In another life, Dwayne Hickman would have been a priest. In this life, he’s a superstar. Hickman owes a lot of his career to Bob Cummings, who cast him as “Chuck” on his show when he was still in college! In 1958, Hickman was cast in “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” as the titular character for four years.
However, like many teen stars, he became stereotyped and was only offered certain roles. Later on, Hickman found more success in being involved in production roles, working at CBS as a programming exec! Well, you know what they say — when one door closes, another opens!
Troy Donahue (1950s-1960s)
Before becoming an actor, Troy Donahue (then Merle Johnson Jr.) studied for a journalism degree. With his eyes set on Hollywood, he met with an agent who advised he changed his name and started booking him acting gigs. His breakthrough role was in the film "A Summer Place" alongside Sandra Dee. With his incredible good looks, the fans soon appeared in masses.
Dealing with the success sent him to a downward spiral of substance abuse, which was hard to recover from. After his rehab, Donahue appeared in a number of small roles. He passed away from a heart attack in 2001 at 65 years old.
Jackson Five (1970s)
The Jackson Five rose to prominence with their hit single, "I Want You Back," and took the world by storm. Young Michael Jackson eventually turned out to be the biggest star of them all, but he was also probably the most troubled one too.
His many successes, as well as his more troubling moments, can be credited to his father, Joe, who was notoriously tough with his children. He conceded to treating them harshly in an interview with Oprah and constantly made his children rehearse, especially in the early days of the band. The rest of the Jacksons still nurture showbusiness careers.
Julie Dawn Cole (1970s)
Julie Dawn Cole got her start as the extremely spoiled child Veruca Salt in "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory." Now that's one cool film to get a headstart in. However, her character's image stuck, and she was later cast to play roles of snobbish mean girls quite frequently. Talk about being typecast!
Julie now has a drama school for children and works as a psychotherapist. She is a mother of two and leans on her background as Veruca Salt to aid in parenting. Whenever her daughter, Holly, would do something bratty, Julie would say, "Is there a problem, Veruca?" which always slowed the girl's roll.
Roy Orbison (1950s-1960s)
Roy Orbison is mostly known for his hit single "Oh, Pretty Woman," which became the theme song for the successful movie of the same name. However, the Big O signed his first record contract long before that in 1956. His first big hit was "Ooby Dooby," which was recorded with his college friends.
Orbison became influential to many famous artists such as The Rolling Stones, and he even toured with the Beatles in 1963. His popularity took a dip in the 70s and resumed in the 80s. He passed away from a heart attack in 1988 at 52 years old.