Before They Were Stars
Clips of celebrities before they were famous.
Before They Were Stars was a half-hour American TV series on ABC in 1996, with Scott Baio as host and John Cramer handling announcing and narration. It grew out of five specials broadcast between 1994 and 1995; Joey Lawrence hosted the first two, Karen Duffy the following two, and Baio the last one. Most specials ran an hour, except the third, which was thirty minutes. The phrase "Before They Were Stars" later became a common label in television and magazines for features about famous actors in early roles or non-showbiz jobs.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Documentary
- Writer
- Philip Gurin
- Director
- Ellen Brown
- Presenter
- Scott Baio
- Narrator
- John Cramer
- Theme music
- Ray Colcord
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Description
Before They Were Stars was a television program that compiled early career footage of famous people, including film clips, commercials, TV appearances, and screen tests. The show was organized into themed segments. "Song of the Week" highlighted a musical performance by a celebrity before they were well known. "As the Star Turns" focused on performers who began with small roles on soap operas.
Each episode concluded with a "Viewer Mail" segment where host Baio read letters from viewers requesting to see a specific star in their early work. Another recurring segment had announcer Cramer selecting an audience member, who watched a clip of an unnamed celebrity and could win cash by naming them. Actress Yasmine Bleeth was featured in two episodes. In episode 4, she discussed the 1983 film Hey Babe!, in which she acted alongside Buddy Hackett at age 12.
In episode 7, she returned to present clips from the soap opera Ryan's Hope, where she had a teenage role from 1985 to 1989.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Before They Were Stars first air?
Before They Were Stars first aired on 1 February 1996.
When did Before They Were Stars end?
Before They Were Stars last aired on 1 June 1996.
More in American Broadcasting Company Original Programming
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced