Anybody have a list of actors turned politicians and their political affiliations?

[bbernardini]

I'll start:

Fred Grandy (of The Love Boat) - Republican
Ben Jones (of The Dukes of Hazzard) - Democrat

[Bluzmann57]

1. Grandy is from western Iowa

He was a RWer, but nowhere near as bad as the Rep out there now, one Steve King. And Heath Schuler acted like a football player, and he's a Dem.

[MADem]

2. Sonny Bono, Ahh-nuld, Ronnie Regan, Fred Thompson, GOP. nt

[Seeking Serenity]

44. Sonny Bono wasn't really an actor, though, was he?

I know he had that bit part in Airplane II and some Love Boat/Fantasy Island parts (skipping the Sonny and Cher show), but wasn't he primarily a musician/songwriter by trade?

[MADem]

45. He was a clown...a foil for Cher on the Sonny and Cher Variety Hour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB3YS3iLO7w

Watch the whole clip....

[redqueen]

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger - Republican

[walkaway]

4. Al Franken was not an actor turned politician!

He was nothing like those idiots Fred Grady and Thompson or even Ronnie Regan. Franken graduated cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Harvard. He has written best selling books on politics and has lectured on politics around the country for years.

Why would you want to drag him down to Sony Bono's level?

[VWolf]

10. FWIW, nobody mentioned Franken

until you did.

:evilgrin:

[walkaway]

14. Sure..this post has nothing to do with Al Franken.

You are just naming actors in politics out of the blue. It's OK if this is the company Senator Franken should be compared to but don't accuse me of doing it.

[JackRiddler]

12. Well, he is a professional stage performer who sometimes acts.

[bbernardini]

22. Here's his IMDB listing for "Actor":

I'd say this is enough to qualify him as an actor.

# "Glenn Beck" .... Minnesota Senate challenger (1 episode, 2009)
- Episode dated 7 April 2009 (2009) TV episode .... Minnesota Senate challenger
# The Manchurian Candidate (2004) .... TV Commentator
# "Saturday Night Live" .... Various / ... (82 episodes, 1975-2002)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (USA: complete title)
... aka "SNL 25" (USA: alternative title)
... aka "SNL" (USA: informal title)
... aka "Saturday Night Live '80" (USA: sixth season title)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 15" (USA: fifteenth season title)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 20" (USA: twentieth season title)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 25" (USA: twentiefifth season title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (USA: first season title)
- Al Gore/Phish (2002) TV episode (uncredited) .... Stuart Smalley
- Jerry Seinfeld/Annie Lennox (1992) TV episode .... Various
- John Goodman/Garth Brooks (1992) TV episode .... Various
- Roseanne & Tom Arnold/Red Hot Chili Peppers (1992) TV episode .... Various
- Macaulay Culkin/Tin Machine (1991) TV episode .... Various
(77 more)
# "Clerks" .... Mayor McCheese (1 episode, 2001)
... aka "Clerks: The Cartoon" (Australia)
... aka "Clerks: Uncensored" (USA: DVD title)
- Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store (2001) TV episode (voice) .... Mayor McCheese

# "LateLine" .... Al Freundlich (23 episodes, 1998-1999)
- The Christian Guy (1999) TV episode .... Al Freundlich
- Karp's Night Out (1999) TV episode .... Al Freundlich
- Svadharma (1999) TV episode .... Al Freundlich
- Kids 'N' Guns (1999) TV episode .... Al Freundlich
- The Minister of Television (1999) TV episode .... Al Freundlich
(18 more)
# "From the Earth to the Moon" .... Jerome Weisner (1 episode, 1998)
- Can We Do This? (1998) TV episode .... Jerome Weisner
# "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" .... Al (1 episode, 1997)
- Sharon Meyers (1997) TV episode (voice) .... Al
# The Definite Maybe (1997) .... Vagabond
... aka No Money Down (USA: DVD title)
# "3rd Rock from the Sun" .... Frank Gansmiller (1 episode, 1996)
... aka "3rd Rock" (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka "Life As We Know It"
- Dick the Vote (1996) TV episode .... Frank Gansmiller
# Stuart Saves His Family (1995) .... Stuart Smalley
... aka Stuart Stupid - Eine Familie zum Kotzen (Germany)
# When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) (uncredited) .... Co-pilot
... aka To Have and to Hold

