Comments on: Everybody loves a comeback!

Question: Everybody loves a comeback!

wuzandfuzz — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:53:24 -0800

Celebrity comebacks with single artistic turning point?

I'm looking for examples of celebrities who were has-beens until a certain movie, play, or tv show brought them back to celebrity stardom. Along the lines of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, he had been doing crappy movies like Look Who's Talking and then was suddenly a serious actor again. That may not be the best example, but it might clarify what I'm looking for, and I'm having a really hard time thinking of anything more!

I'm thinking along the lines of if I were a producer trying to secure a semi-washed up once-great actress to star in my "genius but rather unknown" writer's movie. This is for a short story. Thanks!

By: null terminated

null terminated — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:06:06 -0800

Sinatra in From Here to Eternity.

By: tapeguy

tapeguy — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:06:55 -0800

Kiefer Sutherland in 24?

By: rhizome

rhizome — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:08:33 -0800

Burt Reynolds in "Boogie Nights"

By: The Deej

The Deej — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:25:12 -0800

Michael Jackson performing Billie Jean on the Motown 25th Anniversary show.

By: scody

scody — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:27:38 -0800

The Elvis Comeback Special?

By: SoftRain

SoftRain — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:33:05 -0800

A lot of the people Tarantino's cast. Robert Forster and Pam Grier in Jackie Brown come to mind.

Also, arguably, George Clooney in Out of Sight. He didn't really "come back" so far as "go from TV hunk to one of the world's biggest movie stars." That's not really a classic example like what you're looking for.

Oh! Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story.

Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce.

By: Bonzai

Bonzai — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:33:21 -0800

Rob Lowe in Wayne's World?

By: SoftRain

SoftRain — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:35:19 -0800

Mae West in Myra Breckinridge? She didn't really work after that much though.

Oooh, Judy Garland in A Star Is Born. Totally revitalized her career.

By: donpedro

donpedro — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:04:46 -0800

William Shatner? Was doing total crap gigs until a recurring role on "The Practice," and then the same role on "Boston Legal."

By: donpedro

donpedro — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:08:48 -0800

By: maryh

maryh — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:18:29 -0800

Tina Turner in 1984 with her Private Dancer album, although you could argue that she was only a has-been in the US before that.

By: hal_c_on

hal_c_on — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:35:05 -0800

I take your "out of sight" comment, and raise you a jennifer lopez. She had been best known for "In living color" and "Selena"...but then OOS (as we in the industry say) came along, and BAM!

By: maryh

maryh — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:36:43 -0800

(oops, I just reread your question. Tina Turner may not have been much of an actress, but as comeback stories go, hers is pretty extreme.)

By: paperzach

paperzach — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:03:39 -0800

Gloria Swanson in SUNSET BLVD
Naomi Watts in MULHOLLAND DRIVE
Drew Barrymore in SCREAM

By: gfrobe

gfrobe — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:29:55 -0800

Leslie Nielsen in Airplane and Naked Gun. Don't think he was exactly a superstar at any time before those but I would still call it a career resurrection. Also, Rob Reiner who went from 70's meathead to respected director (and actor) with Spinal Tap.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:07:40 -0800

As you mention Travolta, Kill Bill was the return of Uma Thurman.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:28:16 -0800

Bruce Willis' career was in the crapper until The Sixth Sense.

By: maryh

maryh — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:44:21 -0800

Marlene Dietrich had a huge career turnaround in the early '50 when she started doing caberet.
It's hard to find actresses that have had turnarounds as dramatic as certain actors, like Travolta or even Leslie Nielsen. I think that says more about commercial fimmaking in the US than it does about actresses here.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:19:48 -0800

Cher. The song was called Believe.

By: catesbie

catesbie — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:33:03 -0800

I'm pretty impressed by the resurrection of Jason Bateman in Arrested Development.

By: kimdog

kimdog — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:41:08 -0800

Neil Patrick Harris in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

By: rentalkarma

rentalkarma — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:54:41 -0800

Marlon Brando in "The Godfather".

By: cashman

cashman — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:17:19 -0800

I thought Jon Stewart was a has-been until the wildly successful Daily Show.

By: mkb

mkb — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:51:23 -0800

I would call Bill Murray's comeback starting at Rushmore.

By: vito90

vito90 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:18:02 -0800

A stretch, but Rick Schroeder in NYPD Blue?

By: MasonDixon

MasonDixon — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:29:51 -0800

Johnny Cash was pretty much done up until the release of his American Recordings album.

By: Sara Anne

Sara Anne — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:47:17 -0800

Aerosmith after their collaboration with Run DMC on the cover of Walk This Way.

By: carmicha

carmicha — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:27:26 -0800

Martin Landau - Ed Wood
David Caruso - CSI
Jack Palance - City Slickers

By: meehawl

meehawl — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:57:48 -0800

Norman Wisdom in Last of the Summer Wine.

Both Frank Kelly and Dermot Morgan in Father Ted.

By: Phoveo

Phoveo — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:03:23 -0800

Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours, 1955.

By: General Malaise

General Malaise — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:51:57 -0800

I'd second Rob Lowe, but put the timing more squarely on The West Wing.

And Bill Murray at Rushmore really is a good one.

By: wafaa

wafaa — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:50:09 -0800

What Sara Anne said. There's an NPR "Fresh Air" (IIRC) podcast about how this came to be.

By: ODiV

ODiV — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:58:09 -0800

Kim Bassinger worked a lot in the late 80s and early 90s then nothing for awhile until she won an Oscar for L.A. Confidential.

Macauly Culkin in Party Monster (though apparently came back a bit on stage first).

By: wuzandfuzz

wuzandfuzz — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:50:58 -0800

Thanks guys! I'm favoriting the ones that fit the situation I'm looking for most closely, but these are all great, yay hivemind!

By: scody

scody — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:40:27 -0800

The NY Times has an article today about Fred Willard's comeback.