ETA: Shoulda read further before posting.
Monty Rock III went from hairdresser to talk show guest to Disco “artist” with only a great sense for self promotion
Stephen Baldwin
Michael Lohan (father of Lindsey)
Also a sports caster for the Brewers for 33 years, and on Mr. Belvedere for five years.
Rick Soloman isn’t a household name?
What did Bob Hope ever actually do, besides being Bob Hope?
Same with the Rat Pack, at least by the time I was born.
He was a big movie star in his day. The road pictures he made with Bing Crosby were successful enough that they made seven of them. He was in a bunch of movies other than that. He also performed on TV and radio, was a stand-up comic, and hosted shows for the USO for decades.
I think the biggest problem everyone is having with this thread is trying to find people with staying power.
K-fed is a great example of “random ass dude who had his 15 minutes” but he lasted just that…15 minutes. At least Kim has remained famous (for one reason or another), most of these guys I see posted are one-and-done’s
So far, too many people are naming celebrities they dislike, rather than celebrities who don’t seem to have any accomplishments or jobs.
Look, some may think George Clooney is a terrible actor, but we all know what he’s famous for! He’s starred in dozens of movies.
Some may loathe Rush Limbaugh, but we all know what he’s famous for: he’s hosted a very successful radio show and written best selling books for decades.
Bob Hope was a hugely successful radio, movie, and TV star. You think he was terrible? You’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t pretend you don’t know what he was famous for.
You think ENrique Iglesias is a lousy singer? So do I, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s had a lot of hits. We know why he’s famous, even if we wish he weren’t.
So far, the few names I’ve seen who qualify are:
Kevin Federline
George Hamilton
Kato Kaelin
John Kennedy Jr.
Levi Johnson
The Situation
…and a Hall of Fame broadcasting career.
It’s not that I think he was terrible; it’s just that the last half of his career, which includes the entire portion when I was alive, consisted entirely of “And here’s Bob Hope, who is Bob Hope, and everyone knows who he is, because he’s Bob Hope”.
But his TV specials got huge ratings. I agree they were pretty lame, but the man’s schtick was popular.
To say perhaps more clearly what I said before: just because someone acts, sings, does stand-up doesn’t mean that is what they are famous for. I’d say Joan Rivers (who isn’t a man) is famous for being famous, stand-up career and radio show notwithstanding – particularly since the latter came after she established herself as … as Joan Rivers
ETA: A male example is Bennett Cerf; he was a panelist on What’s My Line, making him an official Famous Person, but he was famous because of What’s My Line.
Bennett Cerf co-founded the publishing company Random House and wrote best-selling joke books before he was ever on game shows.
That says he was successful, rather than famous. I can’t think of any publishing founder I’d recognize on sight.
And is it me or is this thread subconsciously sabotaging the guys? Say, for instance, Tom Arnold. He was famous for dating Roseanne. Yes, he’s done a crapload of stuff since, but so have Paris and Kim. So has Kato (I’m guessing). But before there were accomplishments to celebrate, they were famous.
Ahhhh… game shows! Now THAT’S a place to find “celebrities” nobody’s ever heard of! I’m dating myself here, but I had no idea what Charlie Weaver or George Gobel ever did except sit in the lower left corner on Hollywood Squares. I can’t remember how many times I saw the “celebrities” on $10,000 Pyramid and wondered, “That’s a celebrity? Who the hell is he?”
Invariably, it turned out the “celeb” was someone who’d been the second banana on a sitcom that had been off the air for 20 years or someone who’d spent a season on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In after everyone had stopped watching.
I have no idea what Arlene Francis or Kitty Carlisle or Peggy Cass were supposed to be famous for. Well, Kitty was MARRIED to a genuine celeb, but what did SHE ever do?
Oh, I have the best example ever:
a man who parlayed being Streisand’s hairdresser into being big-time Hollywood producer. The man has no discernible talent other than hairdressing and networking.
Hugh Hefner?
For this thread it seems too easy to name someone who was “made famous” by being on TV when there was a good reason they were on TV to begin with, namely, they were successful. Otherwise, people like Johnnie Cochran or Carl Sagan could be named - obviously not the kind of people we’re looking for here.