# Seeing famous actors before they were famous **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516 "2011-03-13T09:59:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/81 "2011-03-14T20:59:56Z")
> [@Chopper9760](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by mhendo View Post > > Bill Paxton is the only actor to be killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and an Alien. > > Range, the man has _range!_ Or a serious death wish =) ---
**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:** [March 14, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/82 "2011-03-14T21:06:33Z")
I just spotted Gwyneth Paltrow as a student (who gets murdered) in _Malice_. She has a walk-on part and a bit of dialog. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/83 "2011-03-14T21:39:55Z")
Oh! And Sarah Michelle Gellar is a student (with no lines, IIRC) in the Chevy Chase “comedy” _Funny Farm_. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/84 "2011-03-14T22:09:09Z")
I mentioned this in a previous thread but there is an episode in “I Love Lucy” when the Ricardo’s and Mertz’s are driving to California. They stop in a gas station in Tennessee to ask directions from a country bumpkin gas attendant. That actor is Aaron Spelling, later famous for many trashy prime time soap operas. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/85 "2011-03-15T00:55:02Z")
This one requires a pretty generous definition of ‘famous’, but I just learned it today, so I’ll share. Faith Salie, who is a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (just this last weekend, IIRC) was Bashir’s genetically engineered girlfriend on an episode of DS9. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/86 "2011-03-15T01:40:58Z")
Harrison Ford as a bellhop in _The Graduate_, which also had a young Richard Dreyfuss as one of the tenants in the boarding house that Norman Fell managed. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/87 "2011-03-15T02:50:29Z")
Damon Wayans was the gentleman that handed Eddie Murphy the bananas for the “banana in the tailpipe” bit in _Beverly Hills Cop_. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/88 "2011-03-15T02:55:43Z")
And, according to IMDB, Robin Givens has a bit part in _The Wiz_ as a dinner guest. Similarly, Samuel L. Jackson was in the skit before the stand-up portion of _Eddie Murphy: Raw_. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/89 "2011-03-15T03:05:19Z")
[Sylvester Stallone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByyF2Lum3QY) in Woody Allen’s “Bananas.” ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/90 "2011-03-15T04:28:23Z")
Mel Gibson in _The Sullivans_ (an Australian drama/serial in the '70s) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/91 "2011-03-15T06:49:16Z")
[“Working Stiffs”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Belushi) was a 1979 TV series that featured appearances by actors who later became more well-known: James Belushi, Michael Keaton, and Paul Reubens. It was a sort of male version of “Laverne and Shirley.” The pilot episode was even directed by Penny Marshall. This was before Jim Belushi even appeared on Saturday Night Live. His brother John was the superstar. Keaton had yet to appear in “Night Shift,” which was his first major film appearance. And Reubens was clearly doing his Pee-Wee character, even though he played Heimlich the delivery boy, just before he appeared in “Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie,” then in his own show on HBO. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/92 "2011-03-15T14:20:16Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Harrison Ford as a bellhop in _The Graduate_, which also had a young Richard Dreyfuss as one of the tenants in the boarding house that Norman Fell managed. Mike Farrell of M_A_S\*H is the first person to say “Hello, Mr. Braddock” when Benjamin goes into the hotel with Elaine. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a boring friend of DJ on Roseanne right before hitting it big on 3rd Rock from the Sun. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/93 "2011-03-15T20:57:25Z")
> [@GorillaGirl](#): > > Alfred Molina as Indiana Jones’ treacherous guide Satipo in the beginning of **Raiders of the Lost Ark**. “Throw me the rope, I throw you the idol.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/94 "2011-03-15T21:20:12Z")
Marg Helgenberger appears really quickly in a party scene in “Tootsie.” ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/95 "2011-03-15T21:54:59Z")
Samuel L Jackson in “Coming To America” as the guy who attempts to rob the fast food place where the main characters work. Amy Adams as the duped fiancee in Catch Me If You Can. Elijah Wood as a little kid playing a video game in Back to the Future 2. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/96 "2011-03-16T00:23:03Z")
I rewatched the comedy horror _Eight Legged Freaks_ a few months ago, and saw a teen Scarlett Johannson as one of the main characters. Paul Reubens is the voice of the alien in _Flight of the Navigator_. At first you don’t recognise him, until he gains a personality. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/97 "2011-03-16T01:54:20Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > I think [Clint Eastwood] might be the most eventually-famous person to ever appear in a movie done on _Mystery Science Theater 3000._ Raul Julia is also in an MST3K film. (_Overdrawn at the Memory Bank_.) I suppose he’s not as famous though. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > A young, unknown Jack Nicholson was in a couple of episodes of _The Andy Griffith Show_, most notably playing the defendant in trial with Aunt Bee on the jury. He is even questioned on the witness stand, but he doesn’t tell anyone they can’t handle the truth, which is too bad. Does he at least yell, “_You f—ked with the wrong Marine!_” at Andy, while lunging and being barely restrained by the court officers? Now that’s an Andy Griffith show I regret missing. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/98 "2011-03-16T03:04:13Z")
I’m not familiar with when they became famous…was it before _This Is Spinal Tap_ that Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey became well-known? I didn’t know Fran until _UHF_, and Dana Carvey from _SNL_. Billy Crystal was in [Soap](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075584/). What about Bruno Kirby? I mean, I was born in 1973. Soap was first aired in 1977, so I only have vague recollections of its start. Billy Crystal could have been well-known in the stand-up comedy circles before then. Just because I didn’t know them doesn’t mean that others didn’t. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/99 "2011-03-16T03:15:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Raul Julia is also in an MST3K film. (Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.) I suppose he’s not as famous though. At the time Julia made that (it was a PBS film, and a tragic misfire) he was pretty well known on Broadway, if not at the movies. I saw him onstage as Dracula (He took over after Frank Langella’s departure from the stage role) He wasn’t exactly an unknown. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516/100 "2011-03-17T04:20:13Z")
Right now I’m seeing Banya (from Seinfeld) in _In The Line of Fire_, the Eastwood flick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-famous-actors-before-they-were-famous/574516.md?page=6)