# What Celebs Would Be Complete Unknowns If It Was Not For Their Famous Relative? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941 "2009-09-05T04:03:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/41 "2009-09-06T03:17:50Z")
W never would’ve been elected dogcatcher in Bumfuck, TX if not for his daddy’s connections. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/42 "2009-09-06T03:24:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yoko Ono probably would have been a successful artist without John (actually, she already was when they met), but clearly not a household word. For what it’s worth: > **[Yoko Ono | Artwork](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono#Artwork)** > > A conceptual artwork of 22 instructions for paintings, handwritten in Japanese by Ono's then-husband, the avant-garde composer Toshi Ichiyanagi. There were no associated paintings, just a set of written instructions to create the paintings. _In 2001, YES YOKO ONO, a forty-year retrospective of Ono’s work, received the prestigious International Association of Art Critics USA Award for Best Museum Show Originating in New York City. (This award is considered one of the highest accolades in the museum profession.)_ > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Clint Howard is borderline. He did have plenty of roles in TV that had nothing to do with his brother, but Ron did give him plenty of work, too. I think based on “Gentle Ben,” Clint Howard is disqualifed from consideration. If he didn’t have any ability, he couldn’t have managed that. > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > As could Jerry Van Dyke, who was nominated for four Emmys for his work on Coach. I was going to say that he is just as talented as his brother, and if the luck had gone a different way, could probably have been the more famous one (he turned down the role of Gilligan for My Mother the Car), and then I saw that his IMDB bio says that he is “just as appealing and gifted as his brother.” \*Van Dyke began his stand-up comedy career while still in high school in Danville, and was already a veteran of strip joints and nightclubs when he joined the Air Force Special Services in 1952. During the mid-Fifties, Van Dyke worked at WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana. The “Jerry Van Dyke Show,” which included future CBS News Today Show news anchor Joseph Benti, Nancee South and Ben Falber, was popular fare. In the service he performed at military bases around the world, twice winning the All Air Force Talent Show. \* His appearances on Dick Van Dyke came later…clearly he was already working in the biz. > **[Jerry Van Dyke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Van_Dyke)** > > Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. > Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on popular television series. He made his television acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey. From 1989 to 1997, he played Luther Van Dam on the popular series Coach. > Jerry McCord Van Dyke was bor... I think Brian Doyle-Murray is a pretty good entry in this contest. Maybe they cast him as a straight man or maybe he’s a great writer, but I don’t see the funny and never have. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/43 "2009-09-06T04:28:46Z")
George W. Bush Someone had to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/44 "2009-09-06T04:32:21Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > After posting this thread, I realise just how much family connections have influenced the entertainment business, and how if you are the child or sibling of a major star, your chances of getting work (even if you are virtually devoid of talent) in showbiz skyrocket. Absolutely true. Getting close to a casting director is half the fight. When my daughter was acting a casting director asked her little sister who had come along if she were interested - which is a lot closer to getting a job that an lot of people ever get. (She wasn’t.) And someone asked me once if I was there to audition for the role of the father. I was honest. But dealing with the child or sibling of an actor is dealing with a known quantity, and if they are around enough they might just hit a director as being right for a part. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/45 "2009-09-06T04:47:23Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > George W. Bush > > Someone had to say it. I’m surpised it took more than 40 posts for someone to mention him. If his daddy hadn’t been POTUS, or for that matter rich to begin with, he would probably have been lucky to get a mid-level management position at a Dundler-Mifflin-like company. ---
**Author:** ![mrpayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@mrpayday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrpayday)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/46 "2009-09-06T05:35:27Z")
I was just reading IMDB where angry nerds were complaining about Rob Zombie putting his wife in every movie he does. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/47 "2009-09-06T06:27:22Z")
Bit late to bid a Billy Carter, then… ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/48 "2009-09-06T06:50:40Z")
> [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](#): > > Bit late to bid a Billy Carter, then… Just about every First Lady. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/49 "2009-09-06T11:24:50Z")
Post #8 - > [@foolsguinea](#): > > Maybe Frank Stallone. But I can imagine a world where Frank had the career & not Sly. > > But really I came in to say W Bush. And #41 - > [@Frostillicus](#): > > W never would’ve been elected dogcatcher in Bumfuck, TX if not for his daddy’s connections. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/50 "2009-09-06T12:14:40Z")
