Stars' Former Professions That Turned Out to Be Dead Ends

Brad Pitt by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

It's a good thing they quit their day jobs....

1) Brad Pitt: Restaurant mascot

2) Denzel Washington: Coffin polisher

3) Jerry Seinfeld: Phone sales (lightbulbs)

4) Ellen DeGeneres: Oyster shucker

5) Jack Nicholson: Toy-store employee

6) Lucy Liu: Pajama-factory worker

7) Tom Hanks: Bellboy

8) Jim Carrey: Janitor

9) Jerry Springer: Cincinnati mayor

10) Charles Bronson: Coal miner

11) David Letterman: Weatherman

12) Jay Leno: Mechanic

13) Norm MacDonald: Garbage collector

14) Mr. T: Gym teacher

15) Danny DeVito: Hairdresser

16) Quentin Tarantino: Video-store clerk

17) Ken Kercheval: Cemetery-plot salesman

18) Whoopi Goldberg: Funeral-parlor makeup artist

19) Calista Flockhart: Aerobics instructor

20) Josh Holloway: Chicken-farm worker

21) Robin Williams: Street mime

22) Bruce Willis and Sandra Bullock: Bartender

23) Lorenzo Lamas: Fry cook

24) Dennis Franz: Postman

25) Carroll O’Connor: Substitute teacher

26) Carol Burnett: Hatcheck girl

27) Steve Buscemi: Fireman

28) John Goodman: Bouncer

29) Groucho Marx: Wig cleaner

30) Kathy Kinney: Wig-company receptionist

So what was your favorite celebrity doing before they hit the big time? Share some facts, get creative, and let us know below!

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Posted by

TV Guide News

Nov 14, 2007 12:38 PM

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Haha, Brad Pitt dressed as a chicken is just wrong. Johnny Depp used to be a Waiter, until Nick Cage suggested he become an actor. He got "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and it was a wrap. No more bussin' tables for Johnny!
Posted by tubesurfer Nov 14, 2007 1:56 PM Report Abuse

I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but bad grammar and using words incorrectly are major peeves. You should edit your comment because "bussing" means "kissing." I think you meant to say "busing," although the image of Johnny Depp kissing tables is too funny for words!
Posted by lomlnosyku Nov 15, 2007 7:49 AM Report Abuse

Well, I'll be nitpicky (and yes, I know what a nit is)- as a former English teacher I can assure you that "bussing" is perfectly correct from a grammatical standpoint. "Busing" is also acceptable, but as a rule, words that end in 's', one adds another along with the appropriate suffix. That said, there are the less formal rules of slang in which words are taken over for new and entirely unrelated meanings, as apparently has happened here.

Now that we have this settled, let's return to the original intent of this interesting and fun topic.

Posted by caspian

Nov 15, 2007 12:13 PM

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casipan...

You are right about the rule but there are some words that are traditionally accepted. Although I don't think the rule is exclusively for words which end with an "s" but for most words which end with a consonant.

In this case, as bussing does have a familar and commonly used other meaning, I think that 'busing' should be the preferred spelling and 'bussing' the acceptible one. As I recall one of the first rules of grammar is to avoid confusion. In this context (cleaning tables) 'busing' conveys the meaning much more clearly. Not that he'd be likely to go around kissing tables or anything.

Posted by DaMess

Nov 20, 2007 3:20 AM

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