Top 10 '80s Stars Who Fell Off the Map
Hey, remember that actor from that movie? For this list, we’ll be looking at actors who made a name for themselves in the 1980s, but haven’t had any major roles recently, or have stepped away from the screen completely.
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00:00 "Listen, if you're from the bank..."
00:02 "Bank? I don't think so."
00:04 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 80s stars who fell off the map.
00:10 "You look different."
00:12 "Well, you know, you see a movie once."
00:14 "No, I saw it a few times."
00:15 "Like 10 years ago."
00:15 "No, I saw it again just last month."
00:17 "Oh, on television?"
00:17 "No, I saw it in a huge revival."
00:19 For this list, we'll be looking at actors who made a name for themselves in the 1980s,
00:24 but haven't had any major roles recently or have stepped away from the screen completely.
00:28 Which 80s icon do you wish would make a comeback?
00:31 Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
00:34 Number 10. Jeff Cohen.
00:36 "Hey kid, I want you to spill your guts, tell us everything."
00:39 "Everything."
00:41 "Everything."
00:43 "Everything, okay, I'll talk."
00:46 Everyone remembers the cowardly but heroic chunk from the coming-of-age classic The Goonies,
00:51 but you might not know that Jeff Cohen also had a fairly prolific TV career in the 80s,
00:56 with roles in several TV movies and appearances in multiple episodes of hit sitcoms.
01:01 "It's great to see you guys."
01:03 "Yeah, always a major joy."
01:06 Later in life, he became interested in the business side of Hollywood,
01:10 and went on to take up a career in law, even co-founding his own firm.
01:14 While he's moved away from the spotlight,
01:16 he's very much still involved in the entertainment industry.
01:20 In fact, he represented his Goonies co-star,
01:23 Kee Hwee Kwan, in negotiating Kwan's contract for his Oscar-winning role
01:27 in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
01:29 He also shared a video of the pair hugging on his Instagram story,
01:33 where Jeff was captured telling Kee how proud he was of him.
01:37 "I love you, brother."
01:38 "I'm so proud of you."
01:40 Number 9. Catherine Bach.
01:46 Becoming a famous actor is one thing, but getting an item of clothing named after you
01:51 is a whole other level of icon status.
01:54 "It's a birthday, you know."
01:55 "Oh, it is? Happy birthday, Daisy."
01:58 "Why, thank you, Venus."
02:00 When Bach was first cast in The Dukes of Hazzard,
02:03 the producers had a more old-fashioned wardrobe in mind for her character.
02:07 But Bach talked them into letting her wear her own clothes,
02:10 and thus was born the famous shorts that would come to be known as Daisy Dukes.
02:14 "You know, if we weren't cousins, I'd marry you."
02:16 "This has never stopped anyone in this family before."
02:19 "You got a point there."
02:20 In addition to reprising her role in the Dukes animated series and a pair of Dukes reunion
02:25 specials, Bach played recurring characters on several other shows,
02:28 most notably The Young and the Restless.
02:31 She also appeared in over a dozen small films, but hasn't had an acting credit since 2016.
02:37 "You, is it a fashion line you've got?"
02:40 "Yes, I'm, I got a collection of denim jeans and…"
02:45 "Shorts."
02:45 "Shorts."
02:46 Number 8. Mia Sara.
02:49 Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of those 80s movies that everyone has to see at some point,
02:54 and Mia Sara's Sloane was part of the teen trio that made it so great.
02:58 "What do you think Ferris is gonna do?"
03:00 "It's gonna be a fry cook I think."
03:04 Sara has been all over our screens in the years since,
03:08 with plenty of TV appearances as well as roles in both big budget flicks and smaller films.
03:13 Her final feature appearance came in 2012's Dorothy and the Witches of Oz,
03:18 as the evil Princess Languidere who can swap her head out at will.
03:22 "Who are you? And how did you get into my house?"
03:25 "I teleported of course. Took a little sip of puff puff juice and bing."
03:29 Since then, Sara has retired from acting and become a prolific writer,
03:34 focusing mainly on poetry.
03:36 But she did reunite with her Ferris Bueller co-stars to share memories in 2020.
03:40 "Mia, I saw you on the street in Soho like a million years ago."
03:46 "And you hid in a drawing?"
03:48 "No I don't remember."
03:51 Number 7. Michael Scheffling
03:54 It's hard to follow up a breakout performance in such a beloved classic as 16 Candles.
03:59 "What are you doing here?"
04:00 "I heard you were here."
04:02 "You came here for me?"
04:04 "Is that okay?"
04:06 "Yeah it's okay."
04:10 Scheffling started his career as a model,
04:12 and his part as Sam's love interest in the teen rom-com was his first screen role.
04:17 After that, he appeared in a string of movies throughout the 80s and into the early 90s,
04:22 some more successful than others, before quitting acting to, believe it or not, make furniture.
04:27 "God strike me down, that's almost as good as a manger.
04:30 Give me strength not to sit on his lap."
04:33 Despite the plethora of Jake Ryan fans apparently still pining for him,
04:37 Scheffling has had better luck staying out of the spotlight than most former stars.
04:41 Aside from the odd appearance on his daughter's Instagram feed,
04:44 he's pretty much disappeared from the public eye.
04:47 "Sunday's my day off. Sometimes I go fishing."
04:50 Number 6. Kirk Cameron
04:53 "You know how they always say that despite all the hardships of teaching,
04:56 there are those rare moments that make it all worthwhile?"
04:59 "Yes."
05:00 "This one's for you."
05:02 If you're deep into the faith-based film scene, Cameron probably hasn't fallen off your map,
05:08 though he no longer spends much time in the mainstream public eye.
05:12 During his turn as Mike Seaver on the hit sitcom Growing Pains,
05:15 Cameron first became a teen heartthrob, then born-again Christian.
