Actors Turned Politicians - page 2

7 months ago 16th Apr 14:47

Ragghianti's story was turned into a movie in 1985 called Marie and it provided Thompson with his first acting role. This kicked off his acting career as he went on to star in No Way Out, Days of Thunder and Die Hard 2: Die Harder.

Although he carried on his acting career throughout the nineties in 1994 he was elected to complete Al Gore's U.S Senate term, in 1996 he was re-elected with 61% of the vote.

Thompson has since returned to acting appearing in television series Law & Order for 116 episodes before going onto Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent.

George Murphy

Murphy was a singing and dancing star of the big screen throughout the thirties and forties, making his debut in 1930. He retired as an actor in 1952 at the age of fifty.

It was the fifties that saw the actor move into the field of politics as he became chairman of the California Republican State Central Committee. By 1964 he had been elected to the United State Senate.

It was his poor health, suffering from throat cancer, that had an impact on the out come of his 1970 defeat.

Glenda Jackson

After studying at RADA Jackson made her acting debut on the stage in Separate Tables in 1957. Six years later she made her big screen debut in This Sporting Life.

Academy Award success came in 1969 when she starred in Women in Love she followed this up just four years later when she won a second award for Touch of Class.

But she retired from acting in 1992 to enter the House of Commons as the Labour MP for Hempstead and Highgate. After Labour's general election win in 1997 she became the junior minister in Tony Blair's government where she was responsible for London Transport.

Despite losing out to Frank Dobson to run for London Mayor she did keep her seat in the 2005 election.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw