One of my favorite movie scenes is in Back to the Future, when Marty tells Doc that Ronald Reagan becomes President and Doc is blown away by the idea of an actor as president. After all, President Reagan was a ridiculous concept in 1955. Then recently, I heard the 1965 Tom Lehrer song "George Murphy", about the titular dancer-turned-senator. In the first verse, Lehrer references Reagan's political activism and the audience goes crazy. The idea that an actor could become governor and then president was ridiculous... until it happened.
There have been other entertainers-turned-politicians. Senator George Murphy, Representative Sonny Bono, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, Governor Jesse Ventura, Senator Al Franken. Only Reagan reached the top spot.
My question is: Who are some other entertainers who could have gone on to become President? Bonus points if they never even ran for office IOTL.
(I'm ignoring Trump because he was a businessman before he became a TV personality, and I'm looking strictly for entertainers.)
There have been other entertainers-turned-politicians. Senator George Murphy, Representative Sonny Bono, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, Governor Jesse Ventura, Senator Al Franken. Only Reagan reached the top spot.
My question is: Who are some other entertainers who could have gone on to become President? Bonus points if they never even ran for office IOTL.
(I'm ignoring Trump because he was a businessman before he became a TV personality, and I'm looking strictly for entertainers.)