''Before They Were Stars'' is a 30-minute

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television show which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 1996 and was hosted by

Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...

, with John Cramer as announcer and narrator. The program originated as a series of specials which aired during 1994 and 1995;

Joey Lawrence Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr. (born April 20, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and game show host. He got his start as a child star in the early 1980s and is best known for his role as Joey Russo in '' Bl ...

hosted the first two installments, with

Karen Duffy Karen "Duff" Duffy (born May 23, 1961) is an American writer, model, television personality, and actress. She is a certified hospital chaplain, a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen, and one of ''People'' Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in ...

taking the reins for the next two, and eventual series host Baio doing so for the fifth and final edition. All of the specials were an hour long, except the third, which was a half-hour. The term "Before They Were Stars" has since become widely used by television shows and magazines when featuring segments and articles on famous actors in their lesser-known performances (and non-entertainment jobs).

Description

This TV series showed film clips, commercials, television clips and

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

s of celebrities before they became famous, divided into segments spotlighting different genres: "Song of the Week" featured a musical performance by a then-unknown celebrity, while "As the Star Turns" showed celebrities who got their start in minor

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

roles, and each episode ended with a "Viewer Mail" segment, in which Baio would read letters from home viewers who wanted to see a particular celebrity early in his or her career. Each episode also featured a segment in which announcer Cramer would call on an audience member, who would be shown a clip of an unnamed celebrity in an early work, and then have the chance to win a cash prize by correctly identifying the celebrity in question.

Examples

Yasmine Bleeth Yasmine Amanda Bleeth (born June 14, 1968) is an American actress and model. Her television roles include Caroline Holden on ''Baywatch'', Ryan Fenelli on ''Ryan's Hope'', and LeeAnn Demerest on ''One Life to Live''. Early life and career Blee ...

appeared in episode 4. She described the 1980 film '' Hey Babe!'', in which she starred with actor/comedian

Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...

, when she was 12 years old. *In episode 7, Bleeth again appeared to introduce clips from the soap opera ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

'', on which she appeared as a teenager from 1985 to 1989.

Cast

– host; with various TV and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

celebrities.

Production credits

*Ellen Brown (Director) *Philip Gurin (Writer) *

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

(Executive Producer) *Steve Sauer (Executive Producer) *

Bruce Nash Bruce Mitchell Nash (born August 14, 1947) is an American reality television producer. Nash first entered reality TV with '' Before They Were Stars''. His credits include the Sci Fi Channel series ''Who Wants to Be a Superhero?'' with Stan Lee; ' ...

(Executive Producer) *Scott Sternberg (Executive Producer) *

Nash Entertainment Nash Entertainment is a reality television and feature film production company. Founded in 1994 by Bruce Nash, the first production under its name was Before They Were Stars. The company is located at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, Califor ...

, Scott Sternberg Productions, Katie Face Productions and

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

(Production Companies) *

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

(Distributor, 2002–Present)

References

{{Reflist

External links

IMDB information
American Broadcasting Company original programming 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings Television series by Sony Pictures Television