I’ve always been a trivia buff. I’ve often said that the more useless and without practical application a fact is, the greater the chance I know it. This is one trivia question I actually claim to have discovered on my own.
It’s rare for people to be successful in two fields, and rarer still in three. There are exactly three people who can claim to have been successful standup comics, TV series stars, and have won Oscars for dramatic performances in movies. Who are they?
A gold-plated No-Prize to the first person to post all three names.
J.
Update: well, that's a blow to my ego. Not only does it take less than 3 hours to get all three names (even though I posted it at quarter to five in the morning, Eastern Standard Time, on a weekend), Lair finds two more possibilities. I'm gonna weasel like hell, though; I don't think Art Carney ever actually did standup, and George Burns won his Oscar for The Sunshine Boys, a comedy. And David, IMDB doesn't list Red Buttons as starring in a TV series.
Update #2: Red Buttons makes it, too. "The Double Life of Henry Fyfe," in 1966; Oscar for Sayonara, 1957. Thanks, Ken. This is SO embarassing...
My intended answers in the extended section.
Tom Hanks: "Bosom Buddies," "Philadelphia" and Forrest Gump.
Robin Williams: "Mork and Mindy," "Good Will Hunting"
Whoopi Goldberg: "Whoopi," "The Whoopi Goldberg Show," "Hollywood Squares," and "Ghost."
(sigh) sic transit gloria.
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Comments (8)
Robin Willliams must be one... (Below threshold)1. Posted by michele | May 15, 2004 6:28 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robin Willliams must be one.
1. Posted by michele | May 15, 2004 6:28 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 06:28
2. Posted by Jay Tea | May 15, 2004 6:38 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
No partial credit, Michele. I'm only acknowledging the first person to get all three.
J.
2. Posted by Jay Tea | May 15, 2004 6:38 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 06:38
3. Posted by Laurence Simon | May 15, 2004 6:47 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robin Williams is easy. Same with the second one: the legendary George Burns.
As for the third, not so easy. James Broadbent didn't really do standup as much as he did stage acting. Was Helen Hunt ever standup? Sally Field?
Tempting to say Whoopi Goldberg. She might claim that the new Hollywood Squares was her venture and concept.
Forget Whoopi. It's Art Carney.
3. Posted by Laurence Simon | May 15, 2004 6:47 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 06:47
4. Posted by Jay Tea | May 15, 2004 7:00 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Damn... I didn't think of George Burns. I had three others in mind. But I just did some digging -- was Art Carney ever a successful standup comic?
J.
4. Posted by Jay Tea | May 15, 2004 7:00 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 07:00
5. Posted by cbk | May 15, 2004 7:09 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
What about Tom Hanks?
Did he ever do stand up?
CBK
5. Posted by cbk | May 15, 2004 7:09 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 07:09
6. Posted by david | May 15, 2004 7:37 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robin Williams, George Burns, and Red Buttons.
6. Posted by david | May 15, 2004 7:37 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 07:37
7. Posted by Ken S | May 15, 2004 9:29 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I believe Red Buttons starred in a short-lived comedy series called "The Secret Life of Henry Fyfe" where he played a spy.
7. Posted by Ken S | May 15, 2004 9:29 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 09:29
8. Posted by michele | May 15, 2004 12:40 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, George Burns.
I forgot Whoopi won a statue for Ghost.
8. Posted by michele | May 15, 2004 12:40 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on May 15, 2004 12:40