Hollywood certainly isn’t the easiest place to make it in. And even if you do get lucky and catch a break, your staying power isn’t necessarily guaranteed. Countless stars have fallen out of the public’s good graces either because of their own personal scandals or simply because of their declining popularity. It can be a dog-eat-dog world in Tinseltown.
From former child stars to famed singers and athletes, some celebs have chosen to trade in their fame and fortune for regular, old, plain-Jane day jobs. But to their credit, some of them have really made a decent name for themselves in other fields.
Keep watching to find out what some of these former stars are up to these days and how they’re earning a living now that they’ve departed out of the blinding spotlight of stardom. Honestly, it might be even more difficult to stage such a risky transition successfully than to rise to the top in the first place. Can you imagine someone like Michael Jordan trying to get a job in the IT field? What about if Donald Trump decided that the day had finally come for him to land that sous chef gig he always dreamed about? Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Eve Plumb
She was just 12 years old when she landed her breakout role as Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch. The beloved 70s television sitcom was a huge hit. It ran for five seasons and produced a handful of spin-offs as well as an insane amount of merchandise and collectibles. During her heyday, Plumb was one of the most famous child stars around.
These days Plumb still occasionally makes an on-screen appearance – albeit rarely – but she has for the most part retired from acting. In the 1990s she began a new career as an artist and painter. She now owns and operates her own studio and gallery in New York City. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Peter Ostrum
The world may know him as little Charlie Bucket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory, but were you aware that the iconic film was Ostrum’s one and only big-screen credit? After doing that flick, Ostrum went back to his hometown in New Jersey and finished up high school leaving behind his acting career to make room for a very different life. In truth, he didn’t really feel all that thrilled about being a performer, so when he saw his opportunity to take a different path, he seized it.
Ostrum has attended various reunions with his former Wonka co-stars throughout the years. And no doubt, he was welcomed with open arms as a guest of honor, but the former child actor spends most of his time these days working as a licensed and practicing veterinarian. He attended veterinary medical school at Cornell and lives in upstate New York.
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And don’t go anywhere just yet. Stick around to find out whatever happened to that nerdy guy from Honey, I Shrunk The Kids – you know the one. We’ll catch you up to speed on his life and current undertakings in just a second, but first, let’s take a look at one of the greatest sports legends of our lifetime. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
George Foreman
Back in the day, Foreman made quite the name for himself as the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He is also proudly an Olympic Gold Medalist. George retired from the sport in 1998 with 76 wins under his belt.
He went on to become quite the entrepreneur. In the early 2000s, Foreman proved that he could come up with a marketable idea when he launched his ridiculously successful George Foreman line of counter-top grills with a little help from the housewares company Salton. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Karyn Parsons
You just might recognize Karyn Parson as Hillary Banks from the hit 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air where she shared the sound stage with megastar Will Smith. That role was her breakout role but it was also one of her only roles. Due to her fame from the hit show, however, she did get the chance to appear in a few films like Major Payne and The Ladies man before stepping out of the limelight to move on to bigger and better things.
After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wrapped up in 1996, Parson shifted her focus towards philanthropic endeavors. Today, she serves as the founder of a non-profit organization called Sweet Blackberry. The registered 501c3 dedicated to teaching children stories from African-American history. She has also picked up the pen and let her creative juices flow by authoring a children’s book entitled How High The Moon. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Peter Billingsley
He stole the world’s hearts when he starred in the classic holiday comedy A Christmas Story, so it makes sense that Billingsley didn’t hang up those oversized glasses after appearing in that film. He continued to act on TV and in a variety of different films for a number of years before shifting gears.
The ex-child star eventually did step aside from acting opting to instead do some behind-the-scenes work once he got a bit older. Nowadays, Peter fancies himself a producer and director. He’s known for joining forces with his close friend, Jon Favreau, on projects such as The Break-Up, Couples Retreat, and Iron Man. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Carrie Henn
At 10, Henn scored his first acting role in the science-fiction film Aliens playing the character Newt. She acted alongside Sigourney Weaver but the role was one of her few on-screen appearances before she decided that maybe Hollywood wasn’t her scene.
She did make an appearance in 2016 at Comi-Con serving as a panelist with her fellow Aliens costars to discuss the groundbreaking film, but other than that the former child star has mostly been absent from the public eye. Instead, she has chosen to pursue a career in education and works as a teacher in Northern California. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Celebrities Who Left Fame to Work a Normal Job.
