Actors who were "one hit wonders"

Karen Cellini, who replaced Catherine Oxenberg as the original 'Amanda Carrington' in the seventh season of DYNASTY. Yes, viewers sat through 13 dreadful episodes of Cellini before the writers had the sense to write her out of the show. I would call her a 'one flop wonder' and drop the word 'hit'.

Justin Walker from Clueless. He has about 10 more credits after, but nothing major. I thought he was the hottest guy in the cast at the time.

Carrie Snodgress...many thought she could win on her one and only Oscar nom...VANISHED!

Carrie Snodgress had no time for Hollywood's bullshit and seemed to have integrity. When her son (fathered by that castrato Neil Young) was born with cerebral palsy, she more or less devoted herself to his care.

Ronee Blakley never managed to capitalize on the heat from Nashville.

And speaking of actresses in major 1975 films, Louise Fletcher followed up her Oscar win with Exorcist II: The Heretic. By 1983, she was starring in a sequel to Grizzly that didn't even get distribution.

Klinton Spilsbury

Holy hell, R5. I had never even heard of him. His Wikipedia article is a whole journey.

Bo Derek

Peter Ostrum, Charlie in the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. His only screen credit

Emily Lloyd

R1 That’s not quite accurate. One article on the subject mentioned only 2 of Cellini’s episodes had aired by the time the producers decided to write her out. Her remaining episodes were already in the can. She was put in an unfair position and essentially scapegoated.

Catherine Burns, Last Summer

Diane Varsi, Oscar nominated for Peyton Place and virtually nothing after

Miles O'Keeffe - Tarzan

George Lazenby - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Zach Galligan - Gremlins

Michael St. Gerard - Hairspray (1988)

[quote]Klinton Spilsbury

Oh wow! You just took be back to the summer I graduated from high school, and my dick was paying 'hard' attention to this gorgeous hunk plastered on billboards and magazine covers. I remember a friend of mine wanted to go see the movie (she always wanted to see 'the big hits' released every weekend) and we went - and almost left halfway through, but decided to stay and suffer. Even my dick lost interest in him in this movie.

R10 Do you have a link to that article ?

Everything I'm coming across (I'm not going just by my memory of 40 years ago) says she was on the first half of season 7, for thirteen episodes. Her debut was in the episode 'The Victory' which was the S7 premiere episode on September 24, 1986 and her last appearance was in the episode 'Fear' which aired on December 31, 1986. When the show returned on January 7, 1987, Cellini was gone from the opening credits as well as the series.

Sharon Stone had one hit--Basic Instinct. She parlayed that into a 30 years of celebrity.

Now, every movie she does is bound to be a flop.

R16 What about Casino?

Klinton Spilsbury never went on to have a career in Hollywood because he was impossible to work with on “Lone Ranger”

When casting for the role, the producers determined that the black domino mask looked best on a face with very wide set eyes, and went about looking for an actor with very wide-set eyes

Today, it’s known that wide set eyes occur in a higher frequency among people in the autism spectrum.

R17 Don't waste your time. R16 is obviously a complete imbecile.

Yes let’s all FF R16. Sharon was awesome in Casino.

[quote] Klinton Spilsbury never went on to have a career in Hollywood because

of his name!

Alicia Silverstone - Clueless

OP - Edward Furlong also played the role of Pecker in John Waters’ eponymous film.

[quote] Today, it’s known that wide set eyes occur in a higher frequency among people in the autism spectrum.

Has anyone mentioned this to Anya Taylor-Joy?

Gal Godot

Rachel Zegler

Adam West

Jim Varney

Anya Taylor Joy is certainly on the spectrum

Brendon Routh ruined his life with marriage and children because it only ended in divorce. He became big with Superman Returns but then he thought it was smart to marry instead of advertising himself as a free single bachelor guy = career/life ruined.

Furlong was good in Detroit Rock City too

Courtney Love- "The People vs. Larry Flynt"

[quote] What about Casino?

Casino was a minimal hit. She begged her way to an Oscar nomination.

1995 was the peak and end of her career

Halle Berry has one sort-of hit.

She got an Oscar out of it. Since then, like Stone, Halle's presence in a movie signifies that it will be a flop.

Catwoman had both of them. MEGA Flop

Brandon Routh - Superman

Was it a hit?

Mira Sorvino

Fairuza Balk - The Craft

Michael Schoeffling in 16 Candles

He could have had a big career if he wanted.

