If They Had Lived...

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

A lot of celebs have died early and while it may be nice to think they always would be just as famous or even more so, that is awfully pie in the sky thinking. So if certain celebs had lived what do you think would have happened to them? Who would have become huge? Who would have faded into obscurity?

This was inspired by watching "Black Sheep." Chris Farley was pretty funny, but he only had so much material and a lot of it was repetitive. I think "Shrek" would have been big for him. After that I think maybe he'd just cling to that franchise and do some live action cameos.

[Orange]

Given the huge popularity that Paul McCartney still has, I think if John Lennon & George Harrison were still alive, sometime recently they would've put personal issues aside and went out on a Beatles tour, and it would've been nothing short but huge. Could you imagine how huge a tour would be with the general consensus most influential band in the world? Holy s***...

I also think that if Tupac were still alive, he'd still be popular but not nearly as popular as he was. Maybe in more of a Dr. Dre role now, with producing and exploring other ventures like Dre has with headphones and such.

Honestly as huge as he was, I really don't know what Elvis would be doing if he were still alive. I think he'd still be popular to a certain degree, but I don't know if there'd be a huge demand for him today.

[Rorschach]

Ummm....for a lot of those folks...they'd be at or near the end of their lifespan anyway, right? I mean, Lennon would be 70 and I believe Elvis would be 75....so I don't know how much they'd even be in the public eye, let alone performing TODAY.

One that I will always wonder about would be Jimi Hendrix.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Dec 15, 2010 14:59:43 GMT -5 Rorschach said:

Ummm....for a lot of those folks...they'd be at or near the end of their lifespan anyway, right? I mean, Lennon would be 70 and I believe Elvis would be 75....so I don't know how much they'd even be in the public eye, let alone performing TODAY.

One that I will always wonder about would be Jimi Hendrix.

I always pictured him contemporizing and experimenting with his sound slightly over time, much to the chagrin of his fanbase.

[Ben Wyatt]

Ill say it: If Cobain was still alive (and assuming he didnt retire, as was rumored at the time) Nirvana's popularity would have faded some and they'd have been on a career path similar to Pearl Jam

[Rorschach]

Dec 15, 2010 15:09:17 GMT -5 Clash, Never a Meter Maid said:

Dec 15, 2010 14:59:43 GMT -5 Rorschach said:

Ummm....for a lot of those folks...they'd be at or near the end of their lifespan anyway, right? I mean, Lennon would be 70 and I believe Elvis would be 75....so I don't know how much they'd even be in the public eye, let alone performing TODAY.

One that I will always wonder about would be Jimi Hendrix.

I always pictured him contemporizing and experimenting with his sound slightly over time, much to the chagrin of his fanbase.

Yeah, me too. Almost another "Dylan goes electric" situation, where he begins to get into other things, and go a different direction and a large chunk of his fanbase rebels.

[Deleted]

Hendrix would be doing things very similar to Clapton these days. I'm sure he would have done some serious musical experimentation in the 70s and 80s but he'd be back to basics by now.

One that I wonder about is James Dean. Would his career have continued to skyrocket or would he have flamed out.

[darthalexander]

I wish Hank Williams had lived. He would have had a very long career and we would have gotten a ton of great songs. Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Jim Reeves - all singers I wish hadn't died so early.

[treysarver]

Dec 15, 2010 15:09:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Ill say it: If Cobain was still alive (and assuming he didnt retire, as was rumored at the time) Nirvana's popularity would have faded some and they'd have been on a career path similar to Pearl Jam

This, and to go further, Heath Ledger would not have won an Oscar for The Dark Knight. Not to say he didn't do a good job, he did a great job. Those kind of movies never get Oscar love though.

[hollywood]

Dec 15, 2010 15:48:43 GMT -5 treysarver said:

Dec 15, 2010 15:09:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Heath Ledger would not have won an Oscar for The Dark Knight. Not to say he didn't do a good job, he did a great job. Those kind of movies never get Oscar love though.

I think Ledger would've eventually become a very respected and successful actor and likely win a Oscar one day, had he lived.

