# What actor or actress has had the most amazing comeback? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969 "2009-10-07T19:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/21 "2009-10-07T21:15:11Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I came in here to say this. Sinatra is the iconic example of a comeback - so much so that the story is in **The Godfather**. Speaking of **Godfather** , it was Brando’s comeback. While he wasn’t having to do commercials or Ed Wood films, no director or producer would go near him at the time: he’d had several flops and was considered box office poison plus he had the reputation (apparently deserved) of being impossible to work with. Coppola famously tricked him into auditioning (telling him he was filming a makeup test) and the producers didn’t even recognize him. After Godfather (for which he got, IIRC, about $50,000 and another Oscar) he became the highest paid star in the world. His deal for _Superman_ held the record for the most money per second of any actor for years (it may still be) and anything with ‘Brando’ was a huge coup. ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/22 "2009-10-07T21:15:59Z")
Angela Lansbury was a femme fatale at 19 in with Gaslight (1944) transforms to a loveable Disney witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) then to gray haired mytery writer in “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/23 "2009-10-07T21:19:53Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > **Mickey Rourke** Good one too. And he totally deserved the nomination for _The Wrestler_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/24 "2009-10-07T21:25:23Z")
Have any washed up child stars ever made a real comeback? Jodie Foster kind of went away and came back, same as Jason Bateman, but have any like the Coreys or the Diff’rent Strokes kids- the type who’ve become punchlines basically- ever later become big stars again? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/25 "2009-10-07T21:35:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Have any washed up child stars ever made a real comeback? Jodie Foster kind of went away and came back, same as Jason Bateman, but have any like the Coreys or the Diff’rent Strokes kids- the type who’ve become punchlines basically- ever later become big stars again? Mickey Rooney comes to mind–or at least he often argues that he was at the very bottom of the barrel for an awful long time until coming back with _The Black Stallion_, _Sugar Babies_, and _Bill_. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/26 "2009-10-07T21:45:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Have any washed up child stars ever made a real comeback? Jodie Foster kind of went away and came back, same as Jason Bateman, but have any like the Coreys or the Diff’rent Strokes kids- the type who’ve become punchlines basically- ever later become big stars again? How about Drew Barrymore? > [@](#): > > In the wake of this sudden stardom, Barrymore endured a notoriously troubled childhood. She was already a regular at the famed Studio 54 when she was a little girl, smoking cigarettes at age nine, drinking alcohol by the time she was 11, smoking marijuana at 12, and snorting cocaine at 13.[1][2] Her nightlife and constant partying became a popular subject with the media.[1] She was in rehab at age 13.[1][2] A suicide attempt at age 14 put her back in rehab, followed by a three month stay with singer David Crosby and his wife.[6] The stay was precipitated, Crosby said, because she “needed to be around some people that were committed to sobriety.”[6] Barrymore later described this period of her life in her 1990 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. The next year, following a successful juvenile court petition for emancipation, she moved into her own apartment and has never relapsed.[6] > > SOURCE: [Drew Barrymore - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Barrymore#Rebellious_era) ---
**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:** [October 7, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/27 "2009-10-07T22:01:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Martin Landau- Starts off with the hit series _Mission Impossible_, then does _Space 1999_ … . To me his nadir would be playing a mad scientist with an army of basketball playing robots in _The Harlem Globetrotters On Gilligan’s Island_ (yes, that’s a [real movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082502/)) followed by years of episodic appearances in forgotten series and TV movie roles (_Return of the Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man_, a _Kung Fu_ reunion movie, etc.). I think his big turnaround was being cast in an excellent role in Woody Allen’s _Crimes and Misdemeanors_… . In 1994 he played Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_- a movie that bombed yet strangely you rarely meet anybody who hasn’t seen- and won … the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Landau was the first person I thought of when I saw this thread. However, if I may nitpick a bit, his “comeback” actually came in 1988 when Coppola cast him in what turned out to be an Oscar-nominated role in **Tucker**. Before that, Landau’s career was as at rock bottom with occasional parts in grade-Z horror films and dinner theater where he received billing below the prime rib. [QUOTE=TheMadHun] Angela Lansbury was a femme fatale at 19 in with Gaslight (1944) transforms to a loveable Disney witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) then to gray haired mytery writer in “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996) [/QUOTE] I don’t know if Lansbury qualifies since she was hugely successful on Broadway during the 60’s and 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/28 "2009-10-07T22:09:28Z")
I would say Jackie Earl Haley since he was a minor child star (albeit with one hit movie as an adult) who came back from years of almost total obscurity to an Oscar nomination and starring roles in a couple of huge tentpoles. I don’t think you’ll find anyone on the list whose career was seemingly any more as dead as his was. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/29 "2009-10-07T22:18:18Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I would say Jackie Earl Haley since he was a minor child star (albeit with one hit movie as an adult) who came back from years of almost total obscurity to an Oscar nomination and starring roles in a couple of huge tentpoles. I don’t think you’ll find anyone on the list whose career was seemingly any more as dead as his was. I thought you were quoting my post (#10) for a second. We even use some of the same language (Tentpoles). great minds… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/30 "2009-10-07T22:25:23Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I was going to go with Russ Tamblin. You couldn’t see a musical in the '50s or '60s without him being featured. Then he drops off the map until _Twin Peaks_ > [@NDP](#): > > I don’t know if Lansbury qualifies since she was hugely successful on Broadway during the 60’s and 70’s. Put Jerry Orbach on the list then. He was a song-and-dance man on stage (don’t know if he reached household-name status), fell to doing guest shots on _Buck Rogers_ and the like, and then a regular for years on _Law & Order_. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/31 "2009-10-07T22:46:39Z")