ILAN MITCHELL-SMITH in Weird Science

It’s highly likely Routh is on the Spectrum as well. Watch his interviews.

His career stalled after Superman Returns because he “became difficult.”

Erin Murphy - "Bewitched'.

She was cute little 'Tabitha' on the show in 103 episodes from January 1966 - August, 1972, but has lived on in syndication since. When the show ended, she was 8 years old and probably one of the 'most recognized' child actors from the early 1970s.

After the show ended, she could have continued as one of the most popular child actors on television in another series, but didn't (she made a guest appearance on 'Lassie', and did a number of TV commercials, but really returned to 'normal life' as a non-actor).

In the past 20 years, she has done 'celebrity' appearances as a correspondent for celebrity news shows or 'judge' on some reality shows, and devoted most of her time and name recognition to charitable causes. She turned 61 this summer.

Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People

Yes he was in Taps and that other movie about spies.

Still , in my opinion a ONE HIT wonder.

Mark Hamill ?

Schoeffling, who became a recluse and refuses to be photographed (his children are on Instagram and don’t share his photo) is certainly autistic.

Gabourey Sidibe. We definitely now know that Lee Daniels is a magician if not a fucking warlock.

I love how these threads just turn into lazy people listing the names of people they don't like. Not having the career longevity of Katharine Hepburn does not make one a one-hit-wonder.

[quote] Yes let’s all FF R16.

No. That's for trolls, not idiots.

[quote] Schoeffling, who became a recluse and refuses to be photographed (his children are on Instagram and don’t share his photo) is certainly autistic.

I've always wondered if Schoeffling was one of Bruce Weber's victims.

R16 R17 While not the lead, Sharon Stone also gave a strong, memorable performance in 1990's Total Recall.

R34 Mira Sorvino won her Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite, but I think she is just as well known and appreciated for her performance in the modestly successful, now cult classic, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. If it wasn't for Harvey Weinstein blackballing her career, she likely would have landed more major roles in her prime. Peter Jackson wanted to cast her (and Ashley Judd, also blacklisted by Weinstein) in the Lord of the Rings trilogy but Miramax prevented it. There's a sequel in the works for Romy and Michele, with Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, and Alan Cumming reprising their roles, with a tentative release in 2027. If you like sci-fi horror, check out Mimic (1997) directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Sorvino.

R35 Fairuza Balk gave a successful comedic performance as Adam Sandler's girlfriend in The Waterboy. While not appreciated by the critics, it was a box office success, with receipts far exceeding the movie's budget. You either love or hate Adam Sandler comedies, and I fall on the side of appreciating many of them. The Waterboy is one of my favorites. Kathy Bates was terrific in it, too.

Elizabeth Hartmann. A PATCH OF BLUE should have been her breakthrough but after a few roles most notably in THE GROUP, she pretty much sank into obscurity. She later killed herself.

R43 Gabourey Sidibe.? A one-hit wonder ? Are you for real ?

After her debut in 'Precious', she went on to star in the TV series 'The Big C' on Showtime for three seasons, 2010-13. She then joined 'American Horror Story' for two seasons (2013-15). And followed that by starring in the FOX drama 'Empire' from 2015-2020. She also had roles in four other movies after 'Precious', from 2011--2020. Sidibe also provides the voice of Francis on the Disney Channel animated series StuGo (2025–present).

I don't think you know the meaning of 'one-hit-wonder'.

R34 Mira was in the TV show Condor not long ago.

Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon) in GoT.

R48 = Gabby's Ozempic dealer.

I don't think you know the meaning of the word "hit" There is nothing about her presence on any of the projects that you mentioned that made them successful.

R48 you are confusing the word Hit with Working. Right Said Fred released nine albums.

Rupert Grint - or was he an eight hit wonder?

I suppose one-franchise-wonders are a special subset, R53.

[quote]Alicia Silverstone - Clueless

Alicia's first hit was "The Crush," although it was nowhere near the big hit that was "Clueless." It was all downhill after that. "Batman & Robin, "Excess Baggage," "Blast from the Past," etc. All misses.

[quote]Peter Ostrum, Charlie in the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. His only screen credit

R8, that was his choice. He turned down a movie contract and later went to college to become a veterinarian.

