Past Huge Stars That Are Barely Remembered Today?

[VirginiaHamilton]

Jody Watley was big when I was a kid - pretty much the Rihanna of that era, except she had actual talent. Nowadays, one would never know that she was a contemporary of Janet Jackson's in terms of being a hit-making machine.

[Mr. Vixen]

Amanda Bynes started on All That and was definitely a huge star. And I'm talking before the breakdown, too.

[All My Shadows]

Look, bitches, her name was Lori Beth Denberg.

Printing out Ticketmaster coupons for all of you so that you may have a discount for all the seats you need to take.

Anyway, I was using Nick stars under the "it's relative" banner. They were not huge stars in general, but they were huge stars on their network in that era.

[Mr. Vixen]

hey, i was defending her!!!

[SFK]

Oh man, I TOTALLY scrolled past her name in my mental Rolodex when I was thinking of names for this thread. Everything is one of my favorite songs and I listen to it on YouTube at least once a week and have even written a gospel version.

[Vee]

Amanda Bynes was never a huge star. She did a couple teen movies, but she never ever approached the level of even a Lindsay Lohan. Even at the height of her popularity with kids, she was a second or third string teen star.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Speaking of teen stars, I remember

being promoted as the one to fill Johnny Depp's shoes after the latter left his show for a movie career. Yet, I haven't seen this guy since If Looks Could Kill in the 90s.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Lori Jo, Lori Beth, Lori Mae - she was still wack to me, folks.

@ Everything... I still can't quite figure out why her career wasn't able to survive past the early 90s.

[DRW50]

I think Grieco did a cameo in that 21 Jump Street remake. And I saw him on that Celebrity Ghost Encounters show last year. His story was scary as hell.

Other than Holly Robinson I never had much interest in any of the 21 group (including Johnny Depp).

[I Am A Swede]

Going back a little further in time I think that Deanna Durbin, who passed away last year, would qualify. Judy Garland is much remembered today, as is Shirley Temple, but Deanna Durbin, who was a major star for a decade, is largely forgotten.

The fact that she voluntarily withdrew from public life at a young age certainly contributed, but still....

[Mr. Vixen]

I don't know. I remember her doing that movie with Frankie Muniz, then the one with Colin Firth and of course there's "She's the Man", and during that time her name was everywhere. And then of course there was Hairpsray, she was talked about a LOT because of "Easy A", her "retirement" made headlines everywhere, and she was the most talked about celebrity this summer because of her breakdown.I remember I used to read countless articles hailing her "the next Lucille Ball" and stuff like that. I think she was definitely a huge star, and more so than any other Nick star.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Amanda Bynes was a huge star? In what universe? She wasn't even Miley Cyrus huge and I'm talking Miley back when she was better know as Hannah Montana lols....

[Mathewson]

Patty Duke

Clint Eastwood

Jaclyn Smith

Cheryl Ladd

Robert Hays

Gary Cole - well he was a big star for his role in "Office Space"!

Jennifer Grey - until she won DWTS!

[quartermainefan]

Clint Eastwood? He is huge to this day not only as an occasional actor but as a director. Apparently the upcoming "Jersey Boys" musical is his next. And then there was his headlne making turn at the republican convention in 2012. Cheryl Ladd is a great example though.

[All My Shadows]

When we say "barely remembered," though, what exactly does that mean? Because it's only natural that most stars who were huge in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s will gradually fade out of the limelight, but to me, barely remembered means they're not even remembered by the people who would remember them -- those who helped make them "huge" in their heyday. I mean, I guess that kinda calls into question how "huge" the person was to begin with, though. Fame is a very interesting topic when you think about it.