Entertainment For Lively Minds
Celebrity vanity projects that WEREN'T doomed to failure?
Posted by Joe Muggs on 25 November 2009 - 7:40pm.
Let's not be cynical - while there are hundreds - thousands, even - of vacuous celebs, a lot of people who become famous are intelligent, ambitious and driven... So, who are the famous folk who have managed to make a side project or second career work well off the back of their celebrity? Ideally more interesting than Caprice's lingerie range, not that any of you were thinking of that anyway.
Off the top of my head, Woody Allen's trad jazz band isn't bad, I really like Lloyd Grossman's pasta sauces, and Ken from Bros has done pretty well for himself in the music industry... any more?
- More from Joe Muggs.
- Login or register to post comments
-
Steve Martin's not a bad plucker
of the banjo, especially when aided by various McCoury boys.
Newman's Own
Well the late great Paul Newman must top the list. All profits from Newman's Own go to charity...$280 million so far.
As it says on the website; "Shameless Exploitation In Pursuit Of The Common Good."
Indeed. He also had huge
Indeed.
He also had huge success in US Motorsport as a team owner, fact fans.
Oh and I guess Brian May's pursuit of astrophysics
- they don't just hand out PhDs willy-nilly after all...
True enough
but not really a vanity project. Actually, it's probably the other way around: Brian May is an astrophysicist who just happened to be in Queen as a vanity project :)
Feargal Sharkey
He's done all right since The Undertones (good stuff) and solo (not absolutely fantastic)
as what?
a dull old mouthpiece for the music industry? It struck me listening to Sharkey the other day how awful he is as a figurehead in the fight against illegal downloading.
He came across as totally devoid of charm and humour and like a tired old politician he refused to answer questions directly.
He has a huged layout in a barn somewhere
and designs new layout kit etc.
Then there's Elton's long term
support of Watford. Not sure what the fans think but well us footy fans are an fickle bunch at times.
And Mr Harrison paying for most of the decent films made in Britain in last 30 years.
Oh and the Rossi family's continued production of Britain's summer time treat.
Well done Andrew!
The films...who knew?
Surely not on a Wordsman's wages?
That Nick Cave's vanity projects are pretty good.
A veritable renaissance man, no two ways about it.
Bill Wyman
I'd like to know how his metal detectors are selling.
I saw that url before
and thought that a 'billwymandetector' was the kind of thing nervous parents would insist that their daughters would carry when they went to teenage discos...
Fly Your Planes Right
I guess Bruce Dickinson has done very well for himself in Iron Maiden and his second job as a commercial airline pilot. Hard to know which of these is his second job these days?
He's also a pretty successful writer. Is there no end to his talents? It seems not, but can he make a homemade Scotch Egg, maybe not.
Not the best beer in the world
but not the worst by a long chalk.
Neil Morrissey
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1079769/Neil-Morrisseys-...
The education foundation started by Steffi Graf and Agassi?
Hats off to the pair of them.
Where's Keef's signature Shepherd's Pie ready meal?
He should produce a signature skull-festooned suitcase...
full of HP Sauce bottles and Class A drugs. They'd sell like hotcakes.
Blessed
is the Blur cheesemaker (that's my second reference to this today!)
And the Who trout farmer.
And the Peter Pan of Pop winemaker.
And the Godfather director winemaker.
And the former Beatle muse cakemaker.
Whine
Sir Cliff and Lord Mick of Hucknall also they are.
Grace Jones
Surely given that it was a spin off from the day job which had made her rich and famous already (being a supermodel) Grace Jones' music career must be one of the ultimate 'successful vanity projects'. I've often thought how disastrously wrong the modern day equivalent would go - if someone purposefully set out to turn a supermodel (say, Lily Cole or similar) into a credible, cutting-edge artist making records which effortlessly spanned several genres and absolutely stood the test of time... You'd bet against it working, wouldn't you?
What is it with rock stars and fish?
Ian Anderson's involvement in the salmon industry in Scotland was very successful. His set up on the Isle of Skye was worth more than 10 million quid in the late 1990s and continues to be successful. And I don't think the company traded on his Tull fame at all (would you buy a side of smoked salmon just because it was endorsed by rock's premier flautist?).
Bill Wyman's Sticky Fingers
restaurant was successful for ages. Is it still there?
Jim Croce's wife runs a very nice eaterie in San Diego.
don van vliet and
Joni Mitchell, both excellent brushsmiths. Dirk Bogarde, actor-turned writer. Hedy Lamarr and Jeff "skunk" baxter, comedy actress and musician both turned military boffins'
The poet
Leonard Cohen has done pretty well with the music thing.
Francis Albert
Peerless singer.
Great actor.
Goodfella?