Singers turned actors: The 10 who hit the right note

[Brian Damage]

The moment Elvis Presley appeared on-screen waggling a tambourine in the apocalyptically terrible “Harum Scarum,” it was clear that the man’s talents lay in crooning and hip-thrusting, not acting. Yet despite the cautionary tales of the King and other musicians-turned-actors — Madonna, for instance, whose performance in “Swept Away” set a new standard for awfulness, and Mick Jagger, who manages to be simultaneously leathery and wooden in “Freejack” — more and more crooners are attempting the leap from the stage to the screen. There’s hope, though: For every five Courtney Loves, there’s one Justin Timberlake. This week, the cutest former 'N Syncer has his first big-time movie role, in “Alpha Dog,” marking the beginning of what will surely be an impressive film career. (Any doubters about Timberlake’s skills are referred to his deadpan impression of Bee Gee Robin Gibb on “SNL.”) But before young Justin takes the world by storm, here’s a look back at his competition, the greatest singers ever to transition into the movies. Note to rabid J. Lo fans: The former Fly Girl is ineligible; she was an actress before she released an album.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16491015/

[Brian Damage]

If all you know of Cher is her bethonged cannon-straddling in the video for “If I Could Turn Back Time,” surely one of the least subtle invocations of sexuality ever, you’re missing out. The elder stateswoman of pop actually has acting chops. She made her acting debut in a Robert Altman movie — yes, we’re discounting the earlier, Sonny Bono-written “Chastity,” thanks very much — and followed that up with an Oscar-nominated performance in “Silkwood.” Unconvinced? Watch how she holds her own opposite Jack in “The Witches of Eastwick.” Or how she shows up Nic Cage on her way to an Academy Award in “Moonstruck.” There may not be life after love, but clearly, there’s a career after “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”

[Brian Damage]

Ice-T put out a few unheard singles in the early '80s and then tried to jump-start his musical career by appearing as “Hip-hop MC” and “Rapper” in wonderfully cheesy break-dancing flicks “Breakin’” and “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” respectively. For this, he deserves our eternal gratitude; the films are landmarks in the so-bad-they’re-actually-really-great genre. “New Jack City” showed off the newly successful rapper’s dramatic chops, and he’s been hitting movie and TV screens ever since. There have been some low points (that weird futuristic kangaroo he played in “Tank Girl,” for one), but T is solid in roles as a hard-nosed police officer. And this from the man who wrote “Cop Killer.”

[Brian Damage]

Think Day is just the innocent beauty creepily manipulated by Rock Hudson in “Pillow Talk”? Think again. Before she made it as an actress, she was one of the best jazz singers of the ‘40s, a success she parlayed into a great film career. For “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” she recorded the song she’s probably best known for, “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).” And then came Rock. “Pillow Talk” showcased the quintessential Day, cutely fuming at Hudson’s caddish ways, and it earned her the Academy’s respect; she was nominated for an Oscar.

[Brian Damage]

The Thin White Duke has been as weird on-screen as he was onstage, but here’s the thing: He’s good. Really good. In “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” he underscored his eccentricity by playing an actual space oddity, an alien who travels to the blue planet in search of water. Then came “Labyrinth,” which endeared him to stoners and Jim Henson fans everywhere, and “The Last Temptation of Christ,” which endeared him to almost no one, though he was good — he played Christ-killer Pontius Pilate. He’s been Andy Warhol, he’s teamed with David Lynch ... the man seeks out the unusual roles and plays them like no one else.

[Brian Damage]

Um, yeah. As though we could leave Bing off this list. The “Road” movies, the Oscar for “Going My Way,” “The Country Girl” ... And then there’s a little film you might have heard of called “White Christmas.” There’s a good reason Bing’s one of the most popular and successful actors of all time, and it’s not just those baby blues. 'Nuff said.

[Brian Damage]

Here’s another case in which an actor’s great early work eclipses his more recent stuff. Mr. Cube, already (in)famous for his membership in seminal rap group N.W.A., made his acting debut in “Boyz n the Hood,” the movie that proves that Cuba Gooding Jr. has actually done something to deserve his Oscar. Cube showed his range with weed-soaked cult favorite “Friday”; cheesy horror flick “Anaconda,” which featured up-and-comer Jennifer Lopez; and “Three Kings, a quirky David O. Russell Gulf War drama also co-starring former singer Mark Wahlberg. Cube has gone all family now, but that doesn’t detract from his best movies.

