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40 Memorable Debuts and Last Hurrahs in TV and Movie History

Today we’ve got some pretty flashy bookends

40 Memorable Debuts and Last Hurrahs in TV and Movie History

January 08, 2024

Going out on top is the dream, because it’s usually how you’ll be remembered. Coming in with a big bang is great, but if you don’t keep that pace, all you’ll be known for is the decline. Big Bang? Wait, are we all a part of the universe’s slow decline?! Let us stress about that while you take a look at some of Hollywood’s most interesting intros and outros.

40

ALL IN THE FAMILY GRAGKED.COM The groundbreaking comedy aired for 9 seasons before ending on April 8, 1979 with the usually gruff Archie expressing his love for Edith. For 5 seasons they averaged 20-21 million viewers, but that finale raked in 40.2 million. — Source

39

FRIENDS CRACKED.COM With Ross & Rachel getting together for real this time, and Chandler & Monica deciding to raise their adopted twins in the suburbs, the finale aired on May 5th 2004. In all 10 seasons, viewership ranged from 20-30 million, but that tearful finale had 52.5 million. — Source

38

SEINFELD CRACKED.COM Wanting to end it before any of fthe funny was compromised, Seinfeld called it quits after 9 seasons on May 14, 1998. After almost being cancelled early on, it became the #1 show by the 1994-95 season, averaging just over 30 million viewers per episode. It rose back to #1 in season 9, and the finale brought in a whopping 76.3 million viewers. — Source

37

CHEERS CRACKED.COM The bar where everybody knows your name aired its finale on May 20, 1993, after 11 seasons. Diane (Shelley Long) returns after 6 years, but Sam realizes the bar will always be his biggest love. The 98-minute finale was seen by about 40% of the U.S. population at the time - 84.4 million viewers. — Source

36

M*A*S*H CRACKED COM With a 2 hour finale on February 28, 1983, CBS honorably discharged M*A*S*H. The famous ending had stones spelling out goodbye as Hawkeye flew off, and the 105.9 million viewers made it the most watched TV event of all time, until the 2010 Super Bowl nudged it out with 106.5 million viewers. — Source

35

CRACKED.COM Worst TV Finales Dexter Not only were fans supposed to deal with creepy incest storylines and Dexter getting away with (serial) murder, but the show ended in 2013 on a weird note, with him surviving a storm and rebuilding his life as a lumberjack. Nobody was satisfied with this ending, and it's not like the 2021 revival redeemed it either. — Source

34

Worst TV Finales Two and a Half Men Charlie Sheen was absent for the last seasons after a public meltdown. Then, in the last episode, a Sheen stand-in returns home and is crushed by a piano, only for the real Chuck Lorre to say Sheen's Winning! catchphrase (and be crushed by a piano as well). Chuck Lorre CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Worst TV Finales Game of Thrones The show's ending capped off an already disappointing season with rushed storylines and nonsensical character turns. It was like the showrunners got tired of making up for the non- existing novels and went, let's get this over with already and move on to something else. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

HENRY FONDA scored his first Oscar ON GOLDEN POND CRACKED.COM Fonda's kid Jane purchased the play On Golden Pond specifically to work out some real-life father/daughter issues. Onscreen wife Katherine Hepburn gave Spencer Tracy's lucky hat to Fonda, who wore it for the film. — Source

31

JOHN WAYNE had terminal cancer, on and off screen THE SHOOTIST GRAGKED.COM After his movie doctor tells Wayne getting shot would be a better way to go than cancer, Wayne invites three rivals to finish him off. In real life, Wayne presented the Best Picture Oscar before giving in to stomach cancer two months later. — Source

30

MARILYN MONROE shared a final film with CLARK GABLE THE MISFITS CRACKED.COM Gable had a massive heart attack two days after the film wrapped. Monroe overdosed 18 months later. The Misfits arguably featured Monroe's finest performance, earning her a Golden Globe. — Source

29

PAUL WALKER was partly digital in his final film FURIOUS 7 CRACKED.COM It took state-of-the-art 2013 CGI (and Walker's brothers as stand-ins) to complete Walker's final performance. Amazingly, missing dialogue was pieced together from the actor's previously recorded lines. — Source

28

ELIZABETH TAYLOR ended her career as a cartoon mom. THE FLINTSTONES CRACKED.COM Appearing as a caricature of her once glamorous self, Taylor battled Fred Flintstone as his battle-axe mother-in-law. Likely not the last performance she wanted inscribed on her, er, tombstone. — Source

27

JOHN CANDY feared a heart attack like his dad's. WAGONS EAST CRACKED.COM According to Candy's kids, Wagons was his least enjoyable experience making a movie. Fellow actors said he looked so tired. Не died in his sleep of a heart attack after a day of filming. — Source

26

RAUL JULIA in a video game movie was Game Over. STREET FIGHTER: THE MOVIE CRACKED.COM Producers didn't know Julia was losing a battle to stomach cancer while filming Street Fighter. Не took the role because his kids were huge fans of the game. (And because they paid him a mint.) — Source

25

PETER SELLERS was not woke for his last movie. FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU GRACKED.COM Sellers plays five roles, almost all based on ethnic stereotypes that were problematic even in 1980. Fu Manchu searches for eternal life in the movie, poignant considering Sellers' death shortly after filming. — Source

24

ROBIN WILLIAMS' last role was a leg-humping dog. ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING CRACKED COM Critics lamented Williams lending his talents to a comedy that looks like mediocre kids' TV with a dismal script. Unfortunately, his last words on screen were mostly related to dog treats and shagging. — Source

