See the surprising first & final roles of iconic actors! From Chris Farley's SNL start to his Dirty Work send-off, Marilyn Monroe's early bit parts to her mature turn in The Misfits, and Robin Williams' alien antics to his touching Museum goodbye. Discover the bookends of Betty White, Chadwick Boseman, Judy Garland, Brittany Murphy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Shelley Duvall & Carrie Fisher's careers. You won't believe where they started and how they ended!
00:00Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're looking at departed actors whose first and final performances might surprise you.
00:21After getting his start in improv theater, Chris Farley made himself known when he joined the 1990 cast of Saturday Night Live.
00:30I did it. I'm ready to do my time. Get me a beer!
00:35Harry, this certainly puts him high on the list of suspects. See, he doesn't leave town.
00:40In his very first show, he appeared in a well-loved Twin Peaks parody, playing a confessing murderer who Agent Cooper refuses to believe.
00:49He would go on to originate a long list of fan favorite characters, and his popularity led beyond sketch comedy to do a successful career in movies.
00:58I can't stop!
01:02Help!
01:04There's a cliff!
01:07And your family's screaming,
01:09Oh my god, we're burning alive!
01:12No, I can't feel my legs!
01:15His final film role was a small part in the cult classic Dirty Work. Released the year after Farley's fatal death, each of his scenes hit the hilarious balance of charming sincerity and over-the-top comedy right on the nose.
01:28Old Jack's an odd duck, I tell you. Many times I catch him staring at me sleeping, which is off-putting.
01:38Yeah, I guess it would be, yeah.
01:39His feet bleed.
01:40I don't want to stay at your place! Point taken.
01:43Marilyn Monroe
01:44Before she was a Hollywood supernova, a young Marilyn Monroe got her start in small roles in several pictures.
01:50Hi, Evie.
01:51Hi, small change.
01:53Wait, I got money tonight. Am I gonna see you later?
01:56I'm not too tired.
01:57But Evie, I thought we had a date.
01:59Look, this tray weighs a ton.
02:01Can.
02:02Her silver screen debut was in the 1947 film Dangerous Years, but the minor role showcases a much less glamorized image of the bombshell who rose to fame in the 50s.
02:12After developing a reputation for playing alluring and ditzy blondes, Arthur Miller, her husband at the time, wrote her a more serious part in The Misfits.
02:21I know what you mean.
02:23Her portrayal of the recently divorced Rosalyn would become her final acting role, and though the film wasn't well received at the time, modern viewers have praised the maturity of her refreshing performance.
02:34Listen, if you want to go somewhere, I don't mind being lonely.
02:38Do I look like I want to leave?
02:40I just mean I want you to do what you feel like.
02:43Robin Williams
02:44Once he'd made a name for himself on the comedy circuit, Robin Williams transitioned into television through several sketch comedy programs.
02:52This is the elixir of life, sir.
02:53The elixir of life?
02:54The cure for all diseases.
02:56Shortly after, he booked his first traditional acting role as an alien called Mork on Happy Days.
03:02Though he was cast as a fill-in, the character was so successful that Williams earned his own sitcom Mork & Mindy.
03:08Well, today is going to be a big day. Today we're going to find you a new place to live.
03:13Why can't I go on living with you?
03:15Well, because my father is a conservative, puritanical...
03:21Nerd.
03:23After building an incomparable career as both a lauded actor and a family film star, Williams returned to the third night at the museum film to reprise his role as Theodore Roosevelt.
03:34The movie wrapped just a few months before Williams passed in 2014. Released after his death, the loss gave a new meaning to Teddy's touching final goodbye.
03:43Betty White
03:53For TV trailblazer Betty White, Life with Elizabeth was not only the actress's first sitcom role, but it was also the first female produced sitcom ever made.
04:02I've always been a back-and-forth stirrer. I don't care for circle stirrers.
04:06Playing a character taken from her time as a variety show host, White brought the suburban wife to life with her signature wit and charm.
04:14Decades later, she continued her legacy with a role in Young and Hungry in 2017.
04:19Oh, nice!
04:23The cameo would be her final on-screen character before passing away just a few weeks before her 100th birthday.
04:29With more than 60 years between her first and final sitcom, White holds the Guinness World Record for the longest female career in television.
04:37Who kissed Bernie while you were married?
04:39What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
04:44Chadwick Boseman
04:45Chadwick Boseman was already a successful stage director, performer, and writer before joining the soap opera All My Children in 2003.
04:53I can take care of myself.
04:54Yeah, we can all see that.
04:55But I don't need your charity.
