History WhiteDwarfStarlet / Film

* Creator/BelaLugosi in ''Film/EdWood'', which makes him perfect for a starring role in [[ShowWithinAShow one of the worst movies ever]].

* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' Rick Dalton was the lead character of a very successful Western TV show in the 50's until he quit to pursue a film career. He failed to really break out as a star and since returning to television has [[TypeCasting been increasingly cast as]] TheHeavy to boost the careers of newer, younger stars. Rick is painfully aware that his credibility as a leading man is fading and fears become a has-been.

* The TropeCodifier would probably be Norma Desmond from ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'', a silent film star who never made the transition into talking pictures. Despite her advancing age and secluded existence, she still believes she's big enough to star in one more picture, with Creator/CecilBDeMille to direct her. Includes a double helping of RealitySubtext, as Desmond was played by Creator/GloriaSwanson, who had been one of silent film's biggest stars but who never made the transition to "talkies". In a GeniusBonus, Desmond watches one of her old films, which is the Gloria Swanson movie ''Queen Kelly''. This was directed by Erich Von Stroheim, a once-prominent director whose career behind the camera ended with the silent film era (though he maintained an acting career), who plays Desmond's butler (who, it turns out, [[spoiler:was also her first director...and her first husband]]). (Because ''Queen Kelly'' went grossly over budget, and was never completed, it effectively ended both Gloria Swanson's and Erich von Stroheim's careers in the silent movie business.) Interestingly, Swanson had to be made up as older than she looked to play a character who was younger than she was!
* The entire band in ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''. Not that they aren't popular anymore, not by any means, it's just that "their appeal has grown more selective." A truly sad moment in this uproarious comedy is when the band hears an oldies station playing one of their hits as "The Thamesmen"... followed by the DJ consigning them to the "Where Are They Now?" file, when where they are is playing a concert in that very city. Ultimately subverted: it turns out they're [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff big in Japan]].

* The TropeCodifier would probably be Norma Desmond from ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'', a silent film star who never made the transition into talking pictures. Despite her advancing age and secluded existence, she still believes she's big enough to star in one more picture, with Creator/CecilBDeMille to direct her. Includes a double helping of RealitySubtext, as Desmond was played by Creator/GloriaSwanson, who had been one of silent film's biggest stars but who never made the transition to "talkies". In a GeniusBonus, Desmond watches one of her old films, which is the Gloria Swanson movie ''Queen Kelly''. This was directed by Erich Von Stroheim, a once-prominent director whose career behind the camera ended with the silent film era (though he maintained an acting career), who plays Desmond's butler (who, it turns out, [[spoiler:was also her first director...and her first husband]]). (Because ''Queen Kelly'' went grossly over budget, and was never completed, it effectively ended both Gloria Swanson's and Erich von Stroheim's careers in the silent movie business.) Interestingly, Swanson had to be made up as older than she looked to play a character who was younger than she was!
%%* Dame Evey from ''Driving Lessons''.
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' finds WesternAnimation/BettyBoop working as a nightclub cigarette girl, having been put out of business by cartoons going to color.[[note]]There actually is one color Betty cartoon, ''Poor Cinderella'' (1934). And Betty's a SignificantGreeneyedRedhead in it![[/note]] She's fairly philosophical about it, though. Counts for a bit of a TearJerker, especially Eddie's sad reaction after she assures him she's StillGotIt.[[note]]Eddie: "Yeah, you still got it."[[/note]] You can thank this movie for helping to [[CareerResurrection revive Betty Boop's career]], if not as an animated film star then as a merchandising icon.[[note]]It should be noted, however, that she technically never "lost" it in the first place, making it a subversion out of universe.[[/note]]

* ''Theatre/{{Alegria}}'' has a touching variant in the Cafe Opera, a watering hole that specifically caters to old, forgotten performers, providing them comfort and support from their peers in their twilight years (some even engage in romances with each other). The owner himself is a dancer and now alcoholic known as [[PunnyName Old Taps]]. (Ironically, his actor, Brian Dewhurst, is a circus performer who had already worked with Cirque on and offstage. A year or two after the film was shot, he joined Cirque's ''Mystere'' as a clown, and is still with the show today...)
* Sam (Creator/PeterSellers) in ''Film/TheOptimists1973'' is a variant. He apparently was almost famous in English vaudeville at one point and certainly has the ramshackle house, old costumes and clippings, and drinking problem. But in his old age, he still performs as a busker (street performer) and seems content to get by that way, with no delusions of grandeur.
* ''Film/AfterTheFox'', another Creator/PeterSellers film, has former "international handsome star" Tony Powell. He's artificially tanned and white-toothed (which he shows off as a PerpetualSmiler), uses shoe polish to cover his graying hair and is convinced that he's perfect to make a comeback as the hero of the old noir films he used to star in while his agent tries to bring him to reality. Sellers' character is easily able to manipulate him. Powell was played by a [[AdamWesting self-parodying]] Victor Mature.
* Downplayed male example: Alex Fletcher in ''Film/MusicAndLyrics'' certainly fits the 'forgotten has-been' aspect of the trope, but doesn't display much serious desire to get back to the way things were; his main motivation is not to get back onto the top but to keep his profile up high enough so that he can keep doing the low-rent theme park gigs that sustain him (and possibly even land a lucrative contract at Disney Land).
* Another male example: Buddy Young Jr. in ''Film/MrSaturdayNight''.
* Vitriolic producer Les Grossman uses these exact words to describe Tugg Speedman if ''Film/TropicThunder'' (the [[ShowWithinAShow movie-within-the-movie]]) fails.
--> "Speedman is a dying star. A white dwarf...[[{{Metaphorgotten}} heading for a black hole.]] That's physics."

