Johnny put the time and work in to finally make it big. He had a musical variety show while he was in college at the University of Florida, and once he graduated, he signed with Cadence Records and moved to New York City. His big hit “Poetry in Motion” got to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and all the way to number one on the UK Chart Singles.
Tillotson was known as a crossover artist, able to make it big on both the pop charts and in the country music world. The kid even got a Grammy nomination thanks to “It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin.’”
John Travolta (1970s)
After starring in huge movies like “Carrie,” “Saturday Night Fever,” and “Grease,” the world was John Travolta's oyster. Unfortunately, the eighties were a rough period for the actor, and he released a number of box office bombs such as “Blow Out” and “Staying Alive.”
It was only thanks to Quentin Tarantino that Travolta got another chance at Hollywood, thanks to a starring role in the cult classic “Pulp Fiction.” Due to the tragic death of his son Jett in 2009 and a 2012 lawsuit, Johnny boy, has been keeping a low profile but has had a few roles to speak of.
Henry Winkler (1970s - 1980s)
Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, the fact that Winkler played the epitome of cool as “The Fonz” in “Happy Days” will help you picture him. Thanks to the immediate star power the show gave him, he's still doing plenty in and around the entertainment industry.
He's a character actor that still gets plenty of roles, including in “Arrested Development,” “Numb3rs,” “Royal Pains,” and even “Children's Hospital” on Cartoon Network. During his spare time, he writes a children's book series, “Hank Zipzer,” which is now at seventeen books, and spends time with his wife and children. Winkler recently starred as Gene Cousineau in the HBO series "Barry."
The Shangri-Las (1960s)
An American pop group in the nineteen-sixties, the Shangri-Las charted numerous times thanks to their melodramatic and often heartbreaking songs. They got their start in Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, part of New York City.
The group was, for the most part, two sets of sisters: Mary and Elizabeth “Betty” Weiss, and identical twins Marguerite “Marge Ganser and Ann Ganser. The two Ganser sisters have sadly passed away, and before long, Betty Weiss decided she wasn't a fan of being on stage or touring. This flash-in-the-pan band didn't go on to do much more, but their songs are still fun to throw on.
James Darren (1950s - 1960s)
After being discovered by casting director Joyce Selznick, James Darren became a teen idol almost immediately, including starring in films and releasing a string of pop hits, which include his biggest, “Goodbye Cruel World,” which reached number three on Billboard in 1961.
Of course, like many of these teen idols, he decided he wanted to pass to adulthood. He was able to do so thanks to a role in the gritty 1961 World War II film “The Guns of Navarone.” After that, he achieved success as an impulsive and adventurous scientist, Tony Newman, in the science fiction TV show “The Time Tunnel,” from 1966 to 1967.