Hooters has probably done more for the careers of buxom future reality TV stars than any “leaked” sex tape ever could. The saucy wings joint gave Hef’s ex, Holly Madison, a job as a roller-skating waitress before she ended up as part of a famous threesome on “The Girl’s Next Door.” And “The Bachelor’s” Vienna Girardi also made figures with her figure as a Hooters girl.
All things considered, the Hooters to reality TV jump is not a far leap. However, the titular global restaurant chain also counts “Glee’s” multitalented Naya Rivera and multiple-Oscar nominee Amy Adams among the famous bodies that have slipped into its tight white and orange uniforms.
These days, Rivera is rocking arenas, like in the recent 3D release “Glee Live! In Concert,” and Adams is slipping into a variety of eclectic outfits as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actresses, including appearing opposite Kermit and Miss Piggy in “The Muppets” on Nov. 23 and with Kristen Stewart in next year’s On the Road.
Rivera’s velvet voiced co-star Cory Monteith is also riding “Glee’s” unstoppable train of success, but the prime time song and dance man was singing a different tune before famously becoming a Gleek on the hit FOX series.
“I’ve had a million jobs [prior to ‘Glee’],” Monteith mentioned in a 2009 interview on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” when the charismatic Canadian actor revealed that he was once a Walmart people greeter and “a terrible waiter” during his struggling actor days in Vancouver.
“It was an all-cake restaurant,” he said of the latter gig. “We didn’t sell food except pie, cheesecake and cake, but I would always forget to give them a fork. …I’d put the cheesecake down and go, ‘Enjoy, and then I’d leave and go read a script [in the back room], and I’d come back and see that they were eating cheesecake with their hands.”
Monteith returns to Canada in September for a more impressive gig: hyping his new indie comedy “Brothers & Sisters” at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival.
Madonna will also be causing a commotion when she attends the Toronto film fest next month to hype her directorial debut film, “W.E.” But before her jet-set days of premieres and pop hits, the 52-year-old singer’s tastes — as well as her salary — leaned more toward Arby’s and Dunkin Donuts. The global fashion icon donned polyester as a counter girl at both of the popular food joints before her music career skyrocketed. However, a strange fixation with certain equipment helped put an early end to Madge’s days of dealing in donuts.
“Well, I wasn’t really good [as a waitress],” she confessed during a 1987 chat on “The Tonight Show.” “I was playing with the [Dunkin Donuts] jelly squirter machine one day and I got fired. There wasn’t any donuts, I just kept pushing the jelly squirter.”
Fellow Italian ego-fueled superstar Mike Sorrentino, who is much better known as “The Situation” on “The Jersey Shore,” famously earned a cool $5 million last year between his reality TV and endorsement deals, making him one of Hollywood’s highest earning reality TV stars, second only to fellow self-promoter Kim Kardashian. But it wasn’t too long ago that a multi-million dollar deal probably seemed about as real a spray-on tan for the 30-year-old fist-pumping gym rat.
In 2009, when “The Jersey Shore” debuted on MTV, Sorrentino was earning his pay in the juicehead jungle as an assistant manager at an East Coast fitness center, a job that generally pays somewhere in the mid- to high 30s.
Earlier this month, “The Sitch” announced that he’ll be helping the masses reach the second step in the G-T-L lifestyle by becoming a spokesman for the Boca Tanning Club chain. But, with “The Jersey Shore’s” Aug. 4 Season 4 debut being MTV’s most-watched premiere episode ever, it looks like “The Situation” has stealth-like job security in prime time TV.
During a chat with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” earlier this year, Jennifer Lopez admitted to having endured a lame pencil-pushing job during her early days trying to scrounge money for dance lessons in New York while defying her mom’s wish that she pursue a more reliable career in law.
“I worked in a dance studio, working the desk,” the triple threat told Leno. “[And] I worked in a lawyer’s office [as a notary public], and that’s where my mother thought, ‘Oh she’s gonna become a lawyer.’ But it was just a job for me.”
That gig, however, isn’t nearly as bad as another of JLo’s early career choices: dancing backup for New Kids on the Block!
Nowadays it’s Lopez who needs lawyers to sort out her huge paychecks for projects like her recently announced $20 million return to “American Idol” for her second season, and starring opposite Cameroon Diaz in the romantic dramady “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” due in theatres next May.
Like fellow stars Sting and KISS‘ Gene Simmons, funnyman Craig Robinson was a credentialed teacher dedicated to educating youth before trading in his lesson plan for a shot at stardom.
Prior to clocking in at “The Office” and stealing the spotlight in raunchy comedies like “Knocked Up” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” the Chicago native earned a masters in Education at Saint Xavier University before going on to teach music, including at the Windy City’s Horace Mann Elementary School.
Robinson’s music training came in handy when he covered Rick Springfield and Black Eyed Peas tunes in “Hot Tub Time Machine,” but with the upcoming comedies “We the Peeples,” due later this year, and “Rapturepalooza” slated for 2012, it looks like school’s out forever for Mr. Robinson.
One thing fans seems to love about comedian-turned-serious actress Mo’Nique is that she always keeps it real — even admitting to once working as a supervisor at a phone sex business long before picking up a well-deserved Oscar for 2009’s “Precious.”
“I didn’t actually talk to the people,” she told The Advocate last year. “I actually had to connect the call and make sure you were doing the call properly! Yes, honey! …If the sex operator wasn’t doing it right, I would pick up the phone and say, ‘Listen! You’re not doing this right,’ she recalled with a laugh.
“The Mo’Nique Show” may have recently been axed at BET, but she’s still laughing all the way to the bank with a key role opposite “Twilight’s” Kellan Lutz in the dramatic comedy “Bumped,” due next year, and working on a bio pic about “Gone With the Wind” star Hattie Daniels to be directed by Mo’Nique’s “Precious” pal Lee Daniels.
Loni Love, the spotlight-stealing lunch lady on “Kickin’ It” may serve up cafeteria slop on the hit Disney series, but during the actress’ pre-fame days she used her smarts to earn living. The actress put her college degree in electrical engineering to work after landing a career position at Xerox after leaving Detroit for L.A. In a moment of destiny that could only happen in Hollywood, Love supplemented her 9-to5 salary by doing standup gigs at L.A. comedy clubs, which led her from nearly a decade at Xerox to an enviable TV and movie career that can’t be copied.
A starring role as a geeky spy on “Chuck,” which kicks off its fifth season in October, has helped Zachary Levi indulge in an enviable and very un-nerdy hobby: collecting muscle cars and motorcycles. But before he ended up with slick rides, like the sweet Ducati Monster 750CC that’s part of his collection, Levi spent his high school years in Ventura, California, scrubbing other people’s vehicles as an attendant at a local carwash. Earlier this month, the 30-year-old actor/gearhead recalled the experience, with a bit of indifference, to US Weekly: “I remember lying in bed some mornings – sometimes I would have to be there at 6 a.m. – and I’d be praying for rain [because] the only way I could miss work was if it was raining.”