What Ernest Hemingway wrote about going broke also applies to overnight success: It happens two ways — gradually and then suddenly. It may be true that the vast majority of the actors, musicians, writers, artists, and comedians we've included in our 1991 class of faces to watch have put in years of private, unheralded labor before landing on the cusp of celebrity. But it's equally a fact of fame that one day you don't have it, and the next you do — somebody has heard of you, somebody knows your name, somebody wants you. On the following pages is a torrent of talent and a plentitude of potential, along with some advice to this year's newly minted successes on what to do after getting a foot in the door, and how to avoid becoming that evil twin of a promising newcomer: the fading star. We wish them all the luck they deserve.
Tommy Davidson
Some comedians have rubber faces; Tommy Davidson's is made of
Silly Putty, and when it twists, stretches, and picks up an
impression, no star remains unburned. In two seasons on Fox's
skit-comedy hit In Living Color, Davidson has turned his fun-house
mirror of a mug into a hyperactive Spike Lee, a trouser-tangled M.C.
Hammer, and a Sugar Ray Leonard whose tongue bobs and weaves through
every sentence. On the road, where the 26-year-old performer does up
to three shows a night, three weekends a month, his range extends
from Anita Baker (whose concerts he once opened) to Scooby-Doo.
Davidson was a struggling bassist and part-time cook when a friend
urged him to try comedy five years ago; his first stint was in a
Washington, D.C., topless bar ''while the ladies took their breaks.''
Before Color resumes production, Davidson will make his film debut in
Island Pictures' fall comedy Go Beverly, dub voices for NBC's cartoon
series Kid 'n Play, tape his second solo special for Showtime, and
squeeze in as many live shows as he can. ''I want to be a well-rounded
entertainer,'' he says of the relentless schedule. ''I worked hard to
get to work this hard.'' — Mark Harris
Margaret Welsh
Maybe someday Margaret Welsh will get to play a woman who wears
up-to-the- minute underwear, but not so far. After a brief part as
the sullen daughter in the '40s-era Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, she's edging
forward — but only to 1953 — as the niece of murderer Mark Harmon in CBS'
remake of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (April). As her resumé grows,
the only downside, she jokes, is that ''I can't get out of these
goddamn girdles and corsets to save my life. But there was a
particular shape these women had, and to get that shape, you have to
wear some heavy underwear. It helps me get into the persona — it
influences the way they move.'' The New Yorker isn't complaining, nor
does she mind that her all-American looks are still winning her
adolescent roles at age 24. ''I like playing 16. You don't have to
make any excuses for your behavior.'' — Mark Harris
Miguel Ferrer
You couldn't call Miguel Ferrer's breakthrough typical: After last
winter's cop series Broken Badges was canceled, he recalls, ''I lost
my job, my girlfriend and I broke up, and, really hardest of all, my
dog died.'' Other than that — no joke — it's been a very good year. After
years as ''the heroin addict or the rapist or the guy who blows up the
convent,'' Ferrer, 35, caught the eye of David Lynch, who cast him as
Twin Peaks' Albert Rosenfield, the first sarcastic pacifist forensic
pathologist in TV history. With a brilliant mind and a mouth that
leaves tire tracks on its victims, Albert is a grown-up, ferocious
Bart Simpson — overachiever, and proud of it — and Ferrer's deadpan,
machine-gun delivery has made him a cult delight. Now, Ferrer, the
son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, plans to star next season in
Lynch's prospective ABC comedy On the Air, about TV's early days.
He's also taking care of Sammy, his 3-month-old bull terrier puppy.
''Unconditional love,'' he says with Albert- esque terseness. ''There's
nothing like it.'' — Mark Harris
Ron Schneider
If Rob Schneider were to introduce himself, it might sound like
this: ''Robbbbb. The Robman. Rob-o-cop. First-degree Robbery with
intent to Schneider... '' Less than a year after joining NBC's Saturday
Night Live, the San Francisco native has become what every cast
member hopes to be: a national joke. Schneider's ticket to fame this
season has been Rich (a.k.a. the Copy Machine Guy), a desperately
lonely office drone who tortures the name of anyone within reach
(''Steeeeve. Making copies! The Stevester! Steve-a-rama.
Steve-a-ramavich... '') Rich's first victim was guest host Sting, who was
so tickled that he sent the cast a card inscribed: ''From the
Stingmeister, Der Stinglehoffer, Sting-a-ling-a-dingdingding.'' Rich's
second appearance was so successful that executive producer Lorne
Michaels joked that Dana Carvey's Church Lady had just become
obsolete. After that, only the start of the ground war could knock
Schneider off the air. (In a vetoed sketch, he was supposed to haunt
the President: ''Buuuuush. The Bushman. Bushman making copies! Prince
George of Bushlandia...! '') ''All of my characters are annoying but
likable,'' says the 27-year-old Schneider, who honed a stand-up act
for seven years before moving East, and developed Rich by needling
fellow writer-performer Adam Sandler (''Adammmmm''). ''I just didn't
know anyone would relate to this one.'' — Mark Harris
Beth Ehlers
As The Guiding Light's willful and outspoken Harley Cooper
Spaulding, 22-year-old Beth Ehlers has already given birth to an
illegitimate child, married and divorced the scion of the wealthiest
family in the fictional town of Springfield, and nearly married her
ex-lover's stepfather. That Ehlers has made all of this believable is
a tribute to the quirky immediacy she brings to her character. This
role isn't the first that she has sunk her teeth into. She made a
memorable film debut at age 13 in the vampire flick The Hunger,
playing a music student victimized by bloodsucker David Bowie.
''People used to trap me in the bathrooms at clubs and say my lines to
me,'' she recalls. ''It became a cult thing.'' Off-camera life has been
equally interesting. Ehlers left her New York home at 16 after a
financial dispute with her parents. After a year at Syracuse
University, she landed the CBS soap in 1987. Like Harley, she has
come a long way; her relationship with her folks, she says, is
''better.'' And in June she plans to marry a medical student. So what
is her favorite soap for home viewing? NBC's Another World. ''I think
it's got some good acting on it and it's real. It's one of the better
shows,'' she says. A star of one soap admitting she's a big fan of
another (and one on a rival network no less) ? Sounds like something
Harley would do. — Roger Friedman
