Whatever happened to

Ever wonder whatever happened to certain people who were once famous (or infamous). I do; hence this thread. Here are a couple for starters. Please feel free to update us on other has-beens.

TINA TURNER

Tina was HOT in the 80’s and 90’s, not just for her awesome voice, endless grammys, top hits, blockbuster themesongs and multiple platinum selling albums, but of course for her LEGS.

So whatever happened to her? In 1986 she moved permanently to Europe, where she’s also very popular, to share a home with Erwin Bach, a German-born EMI record company executive 16 years her junior. In addition to a lakeshore home on the Goldküste, the most exclusive district of Zurich, Turner has an estate in France at Villefranche-sur-Mer, a small town about four miles east of Nice. Her home there sits atop Mont Vinaigrier, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Turner

She’s now semi-retired, but makes occasional appearances such as this one on the Oprah show in 2005, at age 65.

And here’s one who’s fame and fortune weren’t so long-lived. I read about him recently, opening a small town ice-cream parlor (or maybe it was closing down, I forget).
GARY COLEMAN

Gary Coleman (born 1968) is an American actor, who was born with a congenital kidney disease. . . which halted his growth at an early age, leading to a small stature (4’ 8") which became his most distinguishing feature. Coleman has had two kidney transplants, one in 1973 and one in 1984, and requires constant dialysis.

During the eight-year run of the American sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, where his famous line was “what’chu talkin’ 'bout, Willis?” Coleman was a popular figure, starring in a number of feature films and made-for-TV movies . . . At the height of his fame on Diff’rent Strokes, Coleman earned $70,000 per episode. As he grew older, however, he fell from public favor. After the cancellation of Diff’rent Strokes, his acting career declined sharply. . .

Coleman famously sued his parents and manager over misappropriation of his $8.3 million trust fund and won a $1,280,000 ruling on February 23, 1993. . . . Coleman filed for bankruptcy in 1999.

Coleman appeared on the People’s Court on November 2, 2000, charged with assault. He was ordered to pay bus driver Tracy Fields $1,665 for hospital bills resulting from a fight. Fields had attempted to get Coleman’s autograph while he was shopping for a bulletproof vest in a California mall. Coleman said he felt “threatened by her insistence” and punched her in the head. Coleman was working as a security guard at the time. . .

Coleman was a candidate for governor in the 2003 California recall election. This campaign was sponsored by the free newsweekly the East Bay Express as a satirical comment on the recall. . .

In 1993, Coleman opened the Gary Coleman Game Parlor, a video game entertainment center, in Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey, California. The motto of the GCGP was “Our games are easier, so you can play longer”. It went out of business in 1994. . .
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Coleman

Here’s a couple more.

Paul Rueben (AKA PeeWee Herman)

Had his huge run of TV and movie success from about 1986-91, the year he was arrested for masturbating in a porn theater, which led to countless peewee herman jokes but killed his career. Things took a turn for the worse in 2002, when he was arrested again, this time for collecting child-porn. But apparently the charges were totally bogus and the “porn” was a few old shots of people who died before peewee was even born, in a larger collection of “vintage erotica” featuring mostly adults from art books and old nudist magazines. The charges were reduced to ‘obscenity’, and Reubens pleaded guilty and paid a $100 fine.

Despite those devastating hits to his career, Peewee has apparently been making appearances from time to time and seems to be gradually moving back into the business. For example, in late summer 2006, he announced that The Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Movie has been greenlighted and is going into production around February 2007.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Reubens

CAT STEVENS

Who hasn’t been a fan of Cat Stevens at some time? Sold over 60 million albums including numerous platinum albums, #1 billboard hits, etc.

Then he converted to Islam in 1977 (wow, didn’t know it was that long ago) and in 1978 adopted the name Yusuf Islam, leaving his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. A decade later, controversy arose when he was reported to have made comments that seemed to support a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, but later stated that he had been misinterpreted. He publicly and vehemently condemned the September 11 attacks and 7 July 2005 London bombings, saying they were not consistent with the teachings of the religion of Islam, and mourned the loss of life. In 2004, he returned to the public eye when he was denied entry into the United States after his name appeared on a no-fly list. He successfully sued British newspapers for libel because of their reports on this incident.

Yusuf Islam returned to the pop music world in 2006, recording and actively promoting his first pop music album of new songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including the 2004 Man for Peace award and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. He lives with his wife, Fauzia Mubarak Ali (who’s of Afghan and Turkish descent), and five children in London and spends part of each year in Dubai.[/quote]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens

I’ve been a fan of Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam for a long time. IMO, a very underrated poet and musician; but definitely an acquired taste.
I once had an album of his that I think sold about 35 copies - but I thought it was fantastic. If I remember it was an instrumental jazz type album named “Split Coconuts.”
I had everything he did from " Matthew & Son " up to “Buddha & the Chocolate Box”. About 6 or 7 albums.
A musical phase I guess. But I liked his stuff at that time. Probably would still enjoy hearing a lot of it again. Good melodies and musicianship.

I don’t know if he’s an acquired taste. On the contrary, I think most people would enjoy his music unless they have some reason to be biased against him. Even I, who am not much of a bible thumper, never minded him singing about the Good Book.

Interesting though that he apparently switched from having a very strong faith in Christianity to having a very strong Muslim faith. But I guess that’s how it often works – people can be seriously devoted to church or the army or Avon or a gang or whatever, and those groups are actually more similar than dissimilar. Switching from Christian to Muslim is a little more extreme than switching from Methodist to Presbytarian, but not much more.

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Interesting though that he apparently switched from having a very strong faith in Christianity to having a very strong Muslim faith.[/quote] After he did this, he entered a number of years of reclusive study. When he decided to ‘re-enter the world’ as it were he did so in a rather surprising way…via Childrens’ music and books. In retrospect it makes sense as his lyrics and music have always had a delicateness to them.
I have reflected that his conversion to Islam has in no way changed my appreciation for his music. Speaking honestly, I’d think it might have have influenced my opinions of him and/or his work in a negative manner, but it hasn’t. The fact that he has come out in strong terms regarding the more publicized radical elements of Islam and their violence has probably contributed to my regard for him also. Still a fan.

Whatever happened to…Satire?

[quote=“Funk500”]Whatever happened to…Satire?[/quote]Never heard of them. They probably went the way of most 70’s disco groups and became estate agents.