Career Death-Rolls

[Ed]

Stars whose careers really went into the crapper.

Lou (later "Louis") Gossett

Oscar and pretty good in officer and a Gentleman
In The Deep which was OK
Then Iron Eagle struck

Now z movies if that

 

[Ian Osborne]

Stars whose careers really went into the crapper.

Bela Lugossi, a horror actor with real presence and a reputation to rival Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. He got addicted to drugs and ended his career 'acting' in Ed Wood films.

 

[Brown]

Orson Welles, who set new standards in radio and cinema with "War of the Worlds" and "Citizen Kane," spent the last years of his career pitching cameras, peddling cheap wine and asking Ed McMahon to pick a card.

 

[Brown]

The three stars of "2001" -- Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester -- basically disappeared from the radar screen after making Kubrick's 1968 epic. Dullea and Lockwood are still working, but Sylvester has passed on.

 

[Marc]

Travolta beats them by doing it twice. Started out big, then nose dived into the crapper. Resurected with Pulp Fiction, then went on to Lucky Numbers and Battlefield Earth. Can we put a stake in his career and call it a night yet?

 

[hgc]

The three stars of "2001" -- Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester -- basically disappeared from the radar screen after making Kubrick's 1968 epic. Dullea and Lockwood are still working, but Sylvester has passed on.

Sylvester was still living (d. 1995) when they made the sequel, but was replaced by Roy Scheider. Anyone know why he never worked after 1979?

 

[Brown]

Sylvester was still living (d. 1995) when they made the sequel, but was replaced by Roy Scheider. Anyone know why he never worked after 1979?

I don't know for sure why he didn't reprise his role in "2010," but I can guess. First, his appearance changed quite a bit. Sylvester had a bit part in "Heaven Can Wait" and was barely recognizeable. His hair was significantly more grey. In contrast, Keir Dullea looked "more like himself." If no one was going to recognize Sylvester anyway, then susbstituting another actor in the role wouldn't hurt.

Second, Sylvester wasn't much of a name for a starring role. Roy ("Jaws") Scheider had more box office appeal.

Third, not to sound disrespectful, but Sylvester wasn't a very good actor. I saw him in a couple of other flicks, and his acting was on par with what you see on MST3K. I am completely at a loss as to how he ever got cast as Floyd in the first place. Some of his delivery in "2001" was charitably described as "wooden," but then again, "2001" focused more upon imagery than upon dialog. In "2010," dialog was much more important to the drama.

 

[Ed]

One of my favorite flicks is All that Jazz. If you check out IMDB it appears that virtually all of the major characters never acted again. Very weird.

 

[hgc]

...

Third, not to sound disrespectful, but Sylvester wasn't a very good actor. I saw him in a couple of other flicks, and his acting was on par with what you see on MST3K. I am completely at a loss as to how he ever got cast as Floyd in the first place. Some of his delivery in "2001" was charitably described as "wooden," but then again, "2001" focused more upon imagery than upon dialog. In "2010," dialog was much more important to the drama.

Yeah, but I cannot imagine anyone else doing this role in 2001 (though Scheider is great in 2010). It's a small part, and I've obsessed for years over every word he speaks (which are few), and the manner in which he says it. I've always thought of it as a great delivery of the no-nonsense government functionary type, keeping the underlings from panicking or revolting, keeping the Russians from getting too nosy. It never even occurred to me that he's just not a good actor.

I like the conversation with the other 2 guys in the lunar transport vehicle, on the way to examine the monolith, when one of them tells Floyd that his talk in the conference room was a real moral booster. What a laugh! That talk was a "shut-up and do you jobs and sign the loyalty oath" toungue-lashing, delivered in the smoothest monotone imaginable.

 

[zakur]

Leslie Nielsen.

He actually played solid, dramatic roles at one time. But since 1980 (Airplane!), it's been nothing but low-brow slapstick comedy. Lately he's been doing stupid TV commercials for the Ohio Lottery.

 

[MetalSeagull]

Third, not to sound disrespectful, but Sylvester wasn't a very good actor. I saw him in a couple of other flicks, and his acting was on par with what you see on MST3K.

I couldn't remember which character he played, so I did a quick search. It turns out he's not just on a par with MST3K, he's been in two MSTed movies: Gorgo and Devil Doll

 

[uneasy]

Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
Poor guy.

 

[Marc]

Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
Poor guy.

While he hasn't been in any major movies, he has been keeping active, especially in animation. He was the Joker in the Batman animated series, and a very good one too.

 

[Brown]

I couldn't remember which character he played, so I did a quick search. It turns out he's not just on a par with MST3K, he's been in two MSTed movies: Gorgo and Devil Doll

Hmm, haven't seen those two.

I know Gary Lockwood got the MST treatment in "The Magic Sword."

Also, the guy who voiced HAL, Douglas Rain, hasn't done much in the way of movies, either. He parodied his role in "Sleeper" and he reprised it in "2010," but otherwise he hasn't done much. I understand he is more of a stage actor, anyway.

Guys like Douglas Rain and Dick Tufeld (the voice of Robot on "Lost in Space") probably have great messages on their telephone answering machines.

 

[deBergerac]

Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
Poor guy.

He even made a Swedish movie (as made in Sweden, shame on you if you thought something else). He was a bad guy getting blown to bits by the Swedish hero (Peter Stormare).

 

[Agammamon]

Add to the list pretty much anyone who starred in any of the Star Trek series.

OS: Shatner managed to keep his head above water but pretty much all the others drowned.

TNG: Unless you want to count Jonathan "Whore For The Paranormal" Frakes only Patrick Stewart has been successful off the Enterprise and he had a leg up, what with having a very distinguished film and stage career prior to TNG.

DS9: 'Ole Sisko seems to be holding on by his fingernails, but where are the others?

Voyager: Resurrected Mrs. Columbo's career to promptly beat it to death again. 7of9 seems to be the only one who can make the move to other things.

Enterprise: Still collecting the data, have to wait until it ends.

 

[Dinonychus]

DS9: 'Ole Sisko seems to be holding on by his fingernails, but where are the others?

Odo had somewhat of a craeer going before DS9. He starred in many movies before DS9, in cluding M*A*S*H.

Enterprise: Still collecting the data, have to wait until it ends.

Scott Bakula kinda disappeared after Quantum Leap. Enterprise may be a stepping stone for the other actors. Maybe.

 

[Sandy M]

But both Nimoy and Frakes have decent, even good, reputations as directors. Frakes just has to live down being married to a soap star. It's nice to see Bakula back, but I've reached the point where it's an effort to watch enterprises. Where is the charm of Sam Beckett of Quantum Leap?

Gates McFadden had an almost non-existent roll - what? 3 lines? in Hunt for Red October at the very beginning as Ryan's wife, then morphed into Ann Archer for the Harrison Ford films.

Brent Spiner has had minor roles in Independence Day and one of those "Grouchy Old Men" movies, but other than that???

Of course, I think that many of these people may well be doing live-theatre, either regionally or even on Broadway, and unless it's a big-time musical or revival of a Tennessee Williams play or Shakespeare in the Park, you just don't hear that much about it unless you're a New Yorker.

 

[Brown]

Michael Biehn did some pretty big projects with James Cameron, including "The Terminator" and "The Abyss." But in looking at his most recent credits, I don't recognize anything.

 

[Tony]

Michael Biehn did some pretty big projects with James Cameron, including "The Terminator" and "The Abyss." But in looking at his most recent credits, I don't recognize anything.

He was in that Omega Code 2 movie, the one about the "end times". He played the president of the US whos brother was the anti-christ.