Some of the most famous faces from the 1980s are the ones that you had to truly see yourself to remember.
The question everyone repeated
Clara Peller didn’t look like someone who was meant to be a national star. That’s kind of why her fame was such a big surprise. She was in her 80s when Wendy’s put her in a 1984 commercial, where she inspected a hamburger with barely any meat inside.Â
Then came her iconic line, ‘Where’s the beef?’ It didn’t take long for people to start repeating it everywhere, and Walter Mondale even borrowed it while arguing with Gary Hart during the Democratic primaries. Wendy’s sales actually suffered a slump for two years after Peller’s campaign ended.
An early-morning television ritual
Anyone who watched enough television in the 1980s will recognize Michael Vale’s face. He’s the guy who appeared on the screen looking exhausted during the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials. He began playing Fred the Baker in 1982.
Vale would drag himself out to work in the commercial and say, ‘Time to make the doughnuts.’ It was the same joke again and again, but that’s why it worked. Vale stayed in the role for 15 years and appeared in over 100 Dunkin’ commercials. That’s a lot of doughnuts.
The salesman who never told the truth
David Leisure got famous from lying straight to the camera. He played Joe Isuzu, the very dishonest salesman, during commercials for the car company Isuzu. He’d make all sorts of ridiculous promises about the cars, and the words onscreen corrected whatever nonsense he’d just said.
One of his most famous ads claimed an Isuzu cost only $9, while another said the car had impossible gas mileage. All those commercials made Joe a recognizable character across the country. The campaign followed him through the rest of the decade.
The face between the music videos
Martha Quinn was only 22 when MTV launched on August 1, 1981. Yet she somehow managed to become one of the station’s most iconic faces of the decade. Yes, Quinn was one of the channel’s five original VJs, along with people like Nina Blackwood and Mark Goodman.
Quinn introduced videos and appeared between songs so often that everyone watching was used to seeing her. She became connected with the channel’s promise of non-stop music.
Orange County’s loudest chair
Wally George was another famous face on TV, and it all started with his show Hot Seat on KDOC-TV in Anaheim in 1983. His entire interview style was built around confrontation, in the very best way. He’d argue with guests, and he’d interrupt them.
There were even times when he’d kick them off the set while people in the audience yelled his name. It was hardly subtle. People in LA might recognize him from his radio appearances, but it was Hot Seat that really boosted his fame in Southern California during the 1980s.
Talk television turned up loud
Morton Downey Jr.’s show started on New Jersey station WWOR in October 1987. It didn’t take long for it to go national. He did all sorts of things that seemed kinda risky at the time, like smoking on camera and interrupting guests constantly.
But all that controversy worked in his favor, as his show ended up running on 85 stations. Advertisers weren’t huge fans, though. They became harder to keep as ratings dropped, and the final episode was taped in June 1989. It was a short but sweet two years.
The president in the commercial
Not every path to television recognition was straightforward in the ‘80s. Just look at Sy Sperling, for example. He sold hair replacement himself in the National Hair Club for Men advertisements, and he appeared directly in the commercials alongside customers.
Most people remember him for his famous line. You know the one, ‘I’m not only the Hair Club president, but I’m also a client.’ Those spots ran all the time and brought in thousands of phone calls. He became so famous that he was spoofed on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show. You can’t get more ‘80s than that, really.
A name suddenly everywhere
There are also those ‘80s faces who became famous for something other than TV. Jessica Hahn was an example of that, as she went from being a former church secretary to appearing all over national news in 1987. It was all because of televangelist Jim Bakker.
Hahn alleged that she was forced into having a sexual encounter with Bakker, and he challenged that account. She also claimed he’d paid her money to keep the matter quiet. It turned into one of the biggest scandals of the decade. But only people alive during the ‘80s will really remember it.
The woman beside a presidential scandal
May 1987 proved to be a fateful month for former pharmaceutical representative and occasional actor Donna Rice. It was during that month that reporters connected the 29-year-old to Democratic presidential hopeful Gary Hart. This came after she visited his townhouse in Washington, and the reports claimed Hart was cheating on his wife with Rice.
The story went viral. At least, as viral as it could be during the ‘80s, and it was mostly because Hart was considered a major contender for the 1988 nomination. Rice said the visit had been innocent, but it didn’t stop the attention. Hart suspended his campaign soon afterward.
Trouble arrived at Southfork
Morgan Brittany had one of those faces Dallas viewers probably recognized before they knew her real name. She played Katherine Wentworth, and turned up in 1981 as Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes’s half-sister. Then things got messier.
Katherine became obsessed with Bobby Ewing and kept finding ways to interfere with Bobby and Pam. Brittany stayed on the show through 1984, then reappeared in 1987.
He really did buy the company
The trick with Victor Kiam’s time on TV was that he wasn’t really playing a character at all. No, he owned the shaving company Remington, and he began appearing in its electric-shaver commercials himself. He told viewers, ‘I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company.’
That line worked. He became known for being the face of the company, and he ended up buying the New England Patriots in 1988. He became the team’s majority owner. It was only in the ‘80s that the man selling shavers during commercial breaks could be the same one who owned an NFL team.
Wall Street’s $100 million name
Ivan Boesky had made quite a fortune by 1986. He would bet on companies that looked likely to be bought or merged. But then his name became well-known for something much less glamorous instead, as the SEC accused him of insider trading.
The scandal blew up and led to Boesky agreeing to a $100 million settlement. $50 million was for illegal profits, and another $50 million was a penalty. He also agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
10 common 1980s habits that wouldn’t fly today
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