Ali MacGraw
After she got her start as a fashion model in the 1970s, MacGraw became one of the most pervasive faces of the decade. Her stardom was set in stone by the 1969 film Goodbye, Columbus which she actually won an Academy Award for. Later on in her acting career, she appeared in the film Love Story.
After spending a significant chunk of her life working in the entertainment industry, MacGraw became a yoga instructor. But in the 90s, she tapped into her lingering star power by releasing a series of yoga workout instructional videos which sold fairly well.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Here is a man that needs little introduction. The Austrian weightlifter turned actor made a name for himself on the Mr. Universe circuit during the 70s. After creating quite a stir when he burst onto the Los Angeles Muscle Beach scene, Schwarzeneggar developed a promising film career and was the star of the blockbuster Terminator movie franchise.
There is a very good reason why Arnold has earned himself the nickname of the Governator. After stepping aside from the acting world, he went on to seek out a career in politics. In 2003, Schwarzenegger was elected as Governor of the state of California. He served in that role until 2011.
Mike Vitar
We first became acquainted with Vitar as Benny The Jet Rodriquez and we’ve never looked at chewing tobacco the same way ever since. Mike Vitar starred in the hit film The Sandlot in 1993, after the film enjoyed a successful run at the box office and in the home video market, Vitar made an equally iconic appearance in the 90s film The Mighty Ducks.
Vitar eventually realized that the life of a star wasn’t exactly his cup of tea and went on to become a firefighter. Since 2002 he has been a public hero working for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
In 2015, however, he was involved in a pretty intense exchange when some mothers asked a resident named Samuel Chang to stop giving out candy at their homes. Vitar and a number of his neighbors approached and assaulted Chang. The angry mob, led by Vitar, accused Chang of handing out drug-laced candy, which proved to be untrue. Chang experienced cardiac arrest during the confrontation and had to be resuscitated. Vitar and company were then sued in criminal court and were subsequently ordered to shell out $7.2 million in damages.
Rick Moranis
He was once as you may remember the star of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids but before that, he appeared in the sketch comedy series Second City Television. Moranis also had notable credits in films like Spaceballs, Ghostbusters, and Little Shop Of Horrors.
Eventually though, the roles started drying up and after not being able to find meaningful work in show business he decided to say goodbye to the industry and focus on what mattered most to him, his family. He became a stay-at-home-dad dedicating his time to his two children as a widower.
After nearly a 23-year hiatus from films, however, he recently signed on to appear in the new sequel to Honey, I Shrunk The Kids called Shrunk. Filming will begin in early 2022 although it was originally planned to begin in 2020 – but of course COVID-19 complicated that like so many other projects.
Danny Lloyd
Here we have another former child star who got out of the spotlight when he had the chance. He’s best known for his role as Danny Torrance in the 1980 horror film The Shining which was based on the 1977 Stephen King novel of the same name.
Lloyd retired from acting at the age of ten. His last role was as the young G. Gordon Liddy in the television film Will: G. Gordon Liddy. In 2004, Lloyd became an associate professor at the department of biology at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He has been an educator ever since and really seems to enjoy that role.
Erik Estrada
And here we have an actor who discovered his true calling through one of his acting roles. Estrada played the lead role as California Highway Patrol Frank Llewelyn ‘Ponch’ Poncherello in the police drama television series ChiPs which ran from 1977 to 1983. He went on to become a well-known Spanish-language telenovela star.
Estrada became a reserve police officer for the Muncie, Indiana Police Department. He then moved to Virginia where he was Internet Crimes Against Children investigator for eight years in Bedford County, Virginia. He is currently a reserve police officer in St. Anthony, Idaho.
Tommy Rettig
In the 1950s, Rettig was famous for being the adorable boy, Jeff Miller, whose canine sidekick was the ubiquitous Lassie. He was the human star of that show from 1954 to 1957. He went on to co-star with another former child star, Tony Dow aka Wally Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver, in the 1960s teen soap opera Never Too Young.
After leaving Hollywood, Rettig got himself into a bit of trouble with some well-publicized run-ins with the law related to illicit drug charges. In the 70s, he became a motivational speaker. For the last 15 years of his life, Rettig worked as a database programmer, author, and computer expert. Sadly, he passed away in 1996 at the age of 54 after having a heart attack.
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