Everybody loves Rick Moranis. From his early days on SCTV to his role as Louis Tully in the Ghostbusters movies to the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids films to the unforgettable Dark Helmut from Spaceballs!
The guy is a national Treasure! Both in his adoptive United States and his native Canada!
Which is part of why the recent, senseless attack on Rick Moranis in New York City has got all of North America so fired up! Even Captain America himself Chris Evans is fired up!
The attack enraged me on a personal level as well because Rick Moranis spent years in the same fraternity as myself: Stay-At-Home-Dads! We watch out for our own! Anyone with any knowledge of his alleged attacker, please contact the NYPD CrimeStoppers!
For anyone who is unaware where he has been, Moranis stepped away from acting to be a stay-at-home-dad to his 2 children after his wife, Ann, died of breast cancer in 1997. He is so protective of his kids that he doesn’t even reveal their names to the media.
“I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he nonchalantly told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. That’s what Dads do, we place the well being of our children above whatever we have going on, including careers.
Watching everyone’s reaction of uniform rage over the attack on this beloved celebrity, it got me wondering:
Who are the Top Ten Most Beloved Celebrities (aside from Rick Moranis)?
1 Betty White
Arguably America’s favorite nonagenarian, the 98-year-old Betty White’s career has aged like a fine wine, where as some other celebrity’s careers have aged like milk (Ahem…Steven Segal….Ahem).
White has been a Hollywood staple for decades, but most people my age generally know her as the loveably naive Rose Nylund from the sitcom, The Golden Girls.
2 Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks has been America’s Bosom Buddy (I loved that show) for decades.
Between the laundry list of iconic characters he has played, his relentless charity work and general, all-around like-ability, Tom Hanks is that friendly neighbor you can always count on for friendly advice, borrow a tool out of his garage or keep an eye on your home while you are away.
3 Paul Rudd
The lovable and ageless Paul Rudd is known for his smile and friendly on set behavior just as much as he is known for the characters he has portrayed on film.
One of my favorite Paul Rudd stories is when he had his Avengers co-stars autograph a Captain America shield just to auction it off for Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. (It raised $53,000!)
4 Alex Trebek
America has been sharing their dinner table with Alex Trebek every weekday night since 1984.
Trebek is like that professor you had in college that loved for you to think he knew literally everything (whether he actually did or not) and was approachable most the time but would, once in a while, keep you on your toes by being just a little bit savage as well.
Currently battling through stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Trebek recently returned to the new socially distanced Jeopardy! stage for a 37th season!
5 Sean Connery
Sean Connery has played many legendary characters throughout his lengthy career. James Bond, Henry Jones Sr., Jim Malone, Marko Ramius, Zed.
(Ok, maybe not Zed, but I just needed to find a way to work this outfit into this post. It was scarred into my memory, and now it is scarred into yours.)
The original James Bond only has one enemy on the entire planet and that person is #4 on this list: Alex Trebek!
I have no idea the genesis of the fictional rivalry between these two. All I know is that it created some of the best SNL sketches of the past 25 years!
6 Bill Murray
You know that feeling you get when you finally think of that witty retort that you wish you had thought of during a verbal altercation with a co-worker earlier? You already walked away and the perfectly insulting comeback finally pops in your head and you are all like “Man, I wish I thought to say that earlier!”
Well Bill Murray has NEVER had that feeling because he always has the perfect comeback for every occasion! That is part of why everybody loves the laid back, nonchalant Bill Murray!
Aside from maybe Chevy Chase, who may or may not have exchanged knuckle sandwiches with Murray in a Rockefeller hallway during their Saturday Night Live days. Aside from him.
7 Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves’ career has been experiencing an incredible renaissance (Keanu-aissance?) over the past half decade, starting with 2014’s John Wick.
Reeves, who’s bio is pretty unique, has always been known as being an exceptional grounded individual. Whether it be headlining co-stars or average people who happen to be sharing a subway train ride with him, it seems everyone describes Reeves the same way: pleasant, humble, approachable and treating everyone with respect.
He can even crack you up by simply making fun of himself (from Always Be My Maybe)
8 James Earl Jones
Some of the most iconic characters of the last half century have been voiced by James Earl Jones.
Darth Vader. Mufasa. Jaffe Joffer. Mr. Mertle. The “This is CNN” Guy.
My generation grew up knowing when Jones’ deep, baritone voice had something to say, you listen!
His IMDB page lists 188 acting credits. James Earl Jones has worked with literally thousands of industry professionals and I have never heard of any of them having a negative thing to say about the guy.
I loved him making fun of himself on Big Bang Theory.
9 Helen Mirren
The embodiment of class, dignity and beauty, Helen Mirren has been gracing the silver screen and the general public for decades.
Point of interest that I was unaware of until researching for this post: Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson were a couple for 5 years! They met on the set of the movie Excalibur and became such a serious item that they even lived together from 1980 to 1985!
10 Patrick Stewart / Sir Ian McKellen
I kind of cheated on this one by going with a “Couple Everybody Loves” as opposed to a single person, but it is my list so I can cheat if I want to!
Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Professor X…) and longtime BFF Sir Ian McKellen (Gandolf, Magneto…) are ‘Geeky’ royalty.
They have played iconic characters on screen and been best of buds off screen for decades. They are like that Instagram couple that “like, always, like, take just the cutest pics!”
Who are some Celebrities That Everyone Loves And Nobody Hates that you think I may have missed?
Comment Below with your suggestions!
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Geeky Daddy 