# Folks who "made it" into the biz at a relatively late age **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029 "2005-07-31T18:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/1 "2005-07-31T18:20:09Z")
So I’d say after thier forties. Are there any famous (or semi-famous) examples of people who got into showbiz (movies, scripting for movies, directing) at a late age and became a “success”? I mean dudes(ettes) who were doing something else up until around the age of forty, decided to get in on the showbiz act and then actually became successful in doing so? Of special interest are any recent examples. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/2 "2005-07-31T18:28:52Z")
Sydney Greenstreet (Casablanca, Maltese Falcon) had his film debut at 62. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/3 "2005-07-31T18:29:52Z")
[Rodney Dangerfield](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001098/) is the first one to come to mind. He made it big in his 50’s. His first movie hit was **Caddyshack** when he was 58. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/4 "2005-07-31T18:34:46Z")
Greenstreet doesn’t count as a _showbiz_ late bloomer; he’d been a stage actor since 1902. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/5 "2005-07-31T18:36:03Z")
Maybe not incredibly famous, but character actor **Burt Musitn** appeared in his first film at age 67. > **[Burt Mustin - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0615993/bio)** > > Burt Mustin was a salesman most of his life, but got his first taste of show business as the host of a weekly radio variety show on KDKA Pittsburgh ... ---
**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:** [July 31, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/6 "2005-07-31T18:51:03Z")
[Peg Phillips](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0680697/), who played Ruth-Anne on **Northern Exposure** , was 65 when she started taking acting lessons, and was 66 or 67 when she got her first TV role. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/7 "2005-07-31T18:51:04Z")
I think John Mahoney of Frasier didn’t start acting until his late 30s. ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/8 "2005-07-31T19:09:17Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I think John Mahoney of Frasier didn’t start acting until his late 30s. According to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mahoney) you’re right. He seems to have been around 36 or 37 when starting out. ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/9 "2005-07-31T19:10:28Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > [Rodney Dangerfield](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001098/) is the first one to come to mind. He made it big in his 50’s. His first movie hit was **Caddyshack** when he was 58. Wow. Didn’t even know he passed away. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/10 "2005-07-31T19:20:59Z")
Harrison Ford was in his 30’s when he made _Star Wars_. Yeah, he’d made _American Graffiti_ earlier, but wasn’t quite a household name like he was after he played Han Solo. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/11 "2005-07-31T19:21:42Z")
**Edgar Buchanan** gave up a career in dentistry at age 36 to go into acting. > **[Edgar Buchanan - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118000/bio)** > > At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Oregon. After studying at the University of Oregon, he followed in his father's footsteps and became ... ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/12 "2005-07-31T19:34:34Z")
Ellen Albertini Dow, the “rapping granny” in THE WEDDING SINGER, had her first screen role at 68. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/13 "2005-07-31T21:19:54Z")
[Fred Dalton Thompson](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000669/), the former Senator best known as the _Law and Order_ D.A. didn’t start acting until he was 45. Rodney Dangerfield spent his entire 20s in show business. He didn’t make it big until the second time around, but he sure tried hard at an early age. ---
**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, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/14 "2005-07-31T21:25:24Z")
Ben Stein. Born 1944. His first film appearance was in the 1984 film “The Wild LIfe.” He was a consultant to a TV series in 1978, however. All dates from IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/15 "2005-07-31T21:35:25Z")
Though not all that recent, **Paul Ford** is an example of a late starter. According to the IMDB he was 54 when he hit it big in TV’s _Bilko_. He had done some radio work before that but was by no means a household name. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/16 "2005-07-31T23:36:40Z")
How about **Calvert DeForest**? Born in 1921, his earliest credit on the IMDB is from 1972, and he first came to prominence as Larry “Bud” Melman on David Letterman’s show in the 1980’s. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/17 "2005-08-01T00:14:32Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Ellen Albertini Dow, the “rapping granny” in THE WEDDING SINGER, had her first screen role at 68. I was going to mention her – she was in _Wedding Crashers_, too. Also, Linda Gray of _Dallas_ fame was in her 30s before she broke into the biz. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/18 "2005-08-01T01:23:47Z")
Former cop Dennis Farina got into acting in his later 30s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/19 "2005-08-01T02:01:18Z")
[Anne Ramsey](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001649/) made her first movie at age 52, and became a star in “Throw Momma From the Train” when she was 60. [John Houseman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002144/) became a movie star with **The Paper Chase** at age 71. He was a producer and acting teacher up to that point. [Harold Gould](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0332390/) was also an acting teacher when he decided to practice what he taught. He first appeared in movies at age 40 in bit parts, and made a solid career of it. [Clifton Webb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0916067/) was 55 when he vaulted into stardom in **Laura** , though he had appeared in a few silent films before then. Clara Peller became an overnight sensation at the age of 82, with her appearance in the Wendy’s “Big Fluffy Bun” commercial (better known for her catchphrase, “Where’s the beef?”) ---
**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:** [August 1, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029/20 "2005-08-01T02:11:02Z")
I think you’re underestimating John Houseman’s career prior to **The Paper Chase**. He was considerably more than a producer and acting teacher. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-who-made-it-into-the-biz-at-a-relatively-late-age/315029.md?page=2)