Top Celeb Politicians

Four presidents have ascended to the highest office in the land without having any previous political experience. Three of them, though – Eisenhower, Grant, and Zachary Taylor – did have experience as major generals, serving their country and providing it with key leadership in a time of crisis.

Donald Trump was the first to have neither political nor military experience. He was also the first chief executive to move from business straight to the Oval Office. 

Of course, he was also known primarily as a celebrity. And that’s actually not an uncommon background for political office these days. 

Methodology

• There are actually a ton of these folks. 80% of them, though, I’ve never heard of. So, to narrow things down, I went with the ones I have heard of. Sophisticated, I know.
• There were also a ton who had run, but who had not actually won. Now, anyone can lose an election, right? Just give me the folks who actually were politicians.
• Finally, I was more interested in people who went straight to high office. It really wasn’t the same if they went from star NFL quarterback or Oscar-winning actor to dog catcher, then worked your way up, you know? 

Notes

• Interestingly, all but a couple of the 21 are male.
• 3/4 are Republican.
• The group divides pretty evenly between sports and entertainment (with wrestling firmly in the latter category).
• There’s nothing particularly embarrassing about being a sports star.
• There are many things embarrassing about being an entertainer.
• I’ve listed these in order of increasing embarrassment. 

#21 - #12 - athletes

• Byron “Whizzer” White – NFL, Supreme Court Justice

• Bob Mathias – Olympic decathlete, actor, US Rep (CA, Rep)

• Jack Kemp – NFL, US Rep (NY, Rep), Housing Secretary, VP candidate

• Steve Largent – NFL, US Rep (OK, Rep)

• Heath Schuler, NFL, US Rep (NC, Dem)

• Dave Bing, NBA, businessman, mayor (Detroit, Dem)

• Bill Bradley, NBA, US Senate (NJ, Dem)

• Kevin Johnson, NBA, mayor (Sacramento, Dem)

• Jim Bunning, MLB, US Senate (KY, Rep)

• Jim Ryun, Olympic runner, US Rep (KS, Rep)

#11 – Fred Thomson, US Senate (TN, Rep)

• Started out as lawyer
• Was a staff member at the Watergate hearings
• Most famous role was DA Arthur Branch on Law and Order
• Others include Andrew Jackson, US Grant, and William Jennings Bryant
• Other titles include Evel Knievel, Curly Sue, Baby’s Day Out, and Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
• According to IMDb, “often played figures of authority”
• Was 6’6”

#10  Shirley Temple, Ambassador (Czechoslovakia, Ghana & the UN)

• Started her film career at age 3, retiring at 22 
• Biggest box office champ 1935-38
• Youngest Academy Award winner & presenter
• Lost a Republican primary for a US House seat
• Also Chief of Protocol for the United States
• On the boards of Disney, Del Monte, National Wildlife Assoc. & others

#9  Helen Gahagan Douglas, US House (CA, Dem)

• Attended Barnard
• Broadway star & opera singer 
• Was in only 1 movie (She)
• Lost a senate bid to Richard Nixon, who attacked her as a Communist sympathizer
• Came up with the nickname “Tricky Dick” for her opponent
• Had an affair with LBJ
• Married fellow actor Melvyn Douglas

#8  Al Franken, US Senate (MN, Dem)

• On the wrestling team in high school
• Graduated from Harvard cum laude with a BA in poli sci
• SNL star during the ‘70s, ‘80s & ‘90s
• Winner of 5 Emmys 
• Author of 4 NY Times bestsellers
• Won his Senate seat by 312 votes (0.01%)
• Resigned his seat after allegations of sexual misconduct, plunging him into a depression

#7  Ronald Reagan: Gov (CA, Rep), Pres (Rep)

• College cheerleader
• Started out as a radio sportscaster
• 83 screen and TV credits
• Screen credits include Juke Girl, She’s Working Her Way Through College, Girls on Probation, Brother Rat and a Baby, and Bedtime for Bonzo
• Spent WII making training films
• One-time union leader & liberal Democrat
• Spent his retirement years suffering from Alzheimer’s

#6  Donald Trump (Pres, Rep)

• Penn grad 
• Inherited and grew family business
• 6 bankruptcies
• 3 wives & 2 divorces
• With a ghost writer, penned a NY Times bestseller
• Owned the New Jersey Generals in the USFL
• Cameo appearances in Sex and the City, The Nanny, Home Alone 2 and Wrestlemania 23
• Is in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame
• Producer on multiple beauty pageants
• Producer & host of Celebrity Apprentice
• No previous political offices before becoming POTUS

#5  Sonny Bono – US Rep (CA, Rep)

• Born Salvatore
• Published his first song at age 16
• Before making it big, was a waiter, truck driver, construction laborer & butcher's helper
• Had a variety TV show with his wife Cher
• Had bit roles in Hair Spray, The Golden Girls, The Love Boat and Fantasy Island
• Was a Scientologist
• Mayor of Palm Springs
• Killed in a skiing accident

#4  Fred Grandy – US Rep (IA, Rep)

• Orphan at age 13
• Graduated from Exeter, Harvard (cum laude) & George Washington
• Best man at David Eisenhower’s marriage to Julie Nixon
• Has 36 credits, all but a few for TV
• Best known as “Gopher” on The Love Boat
• Also in General Hospital, Fantasy Island, Love American Style and Charlie’s Angels
• Was Herman the German in the classic B movie Death Race 2000
• After Congress, was President & CEO of Goodwill Industries
• Now a Senior Fellow for National Security Affairs at the far-right Center for Security Policy

#3  Linda McMahon – Administrator, SBA (Rep)

• Married at age 17
• Was on food stamps as a newlywed
• President & CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
• Involved in a steroid scandal
• IMDb credits include WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown!, WWF No Mercy & so on
• Was appointed to the Connecticut Board of Education
• Lost a US Senate bid in Connecticut

#2  Arnold Schwarzenegger – Governor (CA, Rep)

• Born in Austria to an ex-Nazi father who physically abused him
• Went AWOL from the Austrian Army
• Mr. Universe & Mr. Olympus
• Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness
• Has 77 IMDb credits, including movies, TV shows & music videos
• Was on The Dating Game
• Took over Celebrity Apprentice from Donald Trump (see above)
• Married a niece of JFK, got divorced when he knocked up the nanny

#1  Jesse Ventura – Governor (MN, Reform, Ind)

• Born James George Janos
• Served in Vietnam as part of the Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team
• Member of the Mongols motorcycle club
• Bodyguard for the Rolling Stones
• Known as “The Body”
• 97 film, TV & video credits, incl. WWE Raw; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; B movie classic Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, and Wrestlemania IV
• Author of 10 books
• Mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN
• Visiting Fellow at JFK School of Government