- 7 months ago
Ever wonder what your favorite stage legends looked like in their early days? Join us as we explore the fascinating early careers of beloved theater veterans who became household names later in life. From Tony Award winners to Hollywood crossovers, these performers proved that stardom has no age limit.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the veteran performers whose early careers you probably aren't too familiar with.
00:12I'm not saying go to the library and read the whole history, but it wouldn't kill you to know a little bit about it.
00:18It wouldn't kill me.
00:21Number 10, Nathan Lane.
00:23Who are you? What are you? Who moved the rock?
00:27Although he was a fixture on the New York stage for many years, the Birdcage actor was not as well-known outside of the city.
00:33His credits existed mainly on and off-Broadway.
00:36He didn't become a household name until the mid-90s, and his big break on the screen didn't occur until he was in his late 30s.
00:43I was adorable once, young and full of hope.
00:47Now, look at me. I'm this short, fat, insecure, middle-aged thing.
00:54Given that many of his breakthrough roles saw him playing his age or older, people generally didn't see him as a younger man.
01:01Once he broke through to the mainstream, he was an established veteran of the craft.
01:06Give me ten minutes, I'm gonna change. Three to one says I can do it in five.
01:10Ha-chow!
01:12Number 9, Jessica Tandy.
01:15Hey, been discussed behind my back in my own house.
01:18I was born on Forsyth Street, and believe you me, I know the value of a penny.
01:23Movie-going audiences know her as the eponymous character in Driving Miss Daisy,
01:27and as the older Ninny Threadgood in Fried Green Tomatoes.
01:30While Jessica Tandy had early supporting roles in Hollywood, she had her major successes on Broadway.
01:36I don't want you to think that I'm severe or old-made schoolteacher or anything like that.
01:41It's just, I guess I have old-fashioned ideas.
01:50She originated the legendary role of Blanche Dubois in the 1947 production of A Streetcar Named Desire,
01:56but was replaced for the film.
01:58By the time she was back to making major films in the 1950s and 60s,
02:02she was middle-aged, playing established wives and widows.
02:06Her most memorable films wouldn't come until the 1980s and 90s.
02:10Look at me, I'm at the jumping-off place, and I ain't afraid one bit.
02:14Number 8, Judi Dench.
02:16If you think for one moment I don't have the balls to send a man out to die,
02:19your instincts are dead wrong.
02:21I have no compunction about sending you to your death.
02:24But I won't do it on a whim.
02:26Although her theater work has mostly been seen in the U.K.,
02:29this elegant British actress didn't find success on the screen until she was nearing 40.
02:33Even then, Judi Dench didn't become an international star until she was in her 60s.
02:38What do you love so much?
02:40Your Majesty.
02:41Speak up, girl.
02:42I know who I am.
02:43Dench made sporadic film and TV appearances in major projects throughout the 1970s and 80s,
02:48but it wasn't until the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye that she became a household name the world over.
02:54From there, she would win her first Oscar and become a go-to for period pieces in America as well as the U.K.
03:01I was a great one for the pictures when I was your age.
03:05I think you could climb right inside the screen and visit all those strange places you saw.
03:11Number 7.
03:12Ethel Merman.
03:13There's no business like show business, like no business I know.
03:21She's known for her outrageously powerful set of lungs and her brassy old Broadway persona.
03:26But many of Ethel Merman's major stage successes occurred before the 1950s.
03:31She began working in film in 1930, when she was in her early 20s.
03:35But only true enthusiasts have seen these very early Hollywood performances.
03:39I hate parading my serenading, for I probably miss a bar.
03:44But if this city is not so pretty, at least it'll tell you how great you are.
03:49Rosie.
03:50When she began appearing in more films in the 1950s and 60s, she was well into middle age.
03:56Her most famous stage role, Rose in Gypsy, is a classic one for actresses of a certain age,
04:01further cementing her place on this list.
04:04Honey, everything's coming up, roses!
04:10Number 6.
04:11James Earl Jones.
04:12It is too late for me, son.
04:19The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force.
04:23Most known by many audiences as the voices of Darth Vader and Mufasa,
04:27we've never even heard James Earl Jones sound young.
04:30His film debut didn't even happen until he was cast in a small role in Dr. Strangelove.
04:35But he did a lot of work in the theater.
04:37And he didn't cross over into film until he was in his 30s.
04:40Oh, that don't matter.
04:41Just so long as the good Lord lets you win for us.
04:44Amen.
04:45Well, if us mean any of you with cash riding on me, your prayers will pay off about the fifth.
04:49No, Mr. Jefferson, he mean win for us colored.
04:52Oh, is that what you're praying?
04:54Even in his early film performances, such as in 1970s The Great White Hope,
04:58there's a wisdom and power to him that places him outside of our normal understanding of age and youth.
05:03His commanding voice and presence somehow defied youth itself.
05:07Shoot, I've been smarter than any job I ever had.
05:10No, you see, I have actually avoided success.
05:13Oh, no!
05:14You know why?
05:15Because when you are successful and rich, people envy you and hate you.
05:19I want people to love me.
05:22Number 5, Bea Arthur.
05:24The Golden Girls probably did more to lock in the public image of its four actresses than any other show.
05:29This is crazy. Since when do you care how you look?
05:32I think it started when I came down from the bell tower and had my hump fixed.
05:39Though they were on the older side of 50, they showed that aging didn't mean you couldn't cut loose.
05:44Bea Arthur spent most of her early career on Broadway, with roles in musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and Mame.
