# The one artistic work celebrities will be known for after they die **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668 "2012-09-04T19:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/41 "2012-09-06T13:04:36Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Heath Ledger - Kind of a tough one, but I’ll go with The Joker from _The Dark Knight._ > > He won awards for _Brokeback Mountain_, and was Best-Actor Oscar-nominated, but I think his Joker looms larger in our popular culture, and he actually won the Academy’s Best Supporting Actor for it. On some of these we don’t have to guess… [QUOTE=New York Times] Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor whose breakthrough role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award and comparisons to the likes of Marlon Brando, was found dead Tuesday… [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/42 "2012-09-06T13:10:04Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > In no way true for Roger Moore. Definitely in the US, he is most famous for playing James Bond. The Saint wasn’t really popular here. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/43 "2012-09-06T15:51:50Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Bill Cosby - Fat Albert Say wha? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/44 "2012-09-06T16:44:53Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > William Shatner: I thinks that in this case he might be remembered more as Denny Crane Nah, Captain Kirk is too classic of a character to ever be replaced as his primary role. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/45 "2012-09-06T17:14:19Z")
Sigourney Weaver Ripley from the _Alien_ franchise. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/46 "2012-09-06T18:06:06Z")
Alan Alda has made thirty-six movies. But when he dies, they’ll be showing clips from _MASH_. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/47 "2012-09-06T18:10:42Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Bob Fosse - Sweet Charity No, when Fosse died in 1987, the two things most mentioned were _Cabaret_ and _All That Jazz_. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/48 "2012-09-06T18:18:21Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Richard Benjamin will always be remembered for _Quark_. And for looking like a Thunderbirds Puppet. Is that a whoosh? (Not the part about looking like a Thunderbirds puppet. You’re right there.) _Quark_ was an obscure sitcom that ran for eight weeks in 1978. Benjamin’s more likely to be remembered for playing the neurotic character in a bunch of early seventies comedies like _Goodbye, Columbus_, _Catch-22_, _Diary of a Mad Housewife_, _Portnoy’s Complaint_, and _The Last of Sheila_. Granted, none of them stand out enough to be his signature role. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/49 "2012-09-06T18:26:33Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Anna Paquin - True Blood, or winning an Academy Award at age 11? (I would say True Blood, because she was not THE youngest Academy Award winner.) It’s probably going to depend on when she dies. In the next five years, she’ll be remembered for _True Blood_. But the series will eventually end and memories of it will fade into her other roles. The Oscar win will always stand out even if she lives to be ninety. When Luise Rainer eventually dies, what do you think the first thing they’ll say about her will be? Okay, that she was really old. But then they’ll say she won back-to-back Oscars in 1936 and 1937. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/50 "2012-09-06T18:33:14Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Wouldn’t it be ironic if Ron Jeremy were cited for his (probably apocryphal) work on **Jesus Christ Superstar**? It wasn’t Ron Jeremy. It was [Paul Thomas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Thomas_(pornographic_actor)) who was in _Jesus Christ Superstar_. He played Peter (seriously) under his real name, Philip Toubus. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/51 "2012-09-06T19:00:53Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Arnold will be remembered as the Terminator. Politically??? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/52 "2012-09-06T19:02:05Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > In no way true for Roger Moore. Or Sir Sean…wait…never mind… ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/53 "2012-09-06T21:35:12Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Geena Davis: _Thelma & Louise_. > Susan Sarandon: also _Thelma & Louise_ - in fact, I doubt either will ever be mentioned without the other, any more than Bud Abbott was always mentioned as making films with Lou Costello. I think it’s just as likely that Davis would get a mention for _A League of their Own_ and Sarandon for _Dead Man Walking_" especially the latter as that was her (most recent) Oscar winning role. Davis’s Oscar was a supporting actress nod for the not especially popular _The Accidental Tourist_ and that’s not as likely to be named in her obit’s lede. > [@](#): > > Denzel Washington: I hesitate to say _Training Day_, as it’s not that big of a film (and had he not won his Oscar for it, I doubt many people would remember it), but has he been in anything big? I for one will remember him for the TV series _St. Elsewhere_. Denzel has **two** Oscars, the other was for _Glory_. As for other notable roles, _The Pelican Brief_ is exceptionally popular on TV and notable from the regular rebroadcasts, and he’s done three hugely acclaimed biopics: _Biko,_ _The Hurricane_ for which he won the Golden Globe and was Oscar nominated, and \*Malcolm X, \*which also netted GG and Oscar nods. > [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > I’m not a huge Tom Hanks fan, but I’m pretty sure _Philadelphia_ will be one of the films he’ll be most remembered for. Another multiple award winner with a huge body of work who won’t, and frankly _can’t_ possibly be remembered for just one role. This and Forrest Gump are both standouts and the back to back Oscar wins, which remain historic, pretty much ensure that neither role will be ignored when it’s time to write him into the sunset. > [@Becky2844](#): > > Altho they have numerous other credits, > Christopher Walken/Christian Slater/Patricia Arquette: > True Romance. Not a chance that this is the standout remembered role for any of them. If it’s down to name one for each, it’s _The Deer Hunter, Heathers_ and the tv show _Medium_, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/54 "2012-09-06T22:23:52Z")
Are do people really talk about Tom Hanks as being in Philadelphia? I haven’t heard anyone talk about that movie for years. It may be a good movie, I don’t know, I’ve never watched it, but its not a role I’d associate Tom Hanks with. I’d probably put A League of their Own above that. ---
**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, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/55 "2012-09-06T23:04:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is that a whoosh? (Not the part about looking like a Thunderbirds puppet. You’re right there.) _Quark_ was an obscure sitcom that ran for eight weeks in 1978. It was sort of a Whoosh (barely recognised obscure actor from barely seen obscure show), but really I think for a lot of nerds of my generation that’s what he’ll be remembered best for. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/56 "2012-09-06T23:41:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It was sort of a Whoosh (barely recognised obscure actor from barely seen obscure show), but really I think for a lot of nerds of my generation that’s what he’ll be remembered best for. The weird thing is Benjamin’s pretty much switched from being an actor to being a director - he’s directed fifteen movies. But he gets almost no recognition as a director because all of his movies have been pretty forgettable. Who thinks about movies like _The Money Pit_ or _City Heat_ or _My Stepmother is an Alien_ or _Downtown_ or _Milk Money_ or _Marci X_? Benjamin makes the kind of movies HBO buys to fill up its schedule. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/57 "2012-09-07T03:20:11Z")
There was a thread about _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ and that reminded me of another obvious one: Tim Curry. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/58 "2012-09-07T06:17:45Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Are do people really talk about Tom Hanks as being in Philadelphia? I haven’t heard anyone talk about that movie for years. It may be a good movie, I don’t know, I’ve never watched it, but its not a role I’d associate Tom Hanks with. I’d probably put A League of their Own above that. If anything, I’d put _Saving Private Ryan_ above either of them. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/59 "2012-09-07T11:11:37Z")
Jeff Daniels- Dumb & Dumber. The toilet scene is legendary. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668/60 "2012-09-09T09:19:15Z")
Leonard Nimoy will be remembered for …guess ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-one-artistic-work-celebrities-will-be-known-for-after-they-die/633668.md?page=4)