Star Debuts

1. "Good Times Roll"
2. "My Best Friend's Girl"
3. "Just What I Needed"

 

Not even sure stand-ups are fair. Kinison on the Dangerfield special, Roseanne on Carson.
I remember seeing Seinfeld on Merv Griffin's show - one of his first national appearances.

Exclusive Clip: A Young Jerry Seinfeld's 1981 Stand-Up Appearance on 'The Merv Griffin Show'

 

One thing that set Garth apart in the early 1990s - at the time, the standard for country artists was "stand at a mic, strum a guitar, sing" (not saying it's bad because George Strait has done this for 40 years) but he was the first one to turn his concerts into a must-attend performance and had his concerts recorded and out on VHS and broadcast on TV. He doesn't have the greatest voice, but he has some great songs and he had that entertainer stage presence to absolutely turn country music on its ear.

 

Madonna 1984 Like A Virgin at the first MTV Awards

can’t stand her. Never could. It that was a performance for the ages

 

I was 5, at my grandmother's birthday party on a Sunday night with all my aunts and uncles and cousins. All the grownups were talking about these kids and their crazy hair.

They opened with "All My Loving" and "Till There Was You," both kind of yawners. And then ...

 

It's easy to forget what a big star Snipes was in the '90s. He had a helluva run from '89-'98.

 

A couple that stick out to me:
- DiCaprio was mentioned upthread, but I remember him stealing the show on Growing Pains.
- Vin Diesel as Caparzo in "Saving Private Ryan." The guy isn't the greatest actor in the world, but he has charisma and it was obvious in that small role.
- Djimon Hounsou in "Amistad."
- Elle Fanning in "Super 8."

The last two probably don't qualify as "stars," but Hounsou is an Oscar nominee and I think Fanning will eventually become one.

 

Whoopi Goldberg's first HBO special, the one that ended with her playing a little black girl, wearing a white towel on her head to represent her "beautiful blonde hair".

 

It was a couple of years later, but you have to add Leo's performance in "The Basketball Diaries" as well.

As to his debut, the first credit on his IMDB acting page was "Romper Room". Seriously.

 

"Whoopi Goldberg on Broaddway." I loved that at the time. The little girl and the woman who got involved with "Old Raisin" were really funny.

 

Robin Williams as Mork on Happy Days. No one had ever seen a character like that. Such crazy, kinetic energy.