Were there ever any serious celebrity candidates for U.S. President?

[cochrane]

If we’re going to consider non-POTUS elected offices:

Jesse Ventura, wrestler, governor of Minnesota.
Clint Eastwood, actor, director, and producer, mayor of Carmel, California.
Sonny Bono, entertainer, mayor of Palm Springs, CA, and U.S. representative.
Bill Fries, better known as country singer C. W. McCall, mayor of Ouray, CO.

[PastTense]

@cochrane

If we’re going to consider non-POTUS elected offices:

Well actually Arnold Schwarzenegger is the biggest recent name (recently California governor), and he could well have been a candidate for President except he doesn’t meet the Constitutional requirements (he is not a natural born citizen).

[RealityChuck]

@AK84

Horace Greenly? Winfield Scott? Winfield Scott Hancock? Grant?

I would argue that Ike and GW both had political experience before office; Ike’s position was a political and diplomatic one and I think GW was a delegate to the Continental Congress.

But GW wasn’t known for his work in politics (neither was Ike). Washington was famous because he was credited for winning independence; his political career was always a sideline for him.

[PatrickLondon]

@Iggy

It seems Lehrer wrote that song in 1965 at the latest, the same year Murphy took up his Senate office. Lehrer performed the piece in in a concert in 1965 for which there is a YouTube clip. I *think *that well pre-dates Reagan’s own political aspirations though Reagan was an outspoken supporter of other politicians since the 1950s, if not earlier.

Surely precisely at that time Reagan was on the verge of launching his bid for the Governorship of California?

[TriPolar]

@AK84

Horace Greenly? Winfield Scott? Winfield Scott Hancock? Grant?

I would argue that Ike and GW both had political experience before office; Ike’s position was a political and diplomatic one and I think GW was a delegate to the Continental Congress.

Grant had some kind of administration position before running, and I think may have already been considering his run at that point, and like Ike and Washington did have a highly political position serving in the military, but except for George they all gained their celebrity status from their military positions prior to formally entering the political arena.

[Chronos]

Again, what disqualifies a reality show host from the question? Unless you’re arguing that, despite winning, he was never a serious candidate.

[cochrane]

@PastTense

Well actually Arnold Schwarzenegger is the biggest recent name (recently California governor), and he could well have been a candidate for President except he doesn’t meet the Constitutional requirements (he is not a natural born citizen).

I didn’t mention him because Princess Perfume already had.

[Princess_Perfume]

Yeah. The “natural-born” requirement rules out the Governator and several other celebs.

As i mentioned, I was talking about historical elections, not 2016.

[LiliesOfTheField]

Would Gracie Allen fit your question? Her campaign for President was a joke, but she got a fair number of real votes. Some were protest votes and many were feminist votes, so her campaign had some major political ramifications

[2Bits]

I think the nature of celebrity has dramatically changed over the decades. 120+ years ago certain politicians and certain preachers were the equivalent and what we consider a celebrity today.

[cochrane]

Joe Walsh of the Eagles ran a mock Presidential campaign in 1980, even though he was only 33 and wasn’t eligible. He also ran for Vice President in 1992.

Joe Walsh