Most people would think that David Hasselhoff is America’s David Hasselhoff. But, as this thread conclusively proves, David Hasselhoff belongs to the Germans. In the States, David Hasselhoff (who, it should be noted, has the name of a Kender.) is a z-grade television actor with no discernable career. In Germany, he’s Elvis.
So, this got me wondering. What foreign-born celebrity is huge in America, and a joke in their homeland? It doesn’t count if they’re only famous in their country of origin for being famous in America, and widely disliked because of some consequence of that fame.
I’m not sure what you mean by that final clause - they have to be famous in their own right in their own country? That would rule out Nirvana-lite grungists Bush who I understand were quite big at one time in the USA. They were virtual unknowns here (Britain), noted only for being famous in America.
How about Benny Hill? Admittedly he probably got decent ratings here back in the '70s, but you’ll struggle to find any British person who has a good word to say about him these days. But you lot seem to love him. He is to America as Jerry Lewis supposedly is to France.
I remember stories asserting that Paul Hogan was considered something of a national embarrassment to Australia, particularly during his series of tourism adverts run in the U.S. I can’t recall the sources, or if the reports had any merit. Crocodile Dundee didn’t really pique my interest, as I’ve never had a fetish for large cutlery.
I doubt if Benny Hill could be described as having anything more than a cult following here in the US either, if that. I mean, his show was only ever seen on PBS, wasn’t it?
I think Paul Hogan might be a closer answer to the OP.
Yep, Paul Hogan pisses Australians off. Or pisses this Australian off, anyway.
But he doesn’t qualify for the “unknown in homeland / only known for being popular elsewhere” criteria. The Crocodile Dundee movies were fairly popular here as well, so at the time he was as well-known here as he was in the States.
Nowadays, he seems to have sunk back into the oblivion from whence he came, for both Aus and the US.
A lot of Montrealers who knew William Shatner in his early days (well, I’ve only actually spoken to a cousin who knew him and she thought he was jerk) thought he was a jerk.
I don’t know for sure but what about Arnold Whatshisname? You know the governor of Cali-for…nia. The guy who wants to be president if he can get congress to cooperate.
Maybe he should change his last name to Kennedy. No that’d probably just get him knocked off or something.
Sorry folks, I couldn’t help myself.
I dunno about America but I think Australia gets Ron Moss. Aka Ridge, on The Bold and the Beautiful he seems to have made himself a career out of starring in stage musicals around Australia. And god help me but I do love the manly manly immaculately coifed Ridge.
Years ago, I read a quote from a British critic that went something like this: “You Americans send us your celebrities, and we turn them into jokes. We send you Americans our jokes, and you turn them into celebrities.”
I think his point was, Americans have a tendency to assume that ANYONE with an English accent of ANY kind is some kind of erudite aristocrat, and therefore give many Brits far more acclaim and respect than they deserve. The British themselves know this, and seem to find it amusing. It explains why a buffoon like Robert Morley had such a long career in film here, whereas no one in Britain thought he had any talent.
Now, I can’t think of any foreign celebs who are huge here but completely unknown at home. After all, American pop culture is so omnipresent, a Norwegian actor who became a star here would quickly become famous back in Norway, too. However, there are many celebs who are taken far more SERIOUSLY here than they are at home.
Good example? U2. They’re FAR from unknown in Ireland, obviously! But while Americans tend to admire Bono & Co.'s religious/political crusades, the Irish are more inclined to snicker. One of my cousins in County Kerry spoke for many of his countrymen when he said “Have yiz heard them talk? They’re MORONS! They’re f****ng MORONS! But yiz in America treat them like the saviors of the world!”
And THAT, I think, is far more common than the Hassellhoff syndrome. There may not be any stars here who are nobodies in their homelands, but their are many acclaimed stars here who command far less respect at home.
He’s the personification of a foreign wet-dream of what an Australian is. He’s stands iconic for Australia, but the truth is he’s as completely bizarre to us as he is to you.
… Steve Irwin is the Fosters of Australian celebrities: manufactured and marketed overseas as Australian produce, but considered poor-taste and strange in the real Australia.
The Broadway candidates would be Sebastin Bach (I’m sure whoever thought replacing Hasselhoff in J&H with him is now in the East River) and Deborah Gibson (no-talented teen icon with a second career).
As for my own addition: Rutger Hauer. These days, he has far more fans in the US than he does in Holland, I’d wager. Sure, we still think fondly of him when we recall Soldier of Orange, and we all remember his nudie scenes in Turkish Delight. But to us, his last film was Blade Runner, pretty much. Everything since has at best been straight-to-video over here.
I was going to mention Paul Verhoeven, but then, I’d like to think Americans are smart enough to recognise him for the arrogant prick he is, just like us Cloggies are. Of course, he HAS made a few gems in his day, but that’s besides the point.
> As for my own addition: Rutger Hauer. These days, he has far more fans in the
> US than he does in Holland, I’d wager. Sure, we still think fondly of him when
> we recall Soldier of Orange, and we all remember his nudie scenes in Turkish
> Delight. But to us, his last film was Blade Runner, pretty much. Everything since
> has at best been straight-to-video over here.
His film career has gone downhill everywhere. He had a short period when he was popular in Dutch films, another short period when he was popular in American films, and a long period since then that he’s been basically a hasbeen.
I wish I could remember her name, but a soap opera actress from (likely) Australia had a song that was big hit in the US a a few years ago. She had really striking eyes, is all I can recall.
Boy, that ain’t a hell of lot to go on, but she was really well known for her eyes.
