Saturday, January 13, 2007

10 Singers Who Became Good Actors

msnbc.com: The moment Elvis Presley appeared on-screen waggling a tambourine in the apocalyptically terrible “Harum Scarum,” it was clear that the man’s talents lay in crooning and hip-thrusting, not acting. Yet despite the cautionary tales of the King and other musicians-turned-actors — Madonna, for instance, whose performance in “Swept Away” set a new standard for awfulness, and Mick Jagger, who manages to be simultaneously leathery and wooden in “Freejack” — more and more crooners are attempting the leap from the stage to the screen.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't see Bill's favorite, Ricky Nelson, on the list.

Unknown said...

Which is why the list is invalid. Whoever made it probably never heard of Ricky.

Anonymous said...

What of Frank Sinatra? Or Chris Isaak?

Anonymous said...

Or Abbey Lincoln, or Annie Ross. For that matter, Sissy Spacek made her first professional splash as a recording artist. If we want to get very recondite, Carole Kai, Hawaii's answer to Streisand, was at least as good an actor and never smothered her singing voice in hokey affectation.

Hell, Sandra Bernhard and Sarah Silverman are both better singers and actors than some on this list, as their weird concert films (WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING and JESUS IS MAGIC respectively) demonstrate.

Unknown said...

Didn't Sissy record as Rainbo?

Anonymous said...

Yes, with an A-side song bemoaning John Lennon and Yoko Ono's nude modeling. Didn't say it was a Worthy splash! Her first film was badly botched, apparently by the producers, as well (PRIME CUT really coulda been a contender). But she's seemed to come out of it all right...

Unknown said...

Sissy was prime even in that one.