Is there a celebrity who just completely baffles you as to why he/she has a career at all?
Many celebrities, particularly entertainers, clearly got their break because they had some small talent (I include physical attractiveness as a talent, though it’s clearly not a talent as such), but others just baffle me.
For example, Kathy Griffin strikes me as shrill, unattractive, witless. If I knew her personally, I would probably go out of my way to avoid her. The fact that someone like this has a thriving career with no attributes–well, I don’t get it.
A lot of these stars makes perfect sense to me. Kathy Griffin’s a comedian, so her shrillness fits. Bryant Gumbel is perfect for what he does. Ray Romano’s just a comedian, again, so his career makes sense, even if he did win the worst Emmy in awards history. Tori Spelling got one good job out of family connections. Whitney Houston was a legitimately talented singer. Star Jones’s “career” doesn’t amount to much. Andy Warhol, well, maybe you had to be there.
In any case where the talent lacks, you can usually see why they have a career. The worst actor I’ve ever seen in a major movie who wasn’t a martial arts star is Rebecca Pidgeon - but she’s David Mamet’s wife, so that’s why she gets roles. Tom Green is a hack, but his career makes sense if you consider him part of the modern gross-out movement in comedy.
One I do find a little baffling is Antonio Banderas. He’s a decent actor, but for some reason studios keep pushing him as a leading man despite the fact that almost all his films bomb. I’m curious as to why they keep pushing a known box office loser as a #1 star. I could see him getting regular work, to be sure, but why does he keep headlining films?
The one I don’t understand at all is Sandra Bernhard. She’s ugly, she’s a terrible actress, and she’s about as funny as a sucking chest wound. I’ve seen her standup routine and it’s the worst material I’ve ever seen from a successful comic. She doesn’t fill ANY market niche I can think of. She must have amazing connections in the industry.
I don’t believe nepotism or dancing is much to go on, at least as far as being a TV or movie star goes, but at least they make some sense to me.
Cher and Barbra Streisand baffle me as actresses, but I understand that acting was merely a spinoff of their original “talent” (though personally you’d have to staple my scrotum to a chair to get me to sit and listen to them sing, either).
Off-topic, but I had to remark on this. I was listening to “The Greatest Love of All” a while back. (Quick quiz: what’s the greatest love of all? Learning to love YOURSELF.) What’s hilarious is that if you listen closely, you can tell that Whitney cannot wait to get to the loud parts. Youcan hear her rush through the lines just before the loud ones in an effort to get loud faster. It’s really funny.
I was wondering if Gilbert would come up in this thread. I think I’m his only fan. I actaully stayed up late last night watching his comedy central special. Yes, his voice is annoying, but his stand-up stuff consistently leaves me in stiches.
And can you think of a more appropriate voice for Iago the parrot in a Alladin?
His best line ever, when taking a camera though a movie prop storage area: “and this corpse here is from the smash hit movie, Fred and the Rotting corpse. They wanted to spin it off into a series with Bonnie Franklin. Bonnie Franklin said ‘Sure, I’ll work with a Rotting corpse.’ The corpse said, 'Bonnie Franklin? can I get back to you on that?”
I actaully stayed up late last night watching his comedy central special. Yes, his voice is annoying, but his stand-up stuff consistently leaves me in stiches.