Five Huge Sitcom Stars That Have Slipped Off The Radar
There are clearly positives and negatives to being on a hugely successful sitcom. The benefits are that after time you can ask for obscene amounts of money. Plus you are a big time celebrity during the tenure of the show. Also, there are perks like potential Emmy’s, free shit that all of us don’t even know about and just being part of the elite is great.
The negative? How do you possibly follow all that up when the show is over? It’s rare to see someone keep that celebrity for an extended period of time unless that person was already big time before the show ended, or unless they’re very talented. One example might be Julie Louis Dreyfuss after Seinfeld.
I can’t stand her new show but I must say she’s reinvented herself and is still a big time sitcom star. These five people haven’t fared as well….
Michael Richards
Well it’s pretty evident that being a complete racist and having it taped doesn’t exactly help your career. Aside from his own show which tanked in 2007 and a couple of bit parts on Curb Your Enthusiasm this guy is getting very little work. His only other credit was David Copperfield in 2000 which was made for TV I think. Personally I don’t think we’ll be seeing much of him anymore.
Jason Alexander
Well I guess we never really will see Alexander escape the character of George will we? Alexander is a very good stage actor so we’ve definitely seen him and he’s getting work but as far as the big stage and us seeing him all that time, that rarely happens anymore. He does mostly voice stuff for cartoons. It’s nearly impossible to follow up with something better or as good as the character of George.
Brad Garrett
Can someone explain to me how Til Death lasted four seasons? Someone must have been paying the networks handsomely to keep that on. Garrett does still get parts in some things but overall he’s just not the celebrity he used to be. Now he mostly shows up at sporting events making a jackass out of himself. That or playing poker and being rude for the sake of being rude. The guy was big time when he was in Everybody Loves Raymond.
David Schwimmer
He’s got 7 credits since Friends. Three of those are for voice roles in the Madagascar series and one is a guest spot on 30 Rock. I felt like during Friends he was huge. I mean they all were. Funny thing is though, Schwimmer was in a ton of stuff before Friends (over 30 credits) and barely anything after. Who knows what he’ll do next.
Debra Messing
She kind of fits but not really because I predict she’ll always have a career on Lifetime. Still though, she’s definitely not in the limelight anymore.
Bonus *Matt Leblanc Pre his New Show
If it weren’t for his new show I’d have put in Leblanc. The only thing I’ve seen on Leblanc (after the Joey show tanked) is some article that talked about how he always had white hair and colored it. Other than that there was nothing going on with this guy. Zero credits since The Joey Tribbiani show. Best of luck with your new gig buddy.
LeBlanc has a show on Showtime starting soon.
At least Michael Richards went out with a big bang.
David Schwimmer has been directing a lot. Just because he’s not on camera doesn’t mean he’s not doing what he wants to do – you have to figure most (if not all) of the people on this list can write their own ticket for whatever project they want, and once they’ve had it – “being a celebrity” isn’t on most people’s agenda.
I hate articles like this “where are they now” crap – they peaked VERY high, made millions of dollars, and are now doing whatever the hell they want – who would do it differently?
You put Kramer and George on this list… and not Seinfeld. What has this guy done since he left his show? I can think of the Bee movie… and maybe showing up on SNL now and again.
Does that mean he’s a has been in Hollywood? Nope.. the guy is rich beyond our collective wildest dreams. He doesn’t have to work another day in his life, and probably chooses not to.
To be fair, Schwimmer, Leblanc, and Messing all got huuuuuge paydays before the ends of their shows and don’t really need to work anymore.
Not to mention that Schwimmer and Leblanc both want to be behind the camera more than in front of it now (Schwimmer’s directorial debut, Run Fatboy Run, is one of the more underrated dramatic comedies in recent memory).
Michael Richards’ show tanked in the year 2000, and he did not play David Copperfield in a “made-for-TV” movie, he played a character in a David Copperfield TV special in the year 2000.
Messing became an unattractive an anorexia mess, that’s why she dissappeared.
Seriously take a look at her at the beginning of her career in McHale’s Navy (I liked stupid camp movies, so sue me) and where she ended up with Will & Grace.
I think your use of the word “star” is a little overblown. You are talking about 4 character actors who happened to be in huge shows that did well.
The only real question mark is Debra Messing…who is generic enough that she should have translated herself into other roles pretty easily…Kramer, George, Ross and et al were just lucky to be perfect for their roles…It would have been more of a shock if any of them had a solo/lead project that worked.
Speaking of “Stars”… Whatever happened to Arsenio Hall? I thought he was the most talented colored fellow on the tube.
Alexander and Garrett both played in the World Series of Poker this year; neither made it too far in but they didn’t embarrass themselves either.
I know it’s probably been too long now but how about a Constanza spin-off?
They could do it pretty cheap just by getting his parents back as regulars and Kramer, and then maybe even Newman. I’m sure Jerry and Elaine would do some guest spots to help get it started.
Yours Truly,
Jason Alexander.
I agree with everyone here. David Schwimmer is such a talent and just because he hasn’t been in front of the camera doesn’t mean he’s not doing what he wants to do. Besides Run Fat Boy Run, he has just directed a film called Trust that has recieved some excellent reviews. I can’t wait to see it.
As for acting, he owns a well respected theater company in Chicago and has acted and directed in many productions there. What about Band of Brothers, Duane Hopwood and the fact that he has been on Broadway? I would hardly say he has disappeared. He never got the credit he should have for his talent and I hope to see him acting again, the sooner the better.
“I know it’s probably been too long now but how about a Constanza spin-off?”
They did. It’s called Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Hey, Brad Garrett’s been doing plenty of good voice acting roles!