# Superman 50th Anniversary (1988) (TV) (as Franken & Davis) .... The Awesome Pair, formerly 'The Crimebusters'
# One More Saturday Night (1986) .... Paul Flum
# Trading Places (1983) .... Baggage Handler #1
# Steve Martin's Best Show Ever (1981) (TV)

# The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) (TV) .... Decline's Henchman
... aka All You Need Is Cash (USA)
# Tunnel Vision (1976) .... Al
... aka Tunnelvision

[walkaway]

23. I didn't say he wasn't an actor...

I said he was not an actor who turned into a politician a la Sonny Bono and Fred Grady and all of the other republican puppets and non-thinkers you all have named. But never mind me. Make your lists. I'll let it go.

[Ken Burch]

38. They listed "Minnesota Senate challenger" as an acting job?

I guess that's just how hard it is to tell that "Glenn Beck" is not a comedy show(well, intentionally).

[Ken Burch]

34. Hey, that's a little insulting to actors to phrase it like that!

BTW, Franken did act in "Stuart Saves His Family".

[scheming daemons]

5. Wasn't Clint Eastwood a Republican mayor for a bit?

[ellenfl]

8. yes. eom

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. Mayor of Carmel, I think.

[Ken Burch]

41. Although that wasn't technically a partisan office

n/t.

[MADem]

46. I don't think he identified with a party in that job. NT

[ellenfl]

6. i still get a kick

out of republicans screaming about liberal hollywood when most hollywood types in gummint are republicans. :eyes:

ellen fl

[Ken Burch]

42. The ones who went GOP tended to be the ones who's showbiz careers crapped out

When they got recruited to campaign for Nixon in '72, it was the first applause some of 'em had heard in years. Politics as attention-getting behavior, really.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. Shirley Temple, sort of. I think she was GOP.

[Ken Burch]

39. She ran for Congress for them in a SF Bay Area riding in the mid 60's

(I think it was her habit of singing "On The Good Ship Lollipop" while canvassing door-to-door that destroyed her chances)
:sarcasm:

Reagan made her an ambassador to Czechoslovakia during his regime, IIRC.

[ellenfl]

11. jesse ventura, shirley temple black

george murphy, sheila kuehl ('dobie gillis' - ask your grandmother.)

(google is my friend.)

ellen fl

[Gidney N Cloyd]

16. self delete

oops

[Ken Burch]

43. They used to have a good joke on that on "Laugh-In"

They'd put an African-American actress in a Shirley Temple "little girl" costume and introduce her as "Shirley Temple Black".

[Tansy_Gold]

13. Murphy, Kuehl

George Murphy, actor, singer, US Senator from California -- republican

Sheila James Kuehl, actor, California State Senator - Democrat - first openly gay member of California legislature

[charlie]

15. Newt Gingrich

Did a stiff but credible job of playing a human before he went to DC.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

17. Did Warren Beatty ever actually run for anything?

[WI_DEM]

20. No. Also CA dems wanted Gregory Peck to run for governor and he turned them down, too.

[Ken Burch]

40. Only in "Bulworth"...

...and even in the movie he got shot for it...

[WI_DEM]

18. George Murphy--EX MGM hoofer--US Senator from CA 64-70

Oh, yeah, a republican.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. Ha! Same post, same time! nt

[LeftishBrit]

30. Subject of a song by Tom Lehrer

Hollywood's often tried to mix
Show business with politics
From Helen Gahagan
To Ronald Reagan?
But Mr. Murphy is the star
Who's done the best by far.