* Velma Von Tussle in ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', especially in the later versions. Her song "The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs" details her beauty queen past.

* Bertha in ''Film/PoorPrettyEddie'' was a successful and glamorous showgirl, but is now an overweight, middle-aged alcoholic who surrounds herself with old photos of herself and practically defines herself by her abusive relationship with a much younger Eddie. When Liz, a famous jazz singer, ends up at Bertha's motel, Bertha immediately becomes jealous of her and constantly antagonizes her, most notably by refusing to help Liz after she's raped by Eddie. In her mind, she believes that keeping Liz as Eddie's captive at the motel will teach her a lesson about how one day, Liz's fame will dry up just like hers did.
* ''Film/HowToLoseFriendsAndAlienatePeople'' has a very sympathetic example as a minor character. Sidney notices that she's alone and downcast at a huge celebrity hobnob, ignored by everyone else in attendance, despite her long and respectable career in Hollywood. The older actress is genuinely touched when he introduces himself as a huge fan.
* Max Bialystock in ''Film/TheProducers'' was once a successful Broadway Producer (at least in his own mind), but is washed-up and forced to sponge off of little old ladies when the show starts. This is especially true in the musical version, where he opens the show singing, "I used to be the King, the King of Old Broadway."
* The entire band in ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''. Not that they aren't popular anymore, not by any means, it's just that "their appeal has grown more selective." A truly sad moment in this uproarious comedy is when the band hears an oldies station playing one of their hits as "The Thamesmen"... followed by the DJ consigning them to the "Where Are They Now?" file, when where they are is playing a concert in that very city. Ultimately subverted: it turns out they're [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff big in Japan]].
** TruthInTelevision for Anvil as portrayed in ''Film/AnvilTheStoryOfAnvil''. The band was huge in the '80s, sharing the stage with Music/BonJovi and Music/{{Whitesnake}} but ended up completely forgotten by history. Their documentary ends with a concert in Japan, where thousands of fans turn up despite a bad spot on the schedule.

* Helen Sinclair in ''Film/BulletsOverBroadway''. "''Don't'' speak!"
* Faded rock star Rex Manning in ''Film/EmpireRecords''. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by a teenage boy who gets an autograph from Manning because "my mom has all your albums" despite never personally having heard a single one of Manning's songs. Subverted in the Director's Cut version of the film. In an alternate take of the "You're just a has-been" scene, he trades his cocky attitude and quote from Music/TheWho's "My Generation", for a heartfelt and bitter "you might be right" acknowledgment.
* ''Film/DinnerAtEight'' provides a very sad example in Larry Renault, who was a big star in the silent movie days but who now is a washed-up alcoholic who can't even get jobs in vaudeville. After his disgusted manager gives Larry an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, Larry is DrivenToSuicide.
* This is the entire premise of ''Film/WhateverHappenedToBabyJane?''. Jane Hudson is a FormerChildStar in vaudeville theater, and her sister Blanche was a successful film actress as a young adult. Now Blanche is crippled from Jane accidentally hitting her with a car, and Jane is a disturbed alcoholic who can't accept that her career dried up when she aged and couldn't make the transition to movies. She still dresses like she does when she was 'Baby Jane', and resents and torments Blanche. [[spoiler: Actually, Blanche was the one driving the car, attempting to hit ''Jane''. Blanche had resented that she was tied to her scandal-ridden, talentless sister, and tried to kill her. The book even states that she prevented Jane from seeking psychiatric help in order to better manipulate her. The film ends with Blanche presumably dead and Jane having snapped completely, believing that the police and crowds are there to see her comeback.]]
* Roy Munson from ''Film/{{Kingpin}}'' is a former bowling star who lost his hand.
* Jimmy from ''Film/TheAirUpThere'' is a former college basketball star until he blew his knee. To be accepted into the Winabi tribe, he had to throw away his championship ring.

