HOT GALLERY: Celebs Who Moved From Hollywood to the Hill

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Jerry Springer—Then

The son of Polish Jews who escaped the Holocaust, Jerry Springer was born in London and raised in New York, where he attended Forest Hills High School. Unlike many of his fellow government-bound celebs, Springer was a politician first and TV star second. After serving for five terms on the Cincinnati City Council, he became, at age 33, the mayor of Cincinnati.

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Jerry Springer—Now

Ironically, it was Springer's failed gubernatorial bid in 1982 that paved his way to lowbrow talk television. In 1991, The Jerry Springer Show was born, and after some demographic tweaks it became a hit show that featured a spectrum of gripes—and the staple on-set catfights. Twenty-three years later, Springer remains outspoken about politics—as well as grandma threesomes, midget marriages, and more.

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Al Franken—Then

As a bespectacled senior at Blake Country Day School in Hopkins, Minnesota, the young Al Franken had a successful career ahead. He would eventually land on Saturday Night Live, where he gained fame for creating characters like self-help guru Stuart Smalley, whose famous catchphrase "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me," would become a tongue-in-cheek mantra for a generation.

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Al Franken—Now

After running his own show on now-defunct Air America, Franken ran for U.S. Senate in 2008 in his home state of Minnesota. He campaigned against incumbent Norm Coleman in what would become one of the dirtiest, mudslingingest, and closest races in the nation. When the public spoke, however, results were... tight. Franken won by less than .05 percent, prompting a mandatory recount. Finally, a three-judge panel ruled Franken the winner, proving that he was good enough for office after all.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger—Then

Who would have guessed that this fresh-faced, pubescent Austrian boy would become a buff bodybuilder known for pretending to blow things up, flexing his massive muscles, and saving the world (not necessarily in that order)?

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Arnold Schwarzenegger—Now

In 2003, Schwarzenegger said hasta la vista to acting and took on a new role as California's governor. With a one-two punch of his larger-than-life charisma and political legitimacy by marriage—his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, is from the Kennedy clan—Schwarzenegger won in a special recall election that saw the ousting of Gov. Gray Davis and birthed the state's first-ever "Governator."
Snakkle catches up with '80s political newsmaker Donna Rice in this reflective article.

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Bill Bradley—Then

By the time Bill Bradley was a senior at Crystal City High School in Crystal City, Missouri, he was well on his way to becoming a basketball legend. Four years later, he would become an Olympic gold medalist in basketball before joining the New York Knicks, with whom he won two NBA championships. In 1982, the midwestern superstar would be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Bill Bradley—Now

Despite what Wesley Snipes may say about white men, Bill Bradley could jump—and run. Soon after leaving the Knicks, he took his game to government, serving as a senator from New Jersey for the next 18 years and dipping his toes into the U.S. presidential race in 2000. In addition to his winning strategy on both the court and the congressional floor, Bradley has served as a visiting professor, worked as an essayist for CBS News, and currently hosts a Sirius radio show.

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Clint Eastwood—Then

Ever the strong, silent type, Clint Eastwood had his own style going on as early as senior year at Oakland Technical School in Oakland, California. Arriving in Hollywood in the early 1950s, he would play a series of small parts, such as the (uncredited) plane pilot who napalms a killer spider in the 1955 sci-fi thriller Tarantula. In the mid-1960s, the cool young actor scored his big break in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars—and a star was born.

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Clint Eastwood—Now

Eastwood has maintained his cool over the years, taking it from the set to public office (and back again. See: J. Edgar). In 1986 he became mayor of Carmel, a ritzy, seaside town in Northern California, in a landslide victory. His mission? To relax the rigid business restrictions in the place he'd called home for 14 years, such as the ban on selling fast food and ice cream. After two years in office the local celeb-utician returned to acting and directing and went on to win a lot of other things—namely, a fistful of Oscars.

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Fred Grandy—Then

Long before Fred Grandy set sail on The Love Boat, he was a student at New Hampshire's posh boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy, where his social life may have foreshadowed his future political career. His roommate there was David Eisenhower—grandson of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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Fred Grandy—Now

Grandy appeared in several TV shows, including Norman Lear's hit Maude, but it was his role as Gopher on The Love Boat that floated him to fame. Nearly 10 years later, his name-recognition helped him cruise straight to Congress as a representative for Iowa. Grandy remained active as a conservative radio host until 2011, when he resigned amid controversy surrounding his wife's comments about radical Islam.

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Fred Thompson—Then

It's tough not to hear the gavels pound in the background when Fred Thompson appears. As a smiley senior at Lawrence County High School in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, however, the gritty topics of his longtime TV home, Law & Order, were a distant future, in which cases would be opened and closed within an hour and Thompson's future alter ego, D.A. Arthur Branch, would solve them on no fewer than three spin-off series.

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Fred Thompson—Now

Thompson took a break from acting from 1995 to 2003 to serve as a U.S. senator for Tennessee. As soon as his last term was over, he returned to the lights, cameras, and tidy legal cases of TV, until 2008. That year, he decided to audition for his biggest role ever: president of the United States. Campaigning, however, turned out to be more grueling than a long day on set, and after some missteps and poor results at the polls, Thompson dropped out of the race. He appeared as the sheriff in the horror movie Sinister and had a guest role on The Good Wife.

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Gore Vidal—Then

Like Grandy, future essayist, playwright, and distinguished public figure Gore Vidal attended the oh-so-posh Phillips Exeter Academy in the mid-1940s, rubbing elbows with other future distinguished young gentlemen and generally prepping for a posh, public life.

