Before They Were Stars

Before They Were Stars is a 30-minute American television show which aired on ABC in 1996 and was hosted by Scott Baio,[1] with John Cramer as announcer and narrator.

Before They Were Stars
GenreDocumentary
Written byPhilip Gurin
Directed byEllen Brown
Presented byScott Baio
Narrated byJohn Cramer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producersTony Danza
Bruce Nash
Scott Sternberg
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesNash Entertainment
Scott Sternberg Productions
Katie Face Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
Release
Original networkABC
Original release1 February (1996-02-01) –
1 June 1996 (1996-06-01)

The program originated as a series of specials which aired during 1994 and 1995; Joey Lawrence hosted the first two installments, with Karen Duffy 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 tests 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 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 appeared in episode 4. She described the 1980 film Hey Babe!, in which she starred with actor/comedian Buddy Hackett, when she was 12 years old.
  • In episode 7, Bleeth again appeared to introduce clips from the soap opera Ryan's Hope, on which she appeared as a teenager from 1985 to 1989.

Cast

Production credits

References
  1. "NEW ABC SERIES A CHEAP CLIP JOB". The Sun Sentinel. February 28, 1996. ProQuest 388588940. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
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