Remember the mulleted handyman from “The Facts of Life?” Whatever happened to him?
Plenty, of course.
One of George Clooney’s earliest roles became a footnote in an Oscar-winning career. Now, decades removed from his TV fame, he’s become a punchline for celebrity endorsements.
And it couldn’t happen at a worse time.
The actor’s turn on NBC’s “ER” (1994-1999) made him a superstar. He eventually left the series to embark on a big-screen career, and while he suffered some bumps along the way the transition stuck.
Jeff Katz/NBC via Getty Images
Even his disastrous “Batman and Robin” turn couldn’t derail his trip to the A-list.
More fame followed, later including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 2005’s “Syriana.” He segued, again, into the director’s chair for 2002’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” the warped Chuck Barris biopic.
Now, he was a legitimate double threat. It appeared his directing chops might eclipse his work in front of the camera. Might a Best Director Oscar follow?
Along the way Clooney flexed his political clout. He became intertwined with President Barack Obama’s ascendancy, praising the eloquent Democrat. He used his considerable brand to promote progressive causes.
He donated heavily to Left-leaning projects, infamously met with Obama to talk serious issues (and snag a slick viral photo) and used his Hollywood pulpit to promote his progressive views.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Think, “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Ides of March” for two stark examples. The former recalled the Blacklist era while the latter teemed with Clooney’s progressive platitudes.
More recently, his wife Amal Clooney helped the International Criminal Court craft an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
All of the above only enhanced his Hollywood glow, of course, given the town’s hard-Left bent. Except said glow began to fade in recent years. Clooney’s hit parade slowed to a crawl. Flops like “The Monuments Men,” “Tomorrowland” and “Money Monster” dimmed his A-list gravitas.
Worse, his directorial efforts no longer mattered to the culture at large. His hard-Left ‘50s satire “Suburbicon” got pummeled by both critics and audiences alike in 2017, and deservedly so. “The Midnight Sky” came and went on Netflix four years ago without much hullabaloo.
His bland adaptation of author J.R. Moehringer’s “The Tender Bar” didn’t generate an ounce of Oscar buzz in 2021. Last year’s “The Boys on the Boat” legged out a modest box office run but critics turned their collective noses up at it.
And now this.
Clooney attended a June fundraiser for President Joe Biden, seeing firsthand the leader’s diminished cognitive state. The actor kept that critical observation to himself until the June 27 presidential debate shattered the media’s attempts to cover up Biden’s decline.
Suddenly, his party had to dump Biden, and fast.
So Clooney took to the far-Left pages of The New York Times to tell us the truth about that fundraiser. The Biden he met “was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
Had Biden not debated former President Donald Trump or stuck to a repeat of his 2020 presidential campaign – Basement or Bust – Clooney may have kept the secret to himself. And the American public would be the worse for it.
We expect actors to lie on the big screen. We know most will promote progressive causes. His willingness to cover up Biden’s condition? That’s something even honest Democrats should decry.
Clooney’s attempt to knock Biden off the Democratic ticket worked, thanks primarily to donors slamming their wallets and purses shut until Biden did the “right’ thing. The actor’s rhetoric pivoted again, right on cue.
“He’s saving democracy once again,” Clooney said of Biden’s hasty exit from the race. As if the elderly leader had any choice in the matter and didn’t wait until the pressure was too intense to stay in the White House.
Yes, “democracy” is on the line. Again. Because Orange Man Bad. Give this to Clooney. When there’s a script in his face he reads it verbatim. Now, he’s on Team Her, Too.
“We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”
Would a President Nikki Haley be historic, too? Can he even hear himself?
Gotham/FilmMagic
It’s noteworthy that Clooney didn’t use his celebrity voice to denounce violence in the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump’s life. Nor did he demand his peers tone down the rhetoric.
And he wasn’t alone. The vast majority of stars couldn’t find their X accounts to share outrage over the tragic shooting. Tim Robbins’ humane response proved the exception to the ghoulish rule.
The bigger issue remains. Are there any clear-thinking Americans who still believe Clooney is worth a listen?
Will he ever explain why he kept Biden’s diminished state a secret? Of course not. And no journalist will ever press him on the issue. (They kept the secret, too)
So where does that leave ol’ George? He’s become a caricature of a progressive movie star at a time when his party needs him most – election season. His directorial career no longer carries the aesthetic weight it once did. And his only recent “hit” remains “Ticket to Paradise,” the kind of frothy rom-com the 63-year-old is aging out of.
There’s always a “Facts of Life” reunion possibility. Oh, wait, co-star Mindy Cohn just shared how a greedy co-star just nixed it.
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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