04:57Though the part was meant to be his first recurring TV character, he was replaced by none other than Michael B. Jordan after critiquing the writers' use of negative stereotypes.
05:07Soon, the Black Panther franchise made him an international sensation, but Boseman was silently living with colon cancer from 2016 until his death in 2020.
05:17In his final film role, he plays a 1920s trumpeteer, Levy Green.
05:27Not only is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom dedicated to the actor, but his showstopping performance also earned him multiple posthumous awards, including an Oscar nomination.
05:37I ain't nobody.
05:38I ain't nobody.
05:39I ain't nobody.
05:40I ain't nobody but the devil.
05:41There you go.
05:42That's who I am.
05:43I'm the devil.
05:44I ain't nothing but the devil.
05:45Judy Garland
05:47When Judy Garland first signed with MGM at just 13 years old, the studio couldn't decide how to market the teenager.
05:57Eventually, they placed her alongside Deanna Durbin in the short Every Sunday, with the intention of deciding which singer to keep.
06:08Garland was re-signed, and she would soon become one of their most successful stars.
06:13What was that?
06:14The munchkins.
06:15They're laughing because I am a witch.
06:18I'm Glinda, the witch of the norm.
06:20You are?
06:22I beg your pardon, but I've never heard of a beautiful witch before.
06:27Only bad witches are ugly.
06:29While she performed concerts up until her death, her final film role in I Could Go On Singing was the first time she'd sung in a live-action movie for nearly a decade.
06:39More than a return to form, the dramatic part showcased her beloved talents while also portraying the actress in a much more mature light.
06:47I could go on singing till the cards come home.
06:58Brittany Murphy
07:00After discovering a love for performing as a young child, Brittany Murphy landed her first recurring TV character on Drexel's class when she was only 13.
07:09Brittany Murphy
07:22After making a name for herself in Clueless just a few years later, Murphy showed off her genre-fluid acting range throughout her late teens and 20s.
07:30Then in 2009, she took on the role of a psychiatrist in the indie thriller Something Wicked.
07:35While shooting, she struggled with ongoing health issues, and the young actress would pass away just a few months after production.
07:49Though the film was initially postponed, it was later released in 2014 for the world to see.
07:55They will be there. They wouldn't miss it for the world.
08:00Philip Seymour Hoffman
08:02One of many Hollywood stars who started out with Law and Order cameos, Philip Seymour Hoffman went on to land his first film role in Triple Bogey on a Par 5 Hole.
08:12Even with a minor part, the young actor's huge grin left an impression, and it wouldn't be long before Hoffman was catching the world's attention.
08:33One of the most talented actors of his generation, he was introduced to a brand new audience in the 2010s as Plutarch Heavensby.
08:56Tragically, his part in the Hunger Games franchise would become his last, as Hoffman died with just a few scenes left to film in Mockingjay Part 2.
09:05Shelley Duvall
09:11Believe it or not, Shelley Duvall's illustrious career all started with an April Fool's party.
09:16Hi.
09:17Hi.
09:18Are you trying to steal my car?
09:20What?
09:21I asked you if you were trying to steal my car.
09:23Did you see your car?
09:24It looks exactly like my car.
09:26Several crew members from Brewster McCloud were in attendance, and they were so taken by her personality that she was later cast as the film's love interest.
09:35The rest was history, and Duvall became one of the 70s most iconic celebrities.
09:40What is this?
09:41Oh, come on Brewster, you're gonna love it.
09:43After building a long and fruitful career, she took a 20-year sabbatical before making a comeback in the indie horror flick The Forest Hills.
09:52It was her final role before her passing in 2024, and the actress struggled with pain on set, but she was able to channel it all into her magnetic performance.
10:01You know, we're not on the best of terms.
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10:19Carrie Fisher
10:22Few actors can say they started their careers in Academy Award-nominated movies, but Carrie Fisher is an exception.
10:28In 1975, the teenager made her film debut alongside the star-studded cast of Shampoo, a Beverly Hills romp about a salacious hairdresser.
10:49Just two years later, Fisher would rise to fame as Princess Leia, and her role in the Star Wars franchise would follow her from the beginning of her career until the end.
10:58Though she finished shooting The Last Jedi only a few months before her unexpected death, her final performance was actually in Wonderwell.
11:07Cast as a redheaded witch named Hazel, the fantasy movie later became the beloved actress's last posthumous release.
11:13You tricked me!
11:14Did I?
11:15Where am I?
11:16On the other side.
11:17Of what?
11:18It looks the same.
11:19Does it?
11:20What other roles would you have loved to see these actors play? Let us know in the comments below.
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