Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. And some people are one-hit wonder celebrities who crash and burn before their time. Today, we celebrate the too-short careers of some of our favorite stars from years past.
Alicia Silverstone
Yes, technically she recently appeared in "Beauty Shop" and "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed." But we miss the Alicia Silverstone who was the perfect, enviable blend of allure and innocence - the Batgirl to our Robin, the Cher to our Dionne, the... Alicia Silverstone to our Liv Tyler. You're still pretty, Alicia. There's no excuse. Stop saying yes to forgettable roles in truly embarrassing movies and try to get Quentin Tarantino to notice you.
Bill Bellamy
He did it up at the MTV Beach House, forever endearing himself to Generation Y, but he didn't stop there. Bill Bellamy flexed his well-toned thespian muscles in "Def Jam's How to be a Player," lulling us into the false expectation that he would be around forever. And just like that, he was gone - relegated to a career in which most of the cinematic opportunities he agrees to center around his expertise on fine young women and playboy prowess. Sure, he hit a rough patch when he appeared in the Jerry O'Connell vehicle "Buying the Cow," but we're willing to bet that his starring role in the upcoming surefire hit "Dress 2 Impre$$" will turn his luck around.
Kristi Yamaguchi
Even though Nancy Kerrigan usurped the America's Sweetheart(tm) title in the 1994 Olympics when Tanya Harding's goon tried to test her reflexes with a lead pipe, let's not forget that it was Kristi who got the gold in 1992.
FDR
Where's the father of the New Deal when you need him?
The Cast of Salute Your Shorts
Exuberant bonding conversations your first week of college will tell you - everyone's a sucker for Nickelodeon nostalgia. In fact, we would be willing to support ANY of these kids (who are, to be fair, now circling the 30-year-old range) appearing in ANY legitimate role. Year after year, the entire cast of Salute Your Shorts refuses to acknowledge its collective past as popular actors and instead settles for guest spots on "Becker" and "Judging Amy." Shout out to Ronnie Pinsky for his continued success as the guitarist for Rilo Kiley.
Salt (of N-Pepa fame)
While Pepa took full advantage of her C-list celebrity status by appearing in the unsettling s-tshow that was "The Surreal Life 5" (Dear Janice Dickinson, YOU'RE CRAZY! Love, The Daily), we haven't seen Salt in quite some time. Luckily, the advent of ex-celeb reality TV shows significantly increases our chances of seeing Cheryl "Salt" James again. Our fingers are crossed for an appearance on the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars."
Steve Guttenberg
The sensitivity he displayed when he handled a dolphin in "Zeus and Roxanne" (1997) still gives us chills. And his dreaminess doesn't stop there: later in the same movie, he hopped on a motorcycle, displaying his dramatic range and proving his prowess as a macho leading man. Steven Robert Guttenberg, you are a true Renaissance man!
Mr. Feeny (a.k.a. William Daniels)
Okay, we know his extensive credits include the voice of the car in "Knight Rider" and various notable historical Adamses. And we're even willing to admit that a two-year stint as Screen Actors Guild President makes for a pretty impressive bullet-pointed paragraph on his r?©sum?©. But, frankly, if William Daniels isn't teaching Ben Savage important lessons about life, we just don't want to hear it. Mr. Feeny, we would have gone to summer school for you!
Limp Bizkit
From their illogical and uninspired lyrics ("What rhymes with nookie? Lookie... wookie... cookie! Yeah, that works!") to Fred Durst's ability to piss off everyone in the musical scene, Limp Bizkit were the kind of flash in the pan that we wish could have flashed a little longer. Hearing Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor punitively snarl "Limp Bizkit sucks and everyone knows it," or reading reports of the widespread damage and multiple rapes committed during their Woodstock '99 performance, we have nothing but fond memories of these nu-metal rockers.
Christian Slater
It all happened so fast with Christian; one minute he was stealing our hearts in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," the next his wife was being arrested for beating him up at a Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe and Morgan Freeman had stopped returning his increasingly desperate calls inquiring about "Hard Rain 2."
- Compiled by Kate Drizos, Blair Rainsford and David Cavell