05:20 He's been totally devoted to his religion ever since,
05:23 appearing almost exclusively in faith-based productions,
05:26 though he did make a cameo in his sister's sitcom Fuller House in 2019.
05:31 "Sweet jeez, why is my Kirk Cameron poster walking?"
05:37 "I get that a lot."
05:38 He's also starred in and produced a number of Christian films
05:41 and documentaries over the last two decades,
05:44 the most popular of which is his role in the first three Left Behind movies,
05:48 based on the popular novel.
05:50 Cameron even hosts his own Christian talk show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
05:55 "I want to honor God and my family, and I want to hear 'Well done' at the end of the race."
06:00 Number 5. Kelly McGillis
06:02 "You always get what you want?"
06:02 "No, not always. Yeah, maybe."
06:07 Like most of the celebs on our list,
06:09 McGillis' biggest role came early in her career.
06:12 This was when she starred opposite Tom Cruise as Charlotte Charlie Blackwood
06:16 in the mega-blockbuster Top Gun.
06:19 "I see some real genius in your flying, Maverick, but I can't say that in there.
06:22 I was afraid that everyone in that tax trailer would see right through me,
06:25 and I just don't want anyone to know that I've fallen for you."
06:29 Unlike many others on our list,
06:31 McGillis has actually been working pretty steadily ever since.
06:35 Although she took a short break from acting in the early 2000s,
06:38 between the late 80s and the 2020s,
06:40 she's had dozens of roles in small films and TV movies.
06:44 She also appeared in a handful of TV episodes,
06:47 including in some fairly major series like The Outer Limits and The L Word.
06:52 She's even performed on stage,
06:54 most notably playing Mrs. Robinson in a 2004 tour of The Graduate.
06:58 "Seems to me you've got it all figured out."
07:02 "Yeah.
07:02 Except you did forget the wine."
07:06 Number 4. Jamie Gertz
07:08 Another Sixteen Candles alum,
07:13 Gertz was in high demand throughout the 1980s.
07:16 With major roles in movies like The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero,
07:20 as well as series like Square Pegs, Gertz was all over our screens.
07:25 "Well, if you think that you can improve on that,
07:27 there will be a box with a slot in it in the student pep room."
07:30 Her busy schedule tapered off slightly in the 90s when she took on fewer film roles
07:36 and most of her TV appearances were guest parts.
07:39 Starting in the 2000s, she pivoted almost entirely to TV,
07:43 with major roles in Still Standing and The Neighbors.
07:46 However, since 2015, sports fans might best know her
07:50 as co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks with her husband, Tony Ressler.
07:54 "I think it's very exciting.
07:55 It's like that last bastion of something that we don't know the outcome."
07:59 Number 3. Jennifer Grey
08:01 After the surprise success of Dirty Dancing,
08:04 we might have expected Jennifer Grey to become the next big Hollywood star.
08:09 But her popularity took a downturn in the 90s.
08:12 "Nobody puts baby in a corner."
08:13 Concerned that her appearance would prevent her from getting roles,
08:16 she had rhinoplasty and ended up looking so different
08:19 that even close friends didn't recognize her.
08:22 "To the screen." "Bow job!"
08:23 "Oh."
08:28 "Just one?"
08:31 Grey persevered despite the negative effects on her career
08:34 and landed a number of smaller parts over the next two decades,
08:37 as well as a starring role on a short-lived sitcom where she played herself.
08:42 In 2010, she put her dancing talents to the test again on Dancing with the Stars
08:47 and won the competition with her partner, Derek Hough.
08:57 Number 2. Rick Moranis
08:59 If you were a kid in the 80s, you definitely knew Rick Moranis.
09:03 He appeared in some of the most beloved comedies of the decade.
09:06 "You know, Mr. Tully, you are a most fortunate individual."
09:10 "I know."
09:10 "You have been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross-rip
09:14 since the Tunguska blast of 1909."
09:16 "So great."
09:17 Everyone remembers Lewis from Ghostbusters,
09:20 who might have been a bit of a nerd, but actually looks like a blast to hang out with.
09:24 And of course, who could forget Lord Dark Helmet?
09:27 "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate."
09:32 "What's that make us?"
09:36 "Absolutely nothing, which is what you are about to become."
09:42 Sadly, Moranis' wife tragically passed away from cancer in 1991,
09:47 and over the next decade, the actor began to step away from Hollywood
09:51 to focus on parenting his two children.
09:54 Aside from a few TV appearances and voice gigs, he's largely been away from acting,
09:59 though he's slated to reprise his role as Wayne Zalinski in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids franchise.
10:05 "It works. The machine works. Do the kids know?"
10:10 "Well, yeah, the kids know."
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10:26 Number 1. Phoebe Cates
10:30 If you only knew her from one scene, we bet we can guess which one it is.
10:34 It has to be one of the most replayed moments in movie history,
10:38 and it arguably catapulted Cates to superstardom.
10:42 "You gotta get used to working the holidays. People are always screaming and yelling."
10:45 Over the next decade, the young actor averaged more than one movie a year,
10:50 and there's no reason to think she couldn't have continued appearing on screen as much as she
10:55 wanted. Instead, after starring alongside her husband Kevin Kline in 1994's Princess Caribou,
11:01 Cates elected to press pause on her Hollywood career and focus on her kids.
11:06 Since then, she's started her own New York City boutique.
11:10 "What's that?"
11:10 "Oh, funny you should ask. I think this would be perfect for her. This is the
11:15 perfect husband bracelet." Cates returned to acting just once in 2001's The Anniversary Party,
11:22 directed by her Fast Times co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh.
11:25 "Who is looking for something else? Something more intoxicating?"
11:30 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms Mojo,
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