05:50How old are you, Vera? The truth.
05:52How old do you think?
05:54Oh, I'd say somewhere between 40 and deaf.
05:59Even if Arthur hadn't been cast as a Golden Girl, her other most famous role, Maude, didn't exactly make her look young.
06:08Her prickly persona, surly expression, and gray hairs just screamed, get off my lawn.
06:13You should have seen the con men who came around after World War II.
06:17They were artists!
06:19They came on crutches, some with bandages, there were even a few litter cases.
06:24But you, you're a bust!
06:30Number 4, Jerry Stiller.
06:32All my life, I mean, I'll bring this kid up, I give him things, I coddle him practically.
06:36I practically teach him how to walk, how to get on the stage, how to make an entrance.
06:40I gave him the Fuji camera to make his first film, all this stuff.
06:43Now look what happens. This is the way you treat a guy like me at this point in my life.
06:47Ben Stiller's father and the other half of the famed comedy duo Stiller and Mira worked the nightclub comedy circuit
06:54and appeared in several Broadway shows before coming to TV.
06:57Even when he and his wife, Ann Mira, were making small screen appearances in the 1960s,
07:02Stiller always looked comically older than he was.
07:05That, plus his husky voice, only added to how funny he was.
07:09I can't keep my hands off you.
07:11Try, will you try?
07:12Joey, whole week, no kissing, no hugging, nothing.
07:17I didn't want to make any noise, the Nixons were sleeping next door, you know?
07:20His most famous role came when he was cast as George Costanza's dad on Seinfeld.
07:24This brought him into the mainstream in a major way, earning him scores of new fans and awards attention,
07:30all when he was in his mid-60s.
07:33We're gonna be in the pool, we're gonna be in the clubhouse,
07:37we're gonna be all over that shuffleboard court, and I dare you to keep me out!
07:43Number 3. Elaine Stritch
07:45Well, this is certainly high drama.
07:47These are the clothes that I want to be buried in.
07:51And make sure I'm holding this.
07:53Glue this pin to the inside of the coffin lid.
07:56Whether you've seen her on stage, or you've seen her on 30 Rock,
07:59you've definitely never seen Elaine Stritch Young.
08:02She's a legend among Broadway fans for a reason.
08:05Love goes hell!
08:09I'm still here!
08:12Yes!
08:13Her history in show business goes way back,
08:15and she worked with some of the greats on Broadway, old and new.
08:19The way she told a story and commanded respect, if not fear,
08:23was loaded with old-fashioned stage presence.
08:25The dinosaurs surviving the crunch!
08:29Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch!
08:32In her later career, which honestly seems to be most of it,
08:35she played irascible and taciturn old ladies
08:38who could wither you with a glance and a well-timed insult.
08:41None of this was a far cry from her actual personality either.
08:44Elaine, you worked with Noel Coward, Edward Albee, Stephen Sondheim.
08:48I mean, they choose you, don't they?
08:51No place to go but up, right?
08:52Right!
08:53Number 2, Carol Channing.
08:55I'm gonna raise the room!
08:57I'm gonna carry on!
08:59You'll be an old child!
09:01Go!
09:02Larger than life, constantly smiling, and with an unforgettable voice,
09:06Carol Channing starred in some of the most famous Broadway shows of the mid-century.
09:10Despite that, audiences outside of New York may have never even seen her face until the 1960s,
09:15when she appeared on variety shows.
09:17In 1967, she was in her late 40s when she made Thoroughly Modern Millie,
09:21her most famous film appearance up to that point.
09:24Oh, do it again!
09:29I may say no, no, no, no, no, but do it again!
09:38Not only is her list of credits impressive, but the length of her career is just as legendary.
09:44She effectively retired in 2016 after 75 years as a professional actor.
09:49It's so nice to have you see where you belong.
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10:15Number 1, Angela Lansbury.
10:17Whenever they say you're slightly unconventional, just but you're far off to your nose.
10:24Any Broadway scholar could tell you that the murder-she-wrote actress had been turning in incredible performances on the stage long before she gained worldwide fame.
10:32The sleuth, Jessica Fletcher, first appeared on TV when Angela Lansbury was almost 60.
10:37I'll be right now.
10:38Murder in this town?
10:40Ralph, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to leave you.
10:43Well, I'll try to keep busy outside if you like.
10:45I think that would be best.
10:49She had already been nominated for three Oscars and won four Tony Awards by that time.
10:54Still, the wider audience might not have known who she was, as her roles in films were mostly smaller.
10:59And those that were known came when she was approaching middle age.
11:02But if anyone proved that the second act was better than the first, it was Angela Lansbury.
11:08It's been lovely all day.
11:09Ah, but the evening's the best time.
11:11Mark my words.
11:12There you are.
11:13Thank you so much.
11:14Cheers, everybody.
11:15Cheers.
11:16Cheers.
11:17Who's your favorite classic Broadway star?
11:19Sound off in the comments.
11:20Yesterday they told you you would not go far.
11:23That night you opened and there you are.
11:27Next day on your dressing room they are a star.
11:31The next day, I'm going to be able to go to a bar.
11:38The next time you're going to be able to go to a bar.
11:41So you're watching.
11:43If you or not, the other one will go to the bar.
11:46The next day's the bar with the bar.
11:48This has to be plenty ofством that we can take.
11:51It seems to be a bar and more time than the bar.
11:53I'll check it out.
11:54If you don't have any extra stuff, the bar is to be so tight.
11:56The next day in the car is a bar to be so tight.
11:58I'm going to be so tight.
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