You know, there are a lot of big name celebrities today who got their start (or at least got their best initial exposure) on 80′s TV shows.  In many cases, the roles these stars had were small, but they sure launched some Titanic-sized careers. Here are my Flashback Friday picks for 5 of the best breakout stars of 80′s TV.

Tom Hanks on Bosom Buddies

Seriously, who can forget the TV show that brought us the two guys who had to dress like women to live in an all female apartment building to have an affordable place to live. Yes, really!

Kip Wilson and his alter ego Buffy Wilson were played by Tom Hanks. His friend Henry Desmond and his alter ego Hildegarde were played by Peter Scolari.  Buffy and Hildegarde were supposed to be Kip and Henry’s sisters.  Quite the striking resemblance to their siblings, to be sure. The show only lasted a few seasons, but it sparked a really BIG career for Tom Hanks.

George Clooney on Facts of Life

I used to love the Facts of Life, the show about the all girls boarding school. Who can forget miss perfect snooty, Blair;  the tomboy, Jo, who loved to give Blair a hard time; cutie Miss Tooty, who spent a lot of time on roller skates in the first season or two; and the funny girl we all loved, Natalie. I was a teenager, and they were teenagers, so of course I loved them.

I also loved the first time I saw the handyman character, George  Burnett (who didn’t appear until a later season), who was played by none other than future Oscar winner, George Clooney. His role was fairly minimal, only making occasional appearances. But hey, he got noticed (and I don’t mean by just me). He later appeared on Roseanne and that little medical drama, what was it called? Oh yeah, ER. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains

Growing Pains is known for launching the career, and teen heartthrob status, of its teen star, Kirk Cameron (brother of Candace Cameron, one of the stars of the 80′s show, Full House). But it also gave a helping hand to a then up-and-comer with a very long name: Leonardo DiCaprio.

Leo’s character, Luke Brower, didn’t appear until the show’s 7th season. He was a complete unknown at the time. The show had sank in the ratings by this time, and Leo’s character was an attempt to give it a jump start. It didn’t work for the show, but hey, it worked for Leo. He went on to star in (need I say it?) Titanic, and while that ship sank too, the movie sure didn’t. And Leo’s film career has been sailing on ever since.

Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street

I think I have to be one of the few people who didn’t watch 21 Jump Street. Not sure why I didn’t watch it, but I definitely knew of the show, and of one of its stars in particular, Johnny Depp. You kind of had to be living under a rock not to know about that show and its stars. Their faces were all over the place.

The show was a police drama, about young looking police officers, who went undercover to investigate crimes in high schools and other teen hangouts. There wasn’t much undercover about Depp’s career though, which this show helped to catapult. He also became a teen idol, which he apparently detested being, so he left  after the 4th season. Depp has appeared in a lot of movies since then, but he didn’t win my heart until he became Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Come on, who doesn’t love a pirate? Savvy?

Bruce Willis on Moonlighting

Before he was kicking ass on Die Hard, before he was saving the world in Armageddon, before he was Unbreakable, Bruce Willis was my favorite PI in the 80′s show,  Moonlighting.

Bruce played David Addison, who partners up with Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Shepherd; she is a former model and owner of the agency. She was swindled by her investment adviser, who took off with all her money and left her with only the detective agency. I think the show was good because of the chemistry between David and Maddie, which is kind of funny, considering that at the time, rumor had it the two of them couldn’t really stand each other in real life. But you know what they say, there’s a fine line between love and hate, and the show worked great until the two characters finally consummated their relationship. Not long after, the show pretty much dissolved into TV nothingness. But hey, Bruce’s moonlighting days are long over. I’d say he’s made a pretty good name for himself. And rumor has it that Die Hard 5 is coming to a theater near you in 2012. Yippee-ki-yay, mother f****r!

The following is a list of some of my favorite chick flicks, but they are ones that weren’t necessarily huge box office hits. As a result, you may never have seen them.

The Man in the Moon, starring Reese Witherspoon

This 1991 film marks the first time I ever saw Reese Witherspoon on film. I can’t say I knew she’d become the big star that she is today, but seeing what I did in this movie, it didn’t surprise me either. It’s a story set in 1957, when a 14 year old Dani (Reese) finds first love; while her older sister, Maureen finds true love. Unfortunately, they’re both in love with the same young man, and fate has other things in store for all of them. Trust me, you need hankies for this film, girls! And it’s a must see.

Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts

This Julia Roberts movie was made before we even knew who Julia Roberts was. It’s about 2 sisters, Kat and Daisy (Julia) and their friend JoJo, all of whom work at a pizza parlor in Mystic, Connecticut. It’s about sisters, and friendships, finding true love…and not so true love. It’s really a sweet and girly kind of flick. It’ll make you laugh, and maybe cry a little bit too.

Hope Floats, starring Sandra Bullock

When Birdee (Sandra) finds out on a TV talk show that her BFF is sleeping with her husband, she leaves with her daughter to move back home with Mama in Texas. She has to deal with depression, a daughter who blames her and misses her daddy, catty old friends, an eccentric mama, and an old male friend, who has always been in love with her. The critics panned this movie, but I never listen to critics. If you can’t find a reason to like the emotional journey this film takes you on, then your heart must be completely shriveled up and dried out! Watch with tissues.

Paradise, starring Don Johnson & Melanie Griffith

This has got to be one of the most overlooked movies of all time. Don and Melanie star as an unhappy couple who seem to have lost their love for each other, when a friend’s young boy comes to stay the summer with them (played by a young Elijah Wood). It’s really a story about love and loss and family, and about letting go and appreciating life’s gifts. The cinematography is amazing too. Don’t rent it…BUY IT! You won’t be disappointed.

While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock

What can I say? I’m a Sandra fan, and this is a feel good chick flick that I love to watch again and again. Sandra plays Lucy, who takes tokens for the “L” train in Chicago, and who falls in love with a commuter, Peter, who passes through her booth each day. One day he falls onto the tracks and Lucy rescues him, though he’s in a coma, and she mistakenly gets identified as his fiancee, and recognized as such by his family. Since Lucy is lonely and has no family of her own, she has a hard time telling the family the truth, and as the days go on, she finds herself falling more in love…with Peter’s brother. This movie is quirky and funny and touching and heartwarming, a “feel good” chick flick for sure. If this doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, I don’t know what will.

And now that I’m in total chick flick mode, I think it’s time to pop some popcorn, curl up on the couch, and watch a good chick flick…or two.

Books can literally speak volumes…not just about the characters and settings within them, but about the person who reads them. These are a few of my favorites (in no particular order). I read all of these books before I saw each of the movies. I am not the kind of person who can enjoy a book after I’ve seen the movie; seeing the movie first would simply spoil the book for me! Instead, I need to read the book, and then I watch the movie as a means of bringing the story and the characters to life. How about you? Can you watch a movie and then still enjoy the book afterward?

Da Vinci Code: Smart guy, good with symbols, gets embroiled in a murder mystery at the Louvre, which forces him to use his skills to sleuth his way through cryptic clues, in a wild search for the truth about the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of Christianity! This book was a page turner for me from beginning to end. I simply could not put it down! It helped remind me what is great about a really good book. And it became my all time favorite novel.

The Notebook: Before this was a 5 star chick flick, it was one of the best love stories ever written, by one of my favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks. The basic plot is simple: boy meets girl and they fall in love, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again, boy loses girl again. But it ain’t about the destination, it’s about the journey. If you only read one book by Nicholas Sparks, read this one!

Bridges of Madison County: Photographer looking for bridges in Iowa finds them, along with a beautiful and dedicated farm wife. These strangers, having met solely by chance or by fate, soon realize they are soul mates and spend four days making love and memories that will have to last a lifetime. Man, break out the tissues, girls. Seriously, this is one of the few books I’ve ever read that literally made me cry! But I loved every nose-blowing minute of it. This is a love story for the ages.

Twilight: High school girl moves to Washington, meets a seriously cold boy, and they fall in love. And oh yeah, he just happens to be a vampire. So, as much as he loves her, he also kind of wants to–you know–suck her blood! Talk about your conflict of interests! Now I’ve never been one to read vampire stories, but I had to see what all the hoopla in the press was about. And what can I say, I was bitten smitten. It’s actually not my all time favorite book, but I did love it. And I have been reading each sequel as well, and I’m really enjoying following these characters and the story itself.