12 Actors Who Became TV Hosts
Let's face it: He may have ushered the Beatles into the American consciousness, but Ed Sullivan was kind of a bore. If it weren't for the aforementioned Liverpudlians, the Rolling Stones, the Doors and countless other popular entertainers holding the audience's attention, The Ed Sullivan Show probably wouldn't have lasted two episodes, let alone two decades. But these days, it's the hosts we're tuning in to see, with their guests more often than not playing the role of sideman. The reason? Many of the most popular TV hosts today are former or still-working actors who are plenty skilled at engaging an audience. These emcees have a slew of notable – and some not-so-notable – acting credits on their resume, but they've also flourished at playing themselves (or in the case of Stephen Colbert, a version of himself).
Check out these 12 actors who have forged successful second careers as TV hosts.
By Sarene Leeds
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Bill Maher
In the current issue of Rolling Stone, Bill Maher sits down with RS contributing editor Tim Dickinson to discuss his opinion of (and his impact on) the current political climate. But before Maher gained notoriety as one of the most outspoken pundits in the country, thanks to shows like Politically Incorrect and Real Time With Bill Maher, he was just a regular working actor. One of his earliest roles was on the short-lived, precursor-to-Glee 1987-1988 series Rags to Riches. Set in 1961, RTR told the tale of a bachelor millionaire who adopts five orphans – orphans with a penchant for breaking into song. Maher, complete with an Elvis pompadour, played Freddie, the millionaire's right-hand man. Although Freddie didn't last beyond the two-hour pilot, most of the cast of RTR has since faded into obscurity, with Maher paving the way for a new kind of success story: the actor-turned-TV-host.
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Jimmy Fallon
He was known as the cute young one on Saturday Night Live in the late Nineties and early '00s, making his mark with spot-on impressions of Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld. But aside from uttering the most gut-busting line in Almost Famous and his lovable leading-man turn in Fever Pitch, Jimmy Fallon's true calling has always been that of TV host. Ever since Late Night With Jimmy Fallon premiered in March 2009, it has become the go-to show for both up-and-coming bands and veteran artists – and for unforgettable zeitgeist-y moments. In the last few weeks, Fallon has sung "Cecilia" with Paul Simon and unveiled his own Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor, as well as headed up an all-star performance of Rebecca Black's "Friday," complete with house band the Roots, Taylor Hicks and Stephen Colbert.
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Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller rose to fame thanks to his sardonic rants behind the Weekend Update desk on Saturday Night Live in the late Eighties. Since leaving SNL, Miller has hosted numerous talk shows (including Dennis Miller Live on HBO), and political shows, several of which have showcased his more right-wing leanings in recent years. But Miller still managed to pop up in films here and there, like The Net with Sandra Bullock, and his starring turn in the Tales From the Crypt flick Bordello of Blood – in which he appears to just be playing a version of his Weekend Update/talk-show-host self. Given the fact that Miller has only three more film acting credits to his name after BOB (and one of them is Joe Dirt), it's no wonder he stuck with TV hosting (his ill-advised Monday Night Football gig notwithstanding).
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Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson may be the most patriotic late-night host around – after all, his second book is called American on Purpose. This Scottish-born, proud-to-be-naturalized-U.S.-citizen has proven himself a worthy competitor to hosts in his time slot (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon) since he took over The Late Late Show in early 2005, after spending six seasons as smarmy English boss Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show. Ferguson also wrote and starred in a handful of films prior to assuming the Late Late Show chair, including 2003's I'll Be There, in which he plays Charlotte Church's drunken rock-star father. But luckily for Ferguson, and for us, he eventually discovered late-night comic gold in self-deprecating humor, dancing puppets and Betty White interviews (his robot-skeleton sidekick still gives us the creeps, though).
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Whoopi Goldberg
What hasn't this woman succeeded at? Whoopi Goldberg's feature-film debut not only garnered her an Academy Award nomination for her turn as the abused Celie in The Color Purple in 1985, but it kicked off a two-decade-plus career of Hollywood stardom. Five years later, she nabbed Oscar gold for her portrayal of a psychic who could communicate with the handsomest spirit to ever haunt the afterlife in Ghost (RIP, Patrick Swayze). And by 2007, Goldberg also had a Grammy and a Tony under her belt. So what else was there for her to do other than to take over Rosie O'Donnell's moderator slot on The View? It was a move that proved astute: In 2009, Goldberg and her View co-hosts won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, garnering Goldberg the elusive EGOT: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
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Jon Stewart
The worst part of Glenn Beck's Fox News show ending? No more parodies on The Daily Show! Jon Stewart's sharp, scathing satire of the conservative host, complete with chalkboards and plenty of Bible references, is only one example of The Daily Show's metamorphosis from "fake news" into a viable network-news competitor. Stewart has been at the helm of The Daily Show since 1999, but like many of his colleagues, he's found his way into a few acting gigs over the years, including an initially hesitant father in Big Daddy and a conniving TV exec in Death to Smoochy. Not that Stewart can't hold his own against A-listers like Robin Williams, but his talents are way better suited to organizing events like last year's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear – and, more importantly, for bringing a much-needed cerebral edge to news media.
