is his autobiography. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/18 "2006-10-15T14:32:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore] Lots of actresses have become _poules de luxe_ when their careers faded. I could tell you a few names, but a lot of them are alive and I don’t want to get sued. Come to think of it, quite a few actors have followed the same path. [/QUOTE] [Too late](http://www.purple-eggplant.com/Collections/Gifts/Les_Poules/poulesdeluxe.php) all is revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/19 "2006-10-15T14:51:32Z")
Neil Diamond began his music career as a songwriter, but figured he could make a helluva lot more by singing his own stuff. He was right. Sonny Bono: did okay while hooked up with Cher, but was more successful as a politician once they split. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493/20 "2006-10-15T15:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore] Lots of actresses have become _poules de luxe_ when their careers faded. I could tell you a few names, but a lot of them are alive and I don’t want to get sued. Come to think of it, quite a few actors have followed the same path. [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard this expression before. Google translates it as “hens of luxury”. Is it an adept way of saying a kept woman? A woman who has enough looks and cachet that a man would be pleased to have her as his kept mistress? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-with-better-second-careers/376493.md?page=2)