23

Like his idol Belushi, CHRIS FARLEY made his last film at 33. ALMOST HEROES CRACKED.COM Farley vowed to get away from what he called fatty fall down parts. Unfortunately, Bartholomew Hunt is exactly that kind of role -- overweight, drunk, and prone to falling on his face. — Source

22

Ryan Gosling joined The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993, when he was 12. Не was there at the same time as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. I think they needed a Canadian. Every man in my family works in a paper mill, and I'd probably be doing that, too, if I hadn't learned when I was 11 that there's more out there, he later said.0M — Source

21

Anna Paquin was a child star, and got an Oscar before she hit puberty. She got the Oscar for best supporting actress in The Piano, released in 1993. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Jason Bateman got his start in Hollywood when he was still a child. At the age of 10, he signed with an acting agency, and got cast in Little House on the Prairie two years after that. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Jennifer Connelly got into showbiz really young - at the age of 10. She started modelling at 10, and when she was 12, she got cast in Once Upon a Time in America. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Ryan Reynolds got a big role when he was just a teenager. It was in Nickelodeon's Fifteen, from 1990, and it's, well, about teenage life - and it was Reynolds' debut, when he was just 14. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

TOM HOLLAND CRACKED.COM Long before Peter Parker, Tom Holland began acting on the stage, where he played the title role in the musical Billy Elliot as a 12 year old. In his feature film debut, he earned Oscar buzz as Lucas in The Impossible. — Source

16

SCARLETT JOHANSSON EXIT CRACKED COM As an 11 year old, Johansson played Alex Pruitt's older sister, Molly, in Home Alone 3. Her daughter loved the first two Home Alone movies, so they put on #3, and she later told People Magazine, I said, 'Who's that person?' She was like, 'You?!' — Source

15

CHRIS EVANS CRACKED.COM The 2001 comedy Not Another Teen Movie was one of Chris Evans' first big film roles. Evans played the Popular Jock Jake, and barely covered himself with whipped cream and a banana long before covering himself with a shield. — Source

14

BRADLEY COOPER CRACKED COM In 2001, long before voicing Rocket, and just after a make out with Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City, Bradley Cooper's first ever movie role was camp counselor Ben in Wet Hot American Summer. — Source

13

ANTHONY МАСКӀЕ CRACKED.COM 12 years before playing the patriotic Avenger, Falcon, his first role (just after Bar Patron in one episode ofAs If) was as Eminem's biggest rap-battle rival, Papa Doc in 2002's 8 Mile. We're still waiting for his verse. — Source

12

JEREMY RENNER CRACKED.COM In 1995, Renner played trouble-making stoner Mark Dags D'Agastino in National Lampoon's Senior Trip. His I know you like me scene is pretty cringe-worthy, but he landed more TV shows before a breakthrough as Jeffrey Dahmer in the 2002 movie Dahmer. — Source

11

MICHAEL В. JORDAN CRACKED.COM Killmonger's first credit was in season 1, episode 7 ofThe Sopranos, playing a '60s Newark kid harassing young Tony Soprano. Three years later, he originally auditioned for Bodie, but landed the role of Wallace on The Wire, and still gets recognized for it today. — Source

10

CHRIS PRATT - - CRACKED COM Most of us first met a looser version of Star-Lord on Parks and Rec, but teens in the mid 2000s knew him as Bright Abbott on the teen drama Everwood, and as Che on The О.С. — Source

9

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. CRACKED.COM RDJ's dad (you guessed it) Robert Downey Sr. wrote and directed the movie Pound in 1970. As a way to encourage his son to go into the family business, he had 5 year old Robert Downey Jr. appear in the film as a little boy named Puppy. — Source

8

James Michael Tyler's Gunther from Friends was originally an extra. GRAGKED.COM The actor who played Gun- ther on Friends was origi- nally cast as an extra. They eventually wrote Gunther into the 33rd episode, since Tyler was a former barista who knew how to work an espresso machine. — Source

7

George Clooney's first role on TV was playing a down-to-earth handyman in 1985 on the sitcom, The Facts of Life. CRACKED.COM Early on in his career, before ER turned him into a superstar, he was also seen on Roseanne and even The Golden Girls. — Source

6

CRACKED LAVERNE E & SHIRLEY SHIRLEY FEENEY In the first 2 episodes, Shirley has a thick Brooklyn accent (and sassy attitude). Wanting to appeal to the midwest, the show had her drop the accent and act more proper. — Source

5

CRACKED THE OFFICE MICHAEL SCOTT Beginning as a replica of David Brent, he was a darker, less likable nuisance. Carell and the writers made him kinder and more innocent, so his offensive, cringeworthy behavior was much more forgiving. And that hairline got a solid revamp. — Source

4

CRACKED THE SIMPSONS NED FLANDERS Not all that devout, and kind of a jerk in pilot, he quickly became religion obsessed, and a kind-at-all-costs pushover. Не was deliberately changed to satirize the growing influence of Christianity in politics. — Source

3

CRACKED THE BIG BANG THEORY SHELDON COOPER In the pilot, the soon-to-be socially inept, borderline asexual being is making a deposit at a sperm bank, and is later described by his friend as an ass man. — Source

2

CRACKED STAR TREK SPOCK In the original pilot, Spock smiles, giggles, shows emotional depth, and has a youthful energy. Не also looked quite different, and walked with a limp (at Gene Roddenberry's request). — Source

1

CRACKED SEINFELD COSMO KRAMER Originally named Kessler, he had some of the mannerisms, but didn't have the hair, the entrance, or feel light and bubbly. Не also had a dog, and writer Larry Charles said that, originally, his first name was Conrad. — Source

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