> [@TheMadHun](#): > > Angela Lansbury was a femme fatale at 19 in with Gaslight (1944) > transforms to a loveable Disney witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) > then to gray haired mytery writer in “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996) 😕 Angela Landsbury by no means ever faded away or was without a career. Throught the 60s and 70s she was THE go-to girl in musical theater, particularly Broadway, and has _five_ Tony awards and has been a co-recipient of three Grammy Awards for cast recordings. She was on Broadway as recently as last season for which she got her latest Tony. You also skipped her performance in the original _Manchuria Candidate_ in the 60s which earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination (her third Oscar nomination). She has a slew of Emmies Awards and nominations that are _not_ about “Murder She Wrote” including one for her performance in 1985’s _Sweeney Todd_. I’m gobsmacked that anyone would say she had a “comeback” when she’s been working non-stop for almost 50 years! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/32 "2009-10-07T23:16:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Have any washed up child stars ever made a real comeback? Jodie Foster kind of went away and came back, same as Jason Bateman, but have any like the Coreys or the Diff’rent Strokes kids- the type who’ve become punchlines basically- ever later become big stars again? Well, Danny Bonaduce resurfaced as a pretty big star on radio. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/33 "2009-10-07T23:18:22Z")
Traci Lords ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/34 "2009-10-08T00:06:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Have any washed up child stars ever made a real comeback? Jodie Foster kind of went away and came back, same as Jason Bateman, but have any like the Coreys or the Diff’rent Strokes kids- the type who’ve become punchlines basically- ever later become big stars again? Would Jackie Cooper count? He was one of the Our Gang kids. Then in 1931 he starred in “Skippy” and got a best actor nomination (at age of 9). Then he was in “The Champ” with Wally Beery. How good does it get? Then he grew up. And went to WWII. He appeared in some garbage flicks. Starting in the '50’s his career picked up on the small screen with “People’s Choice” which he didn’t really like (the talking dog bothered him) and “Hennesey” which he liked a LOT (no talking dog). He would go on the be a director on M_A_S\*H (the TV show). That would seem to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/35 "2009-10-08T00:09:33Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > How about Thomas Haden Church? Household name for _Wings_ and that other show I can’t remember (Ted & someone?), then nothing until a Best Supporting Actor nod for **Sideways**. Has he really done all that much since Sideways, though? ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/36 "2009-10-08T00:44:22Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Has he really done all that much since Sideways, though? Spiderman 3 was roundly panned (I liked it), but it was one of the biggest hits globally in film history. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/37 "2009-10-08T01:04:21Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Traci Lords About 2 hours later, I’m suddenly struck by the thought that this post is intended to be humorous. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/38 "2009-10-08T01:13:07Z")
Keanu Reeves? Appears in a lot of lesser crap and then every few years something artsy/indy/culty. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/39 "2009-10-08T02:27:13Z")
How about Mark Hamill? After the incredible success of Star Wars, he got pegged as Luke Skywalker. For the whole of the 80s and the very early 90s, he barely did anything worth mentioning; IMDb only has a few entries during that time and most of them are foreign films. Beginning in the mid-90s, though, he began to find work again as a voice actor, and he’s been finding steady work ever since. Sure, it’s not an _amazing_ comeback, more of a quiet return to performing, but I always find it remarkable how he managed to sidestep his permanent typecasting and return to being a competent performer. And besides, his voice is a large part of what made the Joker from _Batman: TAS_ one of the best incarnations of the character. That’s got to count for something, right? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969/40 "2009-10-08T02:54:43Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I’m sorry but William Shatner is washed up. As long as he’s shilling some bullshit in cheesy commercials, he’s washed up. “Big names” in the entertainment industry don’t appear in such commercials if they have the whole world available to them on a silver platter. Perhaps they’ll throw in an appearance for a charity type foundation, but not doing normal commercials. I think Shatner does whatever he wants to. I think it’s great that he went from icon through slumming it to schlocky actor to award-winning actor. He recites Sarah Palin’s speeches as poetry on TV and does duets with Henry Rollins (who says Shatner’s a cool frood). He truly seems to enjoy being himself. I love William Shatner. > [@](#): > > My vote is Charlie Sheen. Good choice! I don’t watch his sitcom either, but I see Jon Cryer’s on it and it’s nice that Ducky has work too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actor-or-actress-has-had-the-most-amazing-comeback/512969.md?page=3)