R41, I wouldn't put Mark Hamill in the 'one hit wonder' category. He's done some additional TV and movies, as well as stage work. Also, he's done a lot of voice work, most notably as The Joker in one of the Batman animations, and in computer games.

Unfortunately, he was too type-casted as Luke Skywalker.

The von Trappe children.

James Dean.

Well,, three-hit wonder.

R40 Besides A Patch of Blue and The Group Elizabeth had significant roles in Francis Ford Coppola You're a Big Boy Now (1966) John Frankenheimer's The Fixer (1968) Don Siegel's The Beguiled (1971) and 1973's Walking Tall which was a huge box office success. She also appeared in a number of television shows and was said to often have turned down roles in films after doing a voice in The Secret of NIMH (1982) Hartman retired from acting.

Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson, Ariana DeBose and George Chakiris.

George Lazenby who played James Bond in 1969s On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Diane Varsi was in a couple of big films after Peyton Place. Compulsion (the Leopold-Loeb movie, with fictional characters), Ten North Frederick, with Gary Cooper. She was later in Wild in the Streets, and Johnny Got His Gun. She had a nervous breakdown after the first handful of films. She left movies volunarily, died young.

Merrie Spaeth, who played one of the two young leads in The World of Henry Orient, "Gil." She was great, but I think it was her only film. She later worked in the Reagan administration. Tippy Walker, the other lead, didn't do much, either, for reasons too complicated to go into.

Bilateral amputee Harold Russell (1947-2002) won Best Supporting Actor and an Honorary Oscar for his film debut THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) which was a smash hit and also won for Best Picture and Best Director among others.

He promptly retired from acting for over 30 years, until INSIDE MOVES (1980) in which he had a bit part.

In the '80s, he did an episode of TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. and a two-parter on CHINA BEACH.

His third and last movie was DOGTOWN (1997).

Sorry, Harold Russell's birth year was 1914, not 1947.

Karen Cellini in “Dynasty”

Tough on Furlong, he was very good in ‘American History X’

Ansel Elgort. Career dead in the water after West Side Story. And his name just trips off the tongue.

I don't think some people understand what a "bit part" is.

Gene Tierney in Laura

I don’t understand the question, and I refuse to answer it.

R70 No way.

Anthony Dexter in Valentino (1951).

He later taught English in Eagle Rock.

(High school.)

Steve Allen in The Benny Goodman Story

Oscar winner Miyoshi Umeki (Sayanora) who was best known for saying 'Mista Eddie's Fodda'

R61 Jennifer Hudson is an EGOT and has a successful, eponymous talk show that has won multiple awards and has been picked up for a fourth season. I know it’s hard to believe. But I don’t think she fits in this category.

[quote]Gene Tierney in Laura

One year later, she starred in LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945) which was the second-highest grossing movie of the year and earned her an Oscar nomination.

Afterward, she starred in THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1946) and THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947) which were also successful.

[quote] James Dean. Well, three-hit wonder.

Four if you include the Ford Tudor.

Björn Johan Andrésen, Death in Venice

[quote] Björn Johan Andrésen, Death in Venice

Being groomed by an aged pederast will do that to you.

Tippi Hedren

Lucille Bremer's only real hit was Meet Me in St Louis. (Maybe she had 2--the Jerome Kern biopic.)

After she spurned Hitchcock's sex-pesting, Tippi was black-balled by Hitchcock but he kept under contract so she couldn’t appear in anyone else’s movies.

Mena Suvari.

R77 the OP said "actors who had one hit or one memorable role and that was it for them."

Jennifer Hudson only had one hit movie/role and that was DREAMGIRLS (2006) nearly 20 years ago, which won her the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress.

Her self-titled debut album JENNIFER HUDSON (2008) won the Grammy for Best R&B Album.

She won a Daytime Emmy for co-producing some animated TV film called BABA YAGA (2021).

Her Tony was for co-producing A STRANGE LOOP (2022) which flopped on Broadway despite winning Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize.

So, yes, she's appropriate for this thread.

Jeanne Tripplehorn was a two-hit wonder with The Firm and Basic Instinct and then disappeared.

She's still busy, r1.

Linda Lovelace

Yeah, Lovelace never really amounted to much after Dog-a-rama.

Elsa Lanchester

Falconetti

Aileen Quinn in ANNIE.

Miles O’Keefe was so hot as Tarzan. Wasn’t he the actual trainer for the film and they used him to replace another actor at the last minute?

