# Has an actual celebrity ever been on those celebrity reality TV shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912 "2020-09-05T23:30:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/1 "2020-09-05T23:30:50Z")
You know, Dancing With The Stars, Celebrity Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! It’s always either has-been B list actors from 20 years ago (Verne Troyer), former sports athletes (Dennis Rodman), incredibly niche “famous” people (Stuttering John Melendez), or people who had 5 minutes of fame (Some celebrities mistress). I don’t think there’s even been active B list stars in those shows. So who was the most famous person to ever been on one of those shows that wasn’t doing a single episode or the entire show was based around them? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/2 "2020-09-06T00:04:41Z")
The point of those shows, behind the scenes, is to employ those actors and performers who are seeing darker days and giving them a bit of a profile boost and a nice pay cheque. They’re cheap to make, easy to spread 30 episodes across a year to fill airtime, and are massively popular despite the cheese and low-rent stars involved. Active B-list actors are plenty busy and don’t need the boost. It’s that simple. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/3 "2020-09-06T01:25:01Z")
I understand active A and B listers are busy doing something actually lucrative, but if that’s the case are these shows openly false advertising then? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/4 "2020-09-06T06:05:10Z")
No. They’re still celebrities, it’s up to you if you think they’re worth watching. If 90% of them you say “who the hell are these people?” then don’t watch. If 50% of them are at least people you recognise from their guest spot on _Law and Order_, then give it a chance. Or not. Consider our own [Celebrity Death Pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2020/844229) where we will list obscure second-tier football coaches as worthy of note. Personally I consider them celebrities if they have earned their own Wikipedia page with at least a screen-and-a-half of info on it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/5 "2020-09-06T15:14:32Z")
You really don’t think Dennis Rodman is a “real” celebrity? What’s your definition? I’ve watched DWTS for several years now, and I usually recognize about half the contestants. Sometimes I chuckle at how incestuous the Reality TV world can be. Many of the dancers gained their fame as Bachelorettes or Real Housewives or contestants on other reality shows. So yeah, the genre kind of feeds on itself. Then there are the “internet celebrities,” which I used to not even know was a thing. Did you know you can get legit famous just by posting videos on YouTube? One kid on the show was a _Vine_ star, fer chrissakes. You may argue otherwise, but these folks are indeed celebrities to enough people to care. But sometimes you get people who are truly and undeniably famous. Anne Heche is going to be in the upcoming season. Florence Henderson has been on. Donny Osmond. Denise Richards. Gladys Knight. Gary Busey. David Hasselhoff. Dorothy Hamill. Drew Carey. Buzz Aldrin! So it’s a mixed bag. Are George Clooney and Sandra Bullock going to do it? Probably not. That doesn’t mean those who do aren’t true celebrities. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/6 "2020-09-06T15:14:43Z")
I would think that Billy Dee Williams (_Dancing With The Stars_) counts as an actual celebrity. Sure, he was decades past his prime when he appeared on the show, but he was in two of the biggest movies of the past 40 years (_Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi_); was in one of the high-water marks of early Black Cinema (_Mahogany_); and has had a lengthy career in TV and film. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/7 "2020-09-06T15:21:03Z")
In particular, Billy Dee Williams starred in the TV movie _Brian’s Song_. \ ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/8 "2020-09-06T15:23:09Z")
Oh yeah, can’t believe I forgot about _Brian’s Song_. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/9 "2020-09-06T15:24:00Z")
This will be the first season of DWTS that I don’t know any of the celebrities. Anne Heche was married to Ellen, right? But I doubt that’s what she’s famous for. And there’s another guy who was in the Backstreet Boys, the group who did that song that goes, “Backstreet’s back, all right!” That’s the sum total of what I know about these people. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/10 "2020-09-06T15:30:01Z")
Sometimes you get people who once were big stars and who haven’t been in the public eye for a while. It can be interesting to see what has happened to them. Like meeting a very old friend. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/11 "2020-09-06T15:57:46Z")
As asked repeatedly of the OP: “What’s a ‘celebrity’?”. IMO it’s a name you recognize from some public spectacle, be that sports, entertainment, politics, or even big business. Which leads immediately to the question of “Who is ‘you’?” IMO it’s enough individuals across the country to cause enough folks to tune in often enough to keep the sponsors happy enough. If they had to depend on the “you” that’s celebrity-ignoring me, they’d go broke immediately; I’ve never even heard of most of the shows in the OP, much less watched an episode. But for the folks who live for People magazine, for TwitFace-following anyone with an online retinue, damn near anyone who’s had 5 minutes of fame is monetizable and hence celebrity-enough. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/12 "2020-09-06T16:53:04Z")
If you’re not limiting it to the 21st century, the old Battle of the Newtork Stars had actual, currently or recently working, recognizable celebrities risking humiliation and actual injury to compete against each other in sports themed competition. (and the dunk tank). Check out the list of participants in the Wikipedia articles. Going further back, they might not have called it “reality television”, but the original Home Run Derby had then-current MLB players competing for real money (not charity). Players even non fans would recognize. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/13 "2020-09-06T18:23:51Z")
Dennis Rodman is famous but I wouldn’t call him a celebrity since he was doing reality shows well after his NBA career and during his “laughingstock” phrase. My definition of a celebrity is a famous person people legitimately want to see, and not as a carnival attraction. Gary Busey is a celebrity who also quickly became a famous side-show later in life. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/14 "2020-09-06T18:30:16Z")
You are being to restrictive about what a “celebrity” is. A carnival attraction is a celebrity if everyone knows who they are. Celebrity is about how much name recognition someone has regardless of whether or not people would want to see them in a movie or a concert. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/15 "2020-09-07T07:48:39Z")
Heche was controversial in her day. She dated Steve Martin before dating Ellen Degeneres, and he was bitter enough about it to satirize her in Bowfinger; the downturn in her career has been attributed to the popular opinion backlash that she pretty much used both relationships to raise her profile. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/16 "2020-09-07T08:09:34Z")
But before all that, she was a soap opera star. She played the twins Vicky and Marley on Another World in the late 80s, early 90s and was very popular. There are probably a lot of DWTS fans who would remember her from that. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/17 "2020-09-07T09:22:38Z")
Celebrity Apprentice has has Trace Adkins, Joan Rivers, Bret Michaels (who was also on The Masked Singer), Gene Simmons and Sharon Osbourne. The Masked Singer has had Donny Osmond, Wayne Brady, Patti La Belle, Gladys Knight and Drew Carey. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/18 "2020-09-07T10:42:31Z")
Sharon Osborne is One of the founders of becoming a celebrity _after_ being on a reality show. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/19 "2020-09-07T11:39:19Z")
Yes, but by the time she was on Celebrity Apprentice she was a bona fide celebrity, even if her celebrity is being a celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912/20 "2020-09-07T14:04:17Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > The Masked Singer has had Donny Osmond, Wayne Brady, Patti La Belle, Gladys Knight and Drew Carey. IANA expert, but ISTM each of these people is long past their prime, and indeed some are complete has-beens. Which is exactly one of the OP’s criteria for not being “celebrity enough” to qualify for the term. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-actual-celebrity-ever-been-on-those-celebrity-reality-tv-shows/919912.md?page=2)