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Gore Vidal—Legacy

Despite a successful (and sometimes controversial) career as a writer, Vidal yearned to try his hand at politics and ran for Congress in 1960. He lost and returned to writing, but heeded the political call again in 1982, when he ran for Senate against California's favorite son, Jerry Brown (Vidal lost). Even without the popular vote, Vidal was outspoken about American politics, using prose as his soapbox instead of a congressional seat. He sadly passed away in 2012.

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Jack Kemp—Then

As a senior at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, the young Jack Kemp was more focused on athletics than a future political life. When the American Football League was founded, he became a San Diego Charger and was later snagged by the Buffalo Bills, where he led them to several championships. Plus: He made the AFL All-Star team seven times.

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Jack Kemp—Legacy

Once his days of tackling grown men were over, Kemp decided to tackle American politics. In 1970, he ran successfully for Congress, where he remained for 18 years, until he resigned to run for the Super Bowl of offices: President of the United States. And while Kemp lost to George Bush Sr., the matchup would not be his last; in 1996, Sen. Bob Dole picked Kemp as his presidential running mate on the Republican ticket. Again, there would be no political touchdown (Bill Clinton won a second term), and Kemp left the campaign field for good.

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Jesse "The Body" Ventura--Then

Jesse Ventura's senior year photo from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis offers few hints of the rough-and-tumble wrestling career he'd have under the spotlight. With his catchy name and willingness to wear spandex, he body-slammed himself all the way to the forefront of his sport, facing off against Hulk Hogan, among other stars, before retiring.

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Jesse "The Body" Ventura--Now

In 1998 Ventura was ready to fight the power more than he was his fellow wrestler, and made a long-shot bid for the governorship of Minnesota (even more importantly, he changed his nickname). To the surprise of almost everyone—except, perhaps, the Minnesota electorate that joked, ate, and hung out with him on the campaign trail—Ventura took his opponents to the mat, knocking them out and taking home the political champion's belt, plus the keys to the governor's mansion.

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Oliver North—Then

As a senior at Ockawamick Central School in Philmont, New York, Oliver North was still a regular guy who hadn't thrown a presidential administration under the bus, made illegal arms sales, or faced corruption accusations that would dog him for years. Ah, youth!

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Oliver North—Now

Once scrutiny over the Iran-Contra affair had subsided, North took the opportunity to—what else?—run for Senate. He was within a few percentage points of winning the seat in the 1994 Virginia race, until shortly before the election. Nancy Reagan, who had been holding a grudge since the '80s, announced that North had lied to and about her husband regarding Iran-Contra, a move that effectively ended North's campaign. He lost to Charles Robb and went on to become a best-selling author and political commentator.

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Ronald Reagan—Then

Back in 1928, actors stayed on sets, politicians stayed in Washington, and economics still trickled up. Also, Ronald Reagan was a senior at Dixon High School in Dixon, Illinois.

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Ronald Reagan—Legacy

Paving the way for future celebs with a political bug and a lot of hubris, Reagan leveraged his fame from three decades of acting to win two terms as governor of California and two terms as president of the U.S. While his film credits included such inoffensive fare as That Hagen Girl (1947, with Shirley Temple), Bedtime for Bonzo (1951), and The Winning Team (1952), his political stints created a bit more controversy, from the Iran-Contra affair (see: Oliver North) to Reaganomics and the savings & loan crisis. Still, Reagan had a Hollywood ending: He left office in 1989 with a 68 percent approval rating.
Turn back time in this Before They Were Stars gallery of Republican GOP candidates!

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Sonny Bono—Then

Sonny Bono was like a lot of kids who grow up in Los Angeles: He got into the biz early, working as a promoter for infamous music producer Phil Spector. It wouldn't be until Sonny met his muse and future wife Cher that he'd become a famous musician and entertainer in his own right. With duets like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," the pair quickly became a power couple.

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Sonny Bono—Legacy

The power faded, however, by the mid-1970s, and over time, so did Bono's affection for entertainment. In 1988, after encountering red tape over hanging a sign for his restaurant, Bono ran for mayor of Palm Springs, California, and won—despite having never registered to vote. In 1994 he was elected as a representative of the state's 44th district, an office he held until 1998, when he died in a skiing accident. His fourth wife and widow, Mary Bono, was elected to finish his term.

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Stephen Colbert—Then

Don't let the mischievous smile fool you. In 1982 Stephen Colbert—satirist, faux TV host, and, eventually, faux candidate—was a real high school senior at Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina. Back then, the only item on the threat-down was getting wedgies in the locker room.

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Stephen Colbert—Now

Colbert has put his mischief to good use, most famously as the host of The Colbert Report, where he skewers conservative commentators by pretending to be one. He's also toed the line between comedy and politics off set, confusing even real commentators with murmurings of a presidential run. More recently, he stirred the political pot yet again with the formation of his own Super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. So will he run, or won't he? With parodies this scathing, Colbert may not need a public office to have a bully pulpit.

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Warren Beatty—Then

By the time he was a senior at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, Warren Beatty already had the dashing looks of man who would break a thousand hearts—or at least dozens. A year later, Beatty would drop out of college to pursue acting and keep up with his big sister, ingenue Shirley MacLaine. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Warren Beatty—Now

Beatty's involvement in politics extends almost as far back as his film career. His first taste of the campaign trail was for Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and he later advised Sens. George McGovern and Gary Hart during their respective presidential runs. Like many of his fellow Hollywood heavyweights with a taste for debate, Beatty considered running for president himself in 2000, and for governor of California in 2006. While the dashing star has yet to officially throw his hat in the ring, fans can still imagine the possibilities.