R72 it is hard to believe since I haven't even heard of Hudson's credits listed @ R86 except for Dreamgirls. And who hasn't had a talk show?

[quote] Klinton Spilsbury

Was it Johnny Carson who, when hosting the Oscars, said about the Lone Ranger movie (sorry for the stilted speech), "Or as Tonto said, 'Me hear one, maybe two people coming to theater.'"

R87 Jeanne Tripplehorn a one hit wonder? Guessing you've never heard of a little series called 'Big Love'?

R58 The actors who played the Von Trappe children definitely are in this category. On the other hand, with a 50 year career and three Oxcat nominations, I clearly do not.

The idea for this thread wasn’t bad, but the execution has been horrible.

That'll be DataLounge's epitaph, R99.

There's no "e" in Von Trapp. Unless less it's pronounced, "Von Trap-pay."

R80 He could have gone far, with the right man behind him.

Robert De Niro. It was all downhill after Mean Streets.

R87 - Jeanne Tripplehorn had a starring role on Big Love for several seasons. She was also in Criminal Minds.

I don't buy the whole Hitchcock "blackballed" Tippi's career, as anyone with eyes to see could clearly see from her performances in her two Hitchcock films why she wasn't being cast in other movies.

The last time I was paying attention to Hollywood Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe were the next big thing. The attention paid has gone downhill ever since.

I don't know if she was blackballed or not but she didn't make another movie after Marnie for3 years (Charlie Chaplin's A Countess from Hong Kong. She did appear on two TV anotholgies (I think. I looked it up a while ago).

Rae Dawn Chong

Lorraine Gary

R51 = Mo' Nique.

GS was a co-star in 3 hit television shows after her debut in 'Precious'. She wasn't just a 'working actress' making a guest appearance sporadically in each show, she was a co-star in a hit. Hardly a 'one hit wonder' . You don't know what the term means.

[quote][R87] - Jeanne Tripplehorn had a starring role on Big Love for several seasons. She was also in Criminal Minds.

Also, in 2009, she received an Emmy nomination as 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie' for her role as Jackie Onassis in HBO's GREY GARDENS starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, who were both nominated as 'Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie.' The whole thing won for 'Outstanding Television Movie.'

Then R86, OP is using the term "One Hit" incorrectly because it usually suggest someone who faded into obscurity after one great success. If you are going by OP's definition then you can call Lady Gaga or Madonna a "One Hit Wonder. "

[quote] Ansel Elgort. Career dead in the water after West Side Story. And his name just trips off the tongue.

He’s the lead in Tokyo Vice, which was pretty good, though HBO cancelled it. It’s producers hope to find a new home for Season 3.

There's a big difference between making a big splash as the star of a hit and then going on to be a steadily working actor.

Well there aren't that many examples in films of true "one hit wonders" so I think we're all just enjoying commenting on these sudden successes who didn't make it, and things of that sort.

Chris Makepeace

Thelonius Bernard, the French kid who played the lead in A Little Romance (1979). Made one more film, Allons Z'Enfants (1981), which was very well received. Then left films. He became a dentist (it says here).

Robert Romanus. Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Also to some extent, Judge Reinhold and Brian Becker (who had a Broadway hit playing the Woody Allen part in an Allen play).

Richard Grieco, who replaced Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street, then had his own series for I think one season.

(Michael Bendetti originally replaced Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street.)

Jamie Walters, "Ray" on 90210 (Donna's boyfriend).

Also was a one-hit wonder as a singer/musician ("How Do You Talk to an Angel?") First album sold really well, too.

He was pretty good, actually.

Before Jamie Walters was on 90210, he starred on the short-lived TV series THE HEIGHTS, which was canceled midway through its first season in the fall of 1992.

However, it spawned the hit single "How Do You Talk to an Angel?" which went to #1 on the Billboard Top 100.

Thus, the show flopped, but the song was a massive hit.

Afterward, Walters joined 90210 for two seasons, but was written out because his abusive character Ray became very unpopular with fans.

R120 Ray was supposed to have a redemption arc, eventually. This was planned from the beginning, but apparently Aaron Spelling overrode the creative staff because he was upset to see Tori being abused on the show. (I read some very long interview with Darren Starr one time where he went into it.)

Gary Coleman

For you r122

Lori Singer

Jonathan Brandis

Lori was in Footloose, the Man with one red shoe, and the TV series Fame. She is also a performing classical musician. r124.