* The short film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIWRI1g_NFE Conventional]]'' stars Creator/KarenGillan (who also wrote and directed it) as a former UsefulNotes/{{scream queen|s}} whose career burned out once she was seen as too old by casting directors, and laments how her TypeCasting as "the hot chick who dies in horror movies" essentially made it impossible to get any different roles. Now, she's had extensive (and obvious) plastic surgery to hide her age, and she works the convention circuit where the only people who still care about her are [[LoonyFan the most deranged fans]] of her older films. [[spoiler:When one of them kills her during a photo session, her last words are "thank you", partly because it will finally [[DeadArtistsAreBetter put her name back in the spotlight]], and partly because she hated how pathetic her life had become.]]
* The former ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' cast, most of whom are only getting paid from publicity appearances these days.
* ''Film/CrookedHouse'': Magda claims that she and Philip were once the most glamorous couple in London. If this is true, then current position definitely makes her one: doing provincial reparatory and clinging desperately to the hope that Philip's screenplay is going to make her a star again.
* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' Rick Dalton was the lead character of a very successful Western TV show in the 50's until he quit to pursue a film career. He failed to really break out as a star and since returning to television has [[TypeCasting been increasingly cast as]] TheHeavy to boost the careers of newer, younger stars. Rick is painfully aware that his credibility as a leading man is fading and fears become a has-been.
* ''Film/CloudsOfSilsMaria'' involves an actress who was an ingenue many years earlier who's now wrestling with the prospect of doing a remake of her most famous performance... except that a younger actress now has the role she previously played.
* In ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'', the titular duo are revealed to be this. Having once been epic rockers playing to huge crowds, they now play to much-smaller audiences who aren't necessarily there to see them.
-->'''The Great Leader:''' 25 years ago, you played a concert in front of the entire world. One month ago, you played in Barstow, California, for 40 people, most of whom were there for "Two-Dollar Taco Night!"
* ''Film/GoliathAwaits'': Ronald Bentley (who was a matinee idol in his prime during the sinking) has insecurities about being one if he's rescued after so many decades and placed in a world which wouldn't have any place for him to resume acting.
* ''{{Film/Nope}}'' has Ricky "Jupe" Park, a former child actor whose career was cut short after his second project, a sitcom starring a chimpanzee named Gordy, was cancelled after a violent incident on set where Gordy beat two of Ricky's costars to death and maimed a third after being frightened by a popping balloon. Now a middle-aged owner of a two-bit carnival in the middle of the desert, Ricky is desperately clinging to relevance, including having a small private museum dedicated to the bloody Gordy incident to rake in some extra cash despite the trauma it brings him. [[spoiler:After he encounters a predatory beast from space that resembles a UFO, Ricky manages to delude himself into thinking he's tamed it by feeding it horses, before attempting to monetize the thing by creating a new attraction around it, the Star Lasso Experience. This leads to Ricky, his family, and 40 people in the audience being eaten alive by the UFO during the inaugural performance.]]

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' finds WesternAnimation/BettyBoop working as a nightclub cigarette girl, having been put out of business by cartoons going to color.[[note]]There actually is one color Betty cartoon, ''Poor Cinderella'' (1934). And Betty's a SignificantGreeneyedRedhead in it![[/note]] She's fairly philosophical about it, though. Counts for a bit of a TearJerker, especially Eddie's sad after she assures him she's StillGotIt.[[note]]Eddie: "Yeah, you still got it."[[/note]] You can thank this movie for helping to [[CareerResurrection revive Betty Boop's career]], if not as an animated film star then as a merchandising icon.[[note]]It should be noted, however, that she technically never "lost" it in the first place, making it a subversion out of universe.[[/note]]

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' finds WesternAnimation/BettyBoop working as a nightclub cigarette girl, having been put out of business by cartoons going to color.[[note]]There actually is one color Betty cartoon, ''Poor Cinderella'' (1934). And Betty's a SignificantGreeneyedRedhead in it![[/note]] She's fairly philosophical about it, though. Counts for a bit of a TearJerker, especially Eddie's sad after she assures him she's StillGotIt[[note]]Eddie: "Yeah, you still got it."[[/note]]. You can thank this movie for helping to [[CareerResurrection revive Betty Boop's career]], if not as an animated film star then as a merchandising icon.[[note]]It should be noted, however, that she technically never "lost" it in the first place, making it a slight subversion of this trope.[[/note]]

* Sam (Creator/PeterSellers) in ''Film/TheOptimists'' is a variant. He apparently was almost famous in English vaudeville at one point and certainly has the ramshackle house, old costumes and clippings, and drinking problem. But in his old age, he still performs as a busker (street performer) and seems content to get by that way, with no delusions of grandeur.

* Bertha in ''Poor Pretty Eddie'' was a successful and glamorous showgirl, but is now an overweight, middle-aged alcoholic who surrounds herself with old photos of herself and practically defines herself by her abusive relationship with a much younger Eddie. When Liz, a famous jazz singer, ends up at Bertha's motel, Bertha immediately becomes jealous of her and constantly antagonizes her, most notably by refusing to help Liz after she's raped by Eddie. In her mind, she believes that keeping Liz as Eddie's captive at the motel will teach her a lesson about how one day, Liz's fame will dry up just like hers did.

** TruthInTelevision for Anvil as portrayed in ''Anvil! The Story of Anvil''. The band was huge in the '80s, sharing the stage with Music/BonJovi and Music/{{Whitesnake}} but ended up completely forgotten by history. Their documentary ends with a concert in Japan, where thousands of fans turn up despite a bad spot on the schedule.