# Signs that your career moment has passed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696 "2011-05-12T19:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/21 "2011-05-13T13:29:04Z")
Grace Slick said it was getting a membership offer from AARP. Ernest Borgnine said he agreed to do McHale’s Navy when a college age door to door salesman didn’t recognize him and never heard of the movie “Marty” there is a joke variously attributed to Jack Elam, Mary Astor and Ricard Montalban about the 5 stages of an actors career. 1. Who is Jack Elam? 2. I want Jack Elam 3. Get me a Jack Elam type 4. Get me a younger Jack Elam type 5. Who is Jack Elam? ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/22 "2011-05-13T13:51:30Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > You pose for Playboy… > > (the only celebrity women I can think of who didn’t do it as a last gasp were Kim Basinger and Sharon Stone…) Charlize Theron did it in 1999 when she was transitioning from “former model who’s a promising character actress” to “good actress looking for her breakout role.” ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/23 "2011-05-13T14:12:57Z")
Sally Fields pimping osteoporosis meds. Jamie Lee Curtis selling products to make you shit regularly. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/24 "2011-05-13T14:16:52Z")
Suzanne Somers: Getting dumped from Three’s Company Pitching Thighmaster. Diet Books Whoo Whoo Medicine Books ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/25 "2011-05-13T14:31:42Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Suzanne Somers: > > Getting dumped from Three’s Company > Pitching Thighmaster. > Diet Books > Whoo Whoo Medicine Books My understanding is she made a fortune on the Thighmaster, having gotten a piece of the company in exchange for pitching it. And several years later she got in a sitcom with Patrick Duffy that ran for seven seasons, although it was one of those that critics seldom talked about. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/26 "2011-05-13T15:07:05Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > What am I doing in this thread? Jaledin, can I get a link to where you meant to post? 😃 I think he was trying to post in this thread: > **[Questions about height & sexual attraction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=608256)** > > Let’s say you meet three new persons whose gender, personality, physiognomy, intellect, and so forth are all what you find attractive. One is noticeably taller than you; one is about your height; and one is noticably shorter. Which of the three are... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/27 "2011-05-13T15:21:21Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > He also has three young kids and film work is much harder on a family than the set schedule of TV work. It isn’t like he isn’t rich enough that he has to work. In other words, he’s chosen to pass on his career moment. You see a lot of actors who get a good role on a TV series and see it as a stepping stone to the movie career they think they deserve. So they strain to escape from the show. Sometimes you feel like slapping them and telling them, “You don’t get it. This TV show isn’t an obstacle in the path to your career peak. This show is your career peak. Once you leave this show you’re going to start going back down.” ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/28 "2011-05-13T15:24:55Z")
Recording an album of “standards”. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/29 "2011-05-13T16:51:28Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Charlize Theron did it in 1999 when she was transitioning from “former model who’s a promising character actress” to “good actress looking for her breakout role.” I not sure about this but I believe those photos weren’t specifically done for Playboy. They were old pre-fame modeling photos that Playboy acquired after Theron starting becoming known as an actress. If that’s the case, citing Theron isn’t the best counter-argument. Jaime Pressley arguably might be a better counter-example. She was in Playboy twice and ended up landing an Emmy-winning role in “My Name is Earl.” However, her career seem to have stalled since the show went off the air. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/30 "2011-05-13T17:08:58Z")
Drew Barrymore was in playboy before her recent resurgence to stardom. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/31 "2011-05-13T17:31:06Z")
You replace Charlie Sheen on a TV sitcom. > [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > …there is a joke variously attributed to Jack Elam, Mary Astor and Ricard Montalban about the 5 stages of an actors career. > > 1. Who is Jack Elam? > 2. I want Jack Elam > 3. Get me a Jack Elam type > 4. Get me a younger Jack Elam type > 5. Who is Jack Elam? Joe Pantoliano, best known from _Risky Business, The Sopranos_ and _The Matrix_, also claims to be the source of this showbiz lament. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/32 "2011-05-13T17:35:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think you’re overestimating Dempsey’s options. > > _Grey’s Anatomy_ didn’t kill his career; it revived it. Dempsey had been moderately successful back in the late eighties playing teen movies but that part of his career was long over. He was doing b-movies and TV guest shots in the nineties. His biggest part was in _Sweet Home Alabama_ where he played the guy who didn’t win the girl. > > _Grey’s Anatomy_ put him back into the public conscious. If he wasn’t on a popular TV show he wouldn’t have been offered the roles in _Freedom Writers_ or _Enchanted_ or _Made of Honor_. :o I hadn’t even heard of him before Grey’s so I thought it _was_ his big break, and not a revival. Whoops. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/33 "2011-05-13T17:41:53Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I not sure about this but I believe those photos weren’t specifically done for Playboy. They were old pre-fame modeling photos that Playboy acquired after Theron starting becoming known as an actress. If that’s the case, citing Theron isn’t the best counter-argument. If this is the case, then I certainly appreciated their effort. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/34 "2011-05-13T18:24:16Z")
I can’t believe nobody mentioned that it’s when they ask you to jump a shark. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/35 "2011-05-13T18:31:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Sally Fields pimping osteoporosis meds. > Jamie Lee Curtis selling products to make you shit regularly. Add Sally Struthers infomercials for some fly-by-night mail order college diploma. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/36 "2011-05-13T18:34:57Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I can’t believe nobody mentioned that it’s when they ask you to jump a shark. It does seem rather obvious now that you point it out. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/37 "2011-05-13T18:50:18Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Recording an album of “standards”. So explain Shatner then… ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/38 "2011-05-13T18:51:54Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > :o I hadn’t even heard of him before Grey’s so I thought it _was_ his big break, and not a revival. Whoops. Can’t Buy Me Love, Outbreak, and Loverboy ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/39 "2011-05-13T18:54:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Your co-star in your highest grossing movie in years was a dog. That didn’t seem to hurt Tom Hanks. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696/40 "2011-05-13T20:27:38Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That didn’t seem to hurt Tom Hanks. Hanks was in a major carrer slump when he made that - he has a series of flops after _Big_, which didn’t really end until \*Sleeples in Seattle \*in 1993, five years later. Even then, it was only when he reinvented himself as a serious actor in \*Philadelphia \*that he became the icon he is today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-that-your-career-moment-has-passed/581696.md?page=3)