Karen Lynn Gorney ( travolta’s girlfriend) in Saturday Night Fever

Yes r127. In the 1990s she briefly returned to All My Children looking like Roth Gordon.

Lisa Whelchel

Richard Lee Jackson

Brandon Bruce Lee

Andrew Shue.

Lots of misses on this thread. Courtney Love was amazing in Sid and Nancy. Ansel Elgort was in Baby Driver, a big hit. Elsa Lanchester was great in Witness For the Prosecution, an incredible movie. Some of you are also forgetting Jennifer Hudson's well-received cameo as Saint Louise in Sex and the City.

oh yes, the cameo! How could I have forgotten!!!

Courtney Love was in Sid and Nancy for a minute or two, what exactly was amazing about that, R133?

As to Kilton Spilsbury in the “Lone Ranger,” [quote] Considerable controversy surrounded Spilsbury at the time of the film's release. He was selected for the role over several more experienced actors (including Stephen Collins, Nicholas Guest, Bruce Boxleitner and Kurt Russell), partly because producers felt he looked good in the character's domino mask.

Jennifer Holliday - Dreamgirls

[quote]Some of you are also forgetting Jennifer Hudson's well-received cameo as Saint Louise in Sex and the City.

Well-received by whom? She's terrible in it. To wit:

Linda Blair, hands down.

[quote]Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People...Yes he was in Taps and that other movie about spies...Still , in my opinion a ONE HIT wonder.

Thanks, Beth

Fred Flintstone, Wilma Flintstone, Barney Rubble, and Betty Rubble.

They did nothing after their successful run on 'The Flintstones' in the 60s.

Laurie Hendler

Rob Stone

Jeremy Miller

Tina Yothers

I heard Fred Flintstone did porn in the 80s

Klinton Spilsbury hooked up with Halston?

Martin Hewitt

Mitch Gaylord "American Anthem"; Cherie Curie "Foxes"; Cindy Crawford "Fair Game"; Christie Brinkley "National Lampoon's Vacation"

r131 he had no choice after The Crow.

[quote]Mitch Gaylord "American Anthem"

You need to look up the word “hit”

So we're just listing cameos and non-hit movies now because we have nothing of substance to contribute, are we R146?

Eminem, 8 Mile.

I think he said at the time it was a one-time thing, and it was.

Prince, Purple Rain.

His one big hit.

Desi Arnaz.

His one hit on TV as an actor in a leading role was I Love Lucy.

He also had a hit in a movie, in a lead role: The Long, Long Trailer. The other movie he made with Lucy at that time, Forever, Darling, was a bomb. Yes he was a big producer and a director but these were his hits as an actor.

The young cast of Schitt's Creek: Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire, Noah Reid. Yes they've all done things since but it's surprising none of them has been able to parlay the success of that show into better projects

Why is that so? Drugs? Casting Couch Refusal?

James Van Der Beek, Dawson's Creek.

R151 You're forgetting his movie 'Under the Cherry Moon'. It placed #4 in the Top 10 of films which opened the same weekend, and despite critical pans, became a cult classic. Hardly makes Prince a 'one hit wonder' as an actor.

R156 According to Wikipedia it cost 12 million and had a 10 million domestic gross.

[quote] The film earned $3,150,924 in its opening weekend from 976 venues, ranking #11 at the domestic box office (according to the Daily Variety Chart), and the fourth-highest among the weekend's new releases. At the end of its run, the film's final domestic gross was $10,090,429.

[quote] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 38% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's consensus states: "Under the Cherry Moon may satisfy the most rabid Prince fans, but everyone else will be better served with this vanity project's far superior soundtrack." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down. Many critics named it the year's worst film.

UTCM by no means was the box office success his 'Purple Rain' was, but it spun off a hit soundtrack album and has since become a 'cult classic' as I mentioned above - hardly makes him a one hit wonder in the cinema.

Whose cult is it, anyway?

R159 Why do you think that makes it a hit? It was a box office flop, whatever it became, who cares. Prince had one box office success, Purple Rain.

Orson Welles's Touch of Evil is now considered a masterpiece and it was a cult classic for years. That doesn't mean it was a hit.

[quote] Today, it’s known that wide set eyes occur in a higher frequency among people in the autism spectrum.

I very much resent this statement.