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William Shatner
This classically trained actor has been on TV for five decades (including two episodes of The Twilight Zone), and he shows no signs of slowing down. We've known him as Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker, Priceline pitchman, singer (sort of) and a Dad who says $#*! But on Shatner’s Raw Nerve, which premiered on the Biography Channel in late 2008, William Shatner isn’t so much the host but the resident therapist. Sitting almost uncomfortably close to his guests, Shatner listens intently with a furrowed brow as celebrities pour out their souls to him for 22 minutes. His soothing voice and calming presence have provided a welcoming environment for Weird Al Yankovic to recount his parents’ death from carbon-monoxide poisoning – and for LeVar Burton to open up about how emotionally draining it was to shoot the famous “whipping” scene in Roots. So, Bill, are you accepting new clients?
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Drew Carey
After starting out as a stand-up comedian (Johnny Carson even invited Carey to sit on his couch following Carey’s debut appearance on The Tonight Show in 1991 – a rare honor at the time – and called him "funny as hell"), Carey spent nine seasons as a Dilbert-esque middle-management office worker on The Drew Carey Show, a sitcom heavily populated by musical numbers, live episodes and Buzz Beer. But in 2007, Cleveland’s native son became part of a true American institution when he scored the hosting gig for The Price Is Right. Carey inherited the models, the kisses from female contestants and the supertall microphone. Another tradition the previously crew-cut-sporting and now-slimmed-down Carey inherited from former host Bob Barker? Carey still implores viewers to get their pets spayed or neutered at the close of every show.
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Stephen Colbert
Even before Stephen Colbert became the poster boy for conservative-pundit caricature, it was odd to see him playing anything but exaggerated versions of political reporters (The Daily Show) and clueless educators (Strangers With Candy). In 2004, Colbert appeared on an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent in a dramatic role as a handwriting forger with mommy issues. While Vincent D'Onofrio proved a worthy adversary to Colbert’s credibly creepy counterfeiter, Colbert’s destiny lay in the political-satire arena. One year later, The Colbert Report began its humorous assault on the Bill O'Reillys and the Michele Bachmanns of the world – and judging from his recent on-air reaction to Fox & Friends' claim that Pap smears and breast exams can be obtained at Walgreens, neither has Colbert.
• Video: Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon Perform Rebecca Black's 'Friday'
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Ellen DeGeneres
She's come a long way since Mr. Wrong. Her first sitcom, Ellen, is best remembered as the venue Ellen DeGeneres used to have her character come out as a lesbian in 1997 during the controversial "Puppy Episode." But Ellen's ratings declined not long after DeGeneres' personal and onscreen revelation (DeGeneres herself had come out to Oprah Winfrey earlier in the year). After a second attempt at a sitcom failed, DeGeneres re-established herself as a wildly successful afternoon talk-show host when The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered in 2003. And while her stint as a judge on American Idol may have lasted only one season, it was the catalyst for DeGeneres' next career: music mogul. Last year, DeGeneres announced that she was starting her own record label in order to help launch the career of 12-year-old piano wunderkind Greyson Chance.
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Mario Lopez
These days, he can be found dishing the latest American Idol gossip or counting down the days to royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton as the host of the entertainment-news show Extra. But to most females who were tweens or teens in the early Nineties, Mario Lopez will always be the acid-washed-jeans-wearing football-playing beefcake A.C. Slater from Saved by the Bell. (And for those with even longer memories, back in the Eighties, he co-starred with the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie in Kids, Incorporated, about an all-kids rock band.) The Jheri-curled mullet may be long gone, but Lopez's twinkling schoolboy smile is still intact.
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Rosie O’Donnell
First she was a chick-flick queen, starring in films like Sleepless in Seattle and A League of Their Own. Then, a couple of years after bringing the iconic cartoon character Betty Rubble to life in The Flintstones, she became the "Queen of Nice," as the Koosh-flinging, Tom Cruise-adoring host of The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which ran from 1996 to 2002. She was also briefly the queen of the on-air feud, regularly clashing with her conservative View co-host, Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War. But now, Rosie O'Donnell is stepping into the domain previously held by the queen of all media, Oprah Winfrey. This fall, she'll launch a brand-new talk show on Winfrey's OWN channel – which will reside in the soon-to-be vacated studio space in Chicago, where The Oprah Winfrey Show has taped for 25 seasons.
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