[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 08:21 PM\'] [quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 05:21 PM\']The Gong Show seg. was a little better, but not devoid of similar cluelessness. One of the B-level celebrities providing commentary brought up the, well, "B-level celebrities" who were panelists, and shortly thereafter Jamie Farr was mentioned. Hello? There's this little show that was around in the very decade you're covering...I believe it was called M*A*S*H. I wonder whatever became of it?[/quote]
Just by being associated with a smash show doesn't automatically vault you into the realm of "A-list" celebrities. While Farr's name was in the opening credits as one of the stars for much of its run, he was no billed no higher than sixth (even David Ogden Stiers, who joined M*A*S*H a couple of years after Farr did, got billed fifth). In fact, I'd say Farr's visibility on M*A*S*H
increased following his many appearances on GONG.
In all fairness, M*A*S*H was an ensemble piece rather than a star-driven vehicle. But it was easier to take Klinger out of the dress once more people knew who he was (and those appearances on GONG didn't exactly hurt matters).
Getting back to the original point, does Charlene Tilton merit A-list status because she was on DALLAS (swimsuit modeling is another matter entirely)? Ditto for Tempestt Bledsoe (the second youngest COSBY kid)? Tritto for David Chokachi (BABEWATCH)?
Doug--soon to celebrate 100 posts [/quote]
Your argument has merit, and maybe I was wrong to tackle it from that angle. Still, being on a hit show isn't being out of work, as the ILt70s commentaries suggested.
