Friday, September 26, 2008

The Other Guys

That shtick on the last part of my "50 Greatest Animated Villains of All Time" list will have to wait a few days for completion. When inspiration strikes, I must type, type, type.

If you're like me, you're able to recall the names of members of various bands, teams, and/or supergroups when asked. It's all the result of having no social life and spending countless days researching the internet to memorize these trivial names.

In several cases of famous groups, one or more members are able to transcend into a new echelon of fame, while leaving everyone else to fade into obscurity. Thus, these members become "The Other Guy."

Yes, "The Other Guy." You've used that term before. Like with that 80's pop duo, Wham, consisting of George Michael and The Other Guy. But this The Other Guy has a name.



And it's Andrew Ridgeley. That's him on the right. After George Micheal split and become uberfamous and uberinfamous, Andrew was left to sit back and reflect on Wham's success. After listening to "Last Christmas" alone in a dark room for the 18 millionth time, he became a noted surfer and British Environmentalist.

And now, I present to you, a list profiling some more well-known "Other Guys."


Peter Scolari: The Other Guy from "Bosom Buddies."


One half of the crossdressing sitcom duo of himself and Tom Hanks from this...sitcom. After Hanks hit it big, Peter was left to sit back and reflect on the success of "Bosom Buddies." His biggest role since then was starring in Rick Moranis's role in "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids: The TV Series." I can't believe I actually watched that on the then-WB11.


Peter Criss: The Other Guy from KISS.



"I should've known when you decided to dress up as Peter Criss. No one wants to be Peter Criss, not even Peter Criss!"~Peter Griffin.


George Harrison: The Other Guy from The Beatles.


The most famous rock/pop band of all time had an "Other Guy," and it was George Harrison. Now, now, you may think that title belongs to Ringo Starr. The differences that prevent Ringo from becoming "The Other Guy" are that he has a more distinctive name, and that he's currently not dead.


Joey Bishop: The Other Guy from The Rat Pack.


The infamous Rat Pack, as you may know, consisted of himself, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra in its most iconic lineup. The lone comedian of the group, he was sadly regulated as "The Other Guy." As it turns out, he got the last laugh by being the last surviving member of the group, and hopefully they are all swinging together in that big nightclub in the sky right now.


Winston: The Other Guy from Ghostbusters.


It's sad that the only token member of the Ghostbusters team was also "The Other Guy" of the group. I keep hearing that the sequel video game is in development hell and that they're going to make Ghostbusters 3 as a movie. People: Make a decision and stick with it. Either a movie or video game would be great, but both would be fantastic.


Jeff Lynne: The Other Guy from The Travelling Willburys.


The Travelling Willburys was an 80's supergroup consisting of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, fellow "Other Guy" George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne. While each member was super famous in their own right, this Electric Light Orchestra member had faded into "Other Guy status," despite being one of the co-founders of the group. His name seems to have "Other Guy" stapled to his head.

"Bob Dylan! Tom Petty! George Harrison! Roy Orbison! Jeff Lynne?"


José Carreras: The Other Guy from The Three Tenors.


Perhaps the Ultimate "Other Guy," this was the only person on the list whose name I actually had to look up. The Three Tenors were an operatic trio consiting of himself, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Poveratti. While Poveratti was well-known for being fat and dying, and Domingo got a muppet named after himself, Carreras is most known for surviving leukemia and actually creating the group in the first place.


The Featured Players: The Other Guys from SNL.


In most episodes of Saturday Night Live, after all of the main cast is introduced, they then introduced people that the show is "Featuring..." These people are either newer cast members and/or people that rarely appear in the show due to not being part of the main cast. This slot honors all of them, and all the Featured Players that have yet to join the show and leave as quietly as they came.

The early 90's shows were notorious for having cast rosters a mile long, with Featured Players along with "Also Starring" players, usually Al Franken, Robert Smigel and A. Whitney Brown.



Here's to you, "The Other Guy." May you all be slightly less forgotten.

Are there any other "Other Guys" that I missed? I know there are a few that I left out. If I get enough entries, I might do another one.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Norb, but actually Ridgeley has been very busy.

Anonymous said...

Ummmm So.....I have a deep affinity for "other guys" george harrison is my favorite beatle.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a big Kiss fan, but I know Peter Criss from the Weezer (rulz) song "In The Garage":
"I've got posters on the wall
My favorite rock group KISS
I've got Ace Frehley
I've got Peter Criss".
Also I'm more familar of Peter Scolari, as Michael the yuppie on Newhart, I loved that show as a kid.

Anonymous said...

I don't know how George can really be the other guy with the most successful solo album of the four.

Pete Best?

Anonymous said...

Winston was always my favorite, next to Louis.