Jimmy “Hey, I’m Stevie Ray’s brother!” Vaughn. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/51 "2009-09-06T12:36:40Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Jimmy “Hey, I’m Stevie Ray’s brother!” Vaughn. I don’t think that’s fair at all. Jimmie was one of the founders of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and was known around Austin, Texas prior to Stevie Ray’s rise to (well-deserved) fame. It’s true enough that Jimmie concentrated somewhat on working with Stevie’s unreleased catalog after Stevie’s death (producing and releasing material), but he also released albums of his own. If nothing else, he’d be known as the guitarist on “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap it Up”, both Top Ten hits for the Thunderbirds back in '86. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/52 "2009-09-06T12:59:47Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Hank Williams Jr (It skipped a generation). > > Are Frank Sinatra Jr. and his sister Nancy “famous?” > > Rumer Willis and Alexa Joel. Nancy Sinatra definitely was famous! Not so much now, but people would definitely recognize her pic more than Frank Jr’s. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/53 "2009-09-06T13:17:38Z")
Gwyneth Paltrow. I know she’s been in a lot of A-level movies, but she has never brought anything but her appearance to any movie she has ever appeared in. ---
**Author:** ![bicyclops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@bicyclops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bicyclops)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/54 "2009-09-06T13:43:46Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Linda McCartney was also only a famous because she was married to Paul, and he insisted on making her part of the band. Linda Eastman was well known as a photographer before she married Paul. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/55 "2009-09-06T13:48:09Z")
> [@bicyclops](#): > > Linda Eastman was well known as a photographer before she married Paul. Do you think anyone would know who she was today if she hadn’t become Linda McCartney? I doubt it. Ditto Yoko Ono. I’m not saying they had no merit as human beings, nor careers before they married their famous husbands, but they would not be celebrities decades later. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/56 "2009-09-06T14:11:23Z")
Janet Jackson was an actress before she was a singer with hits. Her biggest role was on Good Times when she was around 13-16. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/57 "2009-09-06T15:03:01Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > W never would’ve been elected dogcatcher in Bumfuck, TX if not for his daddy’s connections. As I’ve some experience in small town local politics, I can attest that this is not true at all. W is the type of shrewd, venal, hail-fellow-well-met guy who could get elected mayor for life in many a small American town. He sure wouldn’t have risen to owner of a MLB team, governor or POTUS without family connections though. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/58 "2009-09-06T17:09:29Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > You do realise that the Jackson Five were wildly popular and predate both Michael and Janet’s solo careers, yes? While the four members not named Michael are firmly in has-been territory, once upon a time they were quite famous in their own right. > > Latoya Jackson is probably the only one who qualifes, being neither a former member of the Jackson Five, nor named Michael or Janet. Janet is definitely talented, but would she herself have been noticed if she weren’t part of the Jackson clan? I mean, she was first noticed when she’d perform on stage with her family. Not saying she should have been, but even the most talented seven year old usually doesn’t get to perform on stage at Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/59 "2009-09-06T19:46:59Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Do you think anyone would know who she was today if she hadn’t become Linda McCartney? I doubt it. Ditto Yoko Ono. I’m not saying they had no merit as human beings, nor careers before they married their famous husbands, but they would not be celebrities decades later. Impossible to say. Probably not a household name - artists seldom are. But the reason these two women were in a position to even meet their husband’s is because they’d achieved some success on their own. Although both also came from wealthy families - and perhaps owe their pre-husband success to the freedom and connections of wealth. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941/60 "2009-09-06T19:50:00Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Impossible to say. Probably not a household name - artists seldom are. But the reason these two women were in a position to even meet their husband’s is because they’d achieved some success on their own. Although both also came from wealthy families - and perhaps owe their pre-husband success to the freedom and connections of wealth. Neither of them is famous for her art. Both are famous for being famous, and I thought that’s what the OP wanted. We could equivocate about every single person who’s been mentioned in this thread this way, since everyone was or is doing SOMETHING with their lives, and it’s impossible to know what they might be doing without the fame connection. But, if you had to guess, would they be a household name, a celebrity and not just a respected artist/photographer/whatever in their small niche? I think not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebs-would-be-complete-unknowns-if-it-was-not-for-their-famous-relative/508941.md?page=4)