Oh, gee, it's great!
At last we've got a senator who can really sing and dance.
We can't expect America to win against its foes
With no one in the Senate who can really tap his toes.

The movies that you've seen
On your television screen
Show his legislative talents at a glance.
Should Americans pick crops? George says "No",
'cause no one but a Mexican would stoop so low.
And after all, even in Egypt, the pharaohs
Had to import Hebrew braceros.

Think of all the musicals we have in store.
Imagine: Broadway Melody of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Yes, now that he's a Senator, he's really got the chance
To give the public a song and dance!

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. George Murphy - Senator, R CA

"Two members of my profession who are not urgently needed by my profession, Mr. Ronald Reagan and Mr. George Murphy, entered politics, and they've done extremely well. Since there has been no reciprocal tendency in the other direction, it suggests to me that our job is still more difficult than their new one." - Peter Ustinov

[defendandprotect]

24. Sono Bono went Repug .... and his wife Mary Bono is still in the USHR . . . right?

[cascadiance]

25. Stephen Peace of "Killer Tomatoes" movies and Nancy Kulp (Jane Hathaway)

Stephen Peace was a film writer and producer of all of the "Killer Tomatoes" cult films and was in the California State assembly and in the California Senate later. He was a Democrat.

Nancy Kulp (Democrat) played Jane Hathaway in the Beverly Hillbillies and ran for congress in Pennsylvania, but was defeated. She had Buddy Ebsen (also from Beverly Hillbillies) unfortunately endorsing her Republican opponent.

[sakabatou]

26. Why hasn't anyone mentioned Reagan (R-Obviousy)?

[ellenfl]

28. see reply #2 above . . . altho' mention is not reallynecessary, imo. eom

[cascadiance]

29. He probably just searched for the proper spelling in the thread and didn't find a hit...

:)

[cascadiance]

27. And we might have Jerri Ryan to thank for Obama being president...

Jerri Ryan (who played Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager) though not in politics herself was married to the former senator of Illinois, who withdrew as an incumbent candidate in the wake of their divorce and marital problems. Obama subsequently was elected to his seat in the Senate.

So maybe technically she doesn't qualify, but she served a good "political purpose"! :)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

31. Well, that's not quite the story...

Jack Ryan was not a senator-- he was a candidate for the GOP nominee to replace Peter Fitzgerald. Jack was a Goldman Sachs honcho. Also, Jeri and Jack Ryan were long divorced before the campaign began. It was their divorce records that got opened by the press and sunk Jack's bid.

But I DO want to thank you for making me think about Jeri Ryan... :evilgrin:

[Ken Burch]

33. The category was "politicians" not necessarily elected officials.

And in the case of the Ryans, Obama was already 25 points ahead of Jack Ryan when the scandal broke. There wasn't a deal left to break.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

36. I was merely correcting the poster's mention of Jack Ryan being the "incumbent."

He was not "the former senator of Illinois, who withdrew as an incumbent candidate."

[Ken Burch]

37. OH. Got it.

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

32. Ralph Waite was a Democratic congressional candidate.

Albert Dekker, the 1940's film actor, served a term as a Democratic member of the California State Assembly in the 1940's.

Joe Flynn(Binghamton from "McHale's Navy") once ran for the Ohio state senate as a Republican.

Internationally, Melina Mercouri(from "Never on a Sunday")was a cabinet minister in the PASOK(Socialist)government in Greece in the Eighties, Glenda Jackson was a Labour M.P. for awhile(she may also have been a cabinet minister at one point under Blair) and Sue Jones-Davies, the actress who played "Judith" in Monty Python's The Life of Brian is the Plaid Cymru(Welsh Nationalist)mayor of the town of Aberystwyth.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

35. John Gavin (Psycho) - Reagan's ambassador to Mexico

[Spirochete]

47. Sonny Landham, from Predator

Ex-porn star, ex-actor, still a nutbag....