LOOKA ME! I'M A STAR!
Posted: June 16th, 2007, 11:16 am
I recently ran across a movie title that took up a little of my time and put
me to some work. Ssssssss is a standard minor horror flick with one extranordinary feature. It gives star billing to character actor Strother Martin, I think for the only time ever. I posted a notice of
this find on the Strother Martin tribute thread in the Westerns Forum of TCM, but the experience got me thinking: How common is this? How often has a rock-steady, well-regarded support player been given one shot at stardom, and then faded back into his usual groove of support roles? I think I know some other examples.
--Don Stroud has a solid background in support roles: One of The Chiorboys. The helpful young priest in The Amnityville Horror. Numerous series-TV guest shots. But in 1970 he was the top-billed
star in Angel Unchained, a run-of the mill biker gang flick. I am not aware of any other film where
he got top billing, but his status as a dependable support player continued.
--Luke Askew, a brutal chaingang guard in Cool Hand Luke,
a simi-regular in Peckinpah westerns, also numerous TV guest shots to
his credit. But in l970 he starred in a spagetti western La Notte de'
Serpenti (The Night Of The Serphant). Appearently another one-time
thing.
Other examples that come to mind do not fit into that narrow description.
Tim Holt enjoyed a steady career as a non-singing kiddie western hero, but occasionally stepped into a strong support role in such prestiege
projects as The Magnificent Ambersons, Treasure of the Sierra
Madre, or Hitler's Children. Edmond O'Brien also spent most
of his career moving smoothly between lead roles (Man In The Dark, the origional D.O.A.) and support roles (Casca in Julius Caeser, the press agent in The Barefoot Contessa). So these
examples do not fit into the situation described above. Are there any more examples out there of one-shot stardom?
me to some work. Ssssssss is a standard minor horror flick with one extranordinary feature. It gives star billing to character actor Strother Martin, I think for the only time ever. I posted a notice of
this find on the Strother Martin tribute thread in the Westerns Forum of TCM, but the experience got me thinking: How common is this? How often has a rock-steady, well-regarded support player been given one shot at stardom, and then faded back into his usual groove of support roles? I think I know some other examples.
--Don Stroud has a solid background in support roles: One of The Chiorboys. The helpful young priest in The Amnityville Horror. Numerous series-TV guest shots. But in 1970 he was the top-billed
star in Angel Unchained, a run-of the mill biker gang flick. I am not aware of any other film where
he got top billing, but his status as a dependable support player continued.
--Luke Askew, a brutal chaingang guard in Cool Hand Luke,
a simi-regular in Peckinpah westerns, also numerous TV guest shots to
his credit. But in l970 he starred in a spagetti western La Notte de'
Serpenti (The Night Of The Serphant). Appearently another one-time
thing.
Other examples that come to mind do not fit into that narrow description.
Tim Holt enjoyed a steady career as a non-singing kiddie western hero, but occasionally stepped into a strong support role in such prestiege
projects as The Magnificent Ambersons, Treasure of the Sierra
Madre, or Hitler's Children. Edmond O'Brien also spent most
of his career moving smoothly between lead roles (Man In The Dark, the origional D.O.A.) and support roles (Casca in Julius Caeser, the press agent in The Barefoot Contessa). So these
examples do not fit into the situation described above. Are there any more examples out there of one-shot stardom?