He never would've received the notice for his role in TDK, if he'd lived. (Sorry Bat-fans.) But the guy had quite a diverse resume, and he was a very talented actor with a bright future. I suspect he might've one day been something like Matt Damon in terms of success.

[treysarver]

Dec 15, 2010 15:56:22 GMT -5 hollywood said:

Dec 15, 2010 15:48:43 GMT -5 treysarver said:

Dec 15, 2010 15:09:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Heath Ledger would not have won an Oscar for The Dark Knight. Not to say he didn't do a good job, he did a great job. Those kind of movies never get Oscar love though.

I think Ledger would've eventually become a very respected and successful actor and likely win a Oscar one day, had he lived.

He never would've received the notice for his role in TDK, if he'd lived. (Sorry Bat-fans.) But the guy had quite a diverse resume, and he was a very talented actor with a bright future. I suspect he might've one day been something like Matt Damon in terms of success.

Oh, I completely I agree. He was good and did a great job in The Dark Knight, but like I said (and it looks like you agree), those movies never get the Oscar love.

[lovingway]

Dec 15, 2010 15:48:43 GMT -5 treysarver said:

Dec 15, 2010 15:09:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Ill say it: If Cobain was still alive (and assuming he didnt retire, as was rumored at the time) Nirvana's popularity would have faded some and they'd have been on a career path similar to Pearl Jam

This, and to go further, Heath Ledger would not have won an Oscar for The Dark Knight. Not to say he didn't do a good job, he did a great job. Those kind of movies never get Oscar love though.

I concur.

With Nirvana I could actually see a backlash against them in the late 90s since they were the head of the grunge movement

I think James Dean would just be viewed as a teen idol of his time. Same thing with Marilyn Monroe.

[paulbearer]

Even Dean wouldve made crap/less than stellar films (see Walken or de Niro as example)

Bruce Lee wouldve cut down considerably , making a movie every 2-3 yrs......eventually hed not be in as good shape as 1971-72.......maybe hed have a pot belly by 1985 lol......prolly not.

Hed consentrate more and more developing as a director and also help to launch Brandons career.

Monroe would pretty much retire by age 50 , so 1976-ish........by then shed teamed up with Welch , Loren , Streisand , Nicholson and others.

Elvis would call it quits after another 10 yrs and would very seldom have a concert , doing a movie now and then.....hed long since fired Col Parker.

Elvis would appear twice on WM , first as a singer and then hed beat the holy hell outta HTM during a match (damn , Id pay BIG $$$ to see that LOL)

[Beets by Schrute]

Michael Jackson had he lived would of had the greatest farewell in all of music.
Ritchie Valens would of gone on to have an amazing career and I could see him retire in the 80s.
River Phoenix probably would of been a B list actor at best.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Apparently, according to detractors, The Dark Knight would have been a miserable failure if Heath Ledger hadn't passed away, all hype about the movie prior to his death to the contrary.

[fw91]

yeah i agree that if lennon didnt die we wouldve gotten a beatles reunion

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Buddy Holly probably would have eventually went into country music. And he would have still been great.

[FrankGotch]

Dec 15, 2010 13:48:35 GMT -5 Orange said:

Honestly as huge as he was, I really don't know what Elvis would be doing if he were still alive. I think he'd still be popular to a certain degree, but I don't know if there'd be a huge demand for him today.

Elvis wasn't just a celebrity he was an icon. If he were still around today he would be treated with all the respect, and dignity of a king. Heck the guy has been dead for 33 years now, and his estate still has a higher yearly income than most popular living celebrities. There was just something about Elvis, the guy just had such an unspoken awesome charisma about him that I find it hard to believe that he would have ever been unpopular at any point.

[kidglov3s]

It's interesting to think what John Cazale would've gone on to do had he not died so young. It's also fun to think about what paths Deanna Durbin or Garbo might have taken had they not decided to stop working very young, or if Princess Grace hadn't left cinema for royalty.

[Bo Rida]

It's hard to tell, although many musicians suffer backlashes or fade from popularity but I think the biggest starts can usually reinvent themselves. It's possible Elvis could have followed a similar path to Johnny Cash.
In England at least the older stars often achieve national treasure status.