[Brian Damage]

Very boring people at cocktail parties will spend hours praising the Divine Miss M for her roles in “The Rose” or “Beaches” or “For the Boys,” all while ignoring her real strength: delirious, delicious comedy. The onetime belle of the bathhouses hit her stride in the mid-'80s with the triple whammy of “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Ruthless People” and “Outrageous Fortune,” brashly squawking her way from unlikely scenario to unlikelier scenario. She even made Woody Allen’s “Scenes From a Mall” — which has two enormous strikes against it, Woody’s ponytail (!) and its L.A. setting — passable. Now that takes skill.

[Brian Damage]

Waits’ movie characters are much like his musical ones, either lowdown, hard-drinkin’ bums (see his Jim Jarmusch roles) or freakish weirdos (“Mystery Men,” “Dracula”). But as with Bowie, the roles fit him perfectly. His fawning, insect-munching Renfield is just over-the-top enough to match Gary Oldman’s ridiculous Transylvanian bloodsucker and Francis Ford Coppola’s garish direction. Only a year after “Dracula,” Waits appeared in his best film to date, Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” drinking and slouching his way across the screen as the good-for-little husband of Lily Tomlin’s character. Sure, Waits is typecast as a bowery bum, but rarely has a typecasting felt so sweet.

[Brian Damage]

“Independence Day” and “Bad Boys” are violent and unredeemable, but have you seen “Six Degrees of Separation”? Don’t talk smack about mega-ultra-superstar Smith unless you have. There’s also “Ali,” which got him a well-deserved Oscar nomination, and that’s not bad for the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Smith has definitely done his share of check-cashing blockbusters, but he’s always watchable, no matter how questionable the movie he’s in. Prediction: Oscar in 2010 for a Scorsese-helmed biopic of MLK. Don’t laugh. It’ll happen.

[Brian Damage]

Babs is like Cher: She hasn’t made a lot of movies, but she’s made almost all of them count. If you win a best-actress Oscar for your debut, as Streisand did in 1968 for “Funny Girl,” you’re doing something right. And if, in winning that Oscar, you tie with the inimitable Kate Hepburn, you have every right to consider yourself a legitimate actress. Streisand kept proving the point with movies such as “The Way We Were,” “Yentl” and “The Prince of Tides,” earning accolades and Oscar nominations for both acting and singing. Oh, and by the way, “Funny Girl” was released only five years after the singer-actress-phenom raked in Grammys with her musical debut.

[isiahthomas]

Brian i have to disagree with you about Ice T. Most of his movies suck because he's done a lot of crappy straight to video movies. I thought i'd never see him play a cop on tv since he hates cops. Barbara Streisand was very funny in Meet The Fockers movie. Her character in Nuts movie with Richard Dreyfuss was something else. Will Smith's movies aren't all that great. Bad Boys 1 and 2 are funny, Ali, Enemy Of The State, Hitch movies are good but that's it.

[Janice]

That was interesting Brian. I read every one. I'm surprised Frank Sinatra wasn't on the list.

[Ireneparalegal]

I am a huge Madonna fan. I loved it when she received the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical for Evita, a role she knew she was born to play.

Babs has always been good in movies. I loved her performance in A STAR IS BORN. She is awesome. She is one of the few who can say they have an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Grammy. Rita Moreno has the distinction of having all of those awards and a Tony too. Rita is a singer and actress.

Cher gave a fabulous performance for which she should have received another Oscar nod, for her role in MASK.

In defense of Ice-T, another performer I love, he never said he hates cops. He has gone on record saying he hates crooked cops...something I think we all can agree on.

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I am a huge Madonna fan. I loved it when she received the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical for Evita, a role she knew she was born to play.

Cher gave a fabulous performance for which she should have received another Oscar nod, for her role in MASK.

I think Madonna was one of few who won the Globe, yet was snubbed of an Oscar nomination, and it's only because of who she is.

I also agree that Cher should have received a nod for Mask.