The 10 Most Memorable Movie Cameos by Non-Actors

Sometimes the most memorable movie cameos come from the most unlikely sources: the game show hosts, the rock musicians, the famous authors. These are people, in other words, whom you wouldn't expect to be sharing screen space with your Martin Lawrences, your Adam Sandlers, your Skeet Ulriches. Nonetheless, against all common reason, there they are. Here are the 10 that made us say "The hell...?" followed by "Hold on, this is awesome."

The Cameo: Bob' classic brawl with eternal 9-year-old Adam Sandler instantly became a staple of drunken college party movie reenactments and spawned what would reign as the most overused catchphrase in comedy until Dave Chapelle put on a Rick James wig:

Why They Got It: If you're going to get beaten up by an old man, it might as well be the guy who devoted his life to keeping America safe from an unstoppable tidal wave of unneutered pets.

How it Went: Barker' scene in Gilmore became one of the movie' most memorable, and ensured that an ever-increasing number of college kids would pilgrimage to The Price is Right set in hopes of getting to take a swing at B-squared.

Most Memorable Moment: Ignoring the obligatory "The price is wrong, bitch," we've got to give it to the expression on Barker' face at 1:01 as he reaches up like a zombie from the grave to throttle Happy senseless. That, or the 1920s-style "fisticuffs" stance he employs in the opening bout.

The Cameo: Richards pops caps in fools, wails on pirate guitar and teaches his son Jack Sparrow a valuable lesson about the importance of adhering to a code of law. Of the three, only the latter required him to act.

Why They Got It: Since Depp basically modeled his character after Richards' stage persona, it was the studio' only way to avoid a lengthy and expensive copyright infringement lawsuit. This is the same reason Richards got his own sitcom, How Come I'm Not Dead Yet?, premiering this fall on the Disney Channel.

How it Went: Surprisingly well, considering that Richards had snorted a half-liter of cocaine that morning and had no idea he was filming a movie. The real mystery according to those who worked on the film is why he showed up on set already dressed in full pirate garb.

Most Memorable Moment: The very end, when Richards' attempt to smile at his son' victory sends his crazy hard-boiled egg eyes and chapped leather features twisting off in horrifying and previously unknown directions.

The Cameos: It must be nice to see an arts movement you helped begin enter a new golden age. It must also be nice to use your godfather-of -comics status to obnoxiously insert yourself into roughly 60 percent of all movies released in the summers of 2004 through 2007.

Why They Got It: "Oh, you want to make an X-Men movie? You mean that team of mutant heroes Kirby and I made up 40 years ago? That' cool. Oh hey, you know who should be in that? Me, motherfucking Stan Lee, that' who."

How it Went: In the clip below, Stan appears for a total of about 20 seconds, and yet saves two women (one a small child), from certain death. Talk about a likeable character!

Most Memorable Moment: Probably the one from The Hulk, because after a few seconds of thinking "Hey, it' Stan Lee," you think, "Holy shit, it' Lou Goddamned Ferrigno!"

The Cameo: The late, great author drops by to help the wealthy Thornton Mellon with his term paper so he can continue sleeping with his hot teacher, party when he should be studying, prove the crooked authorities wrong and generally reenact the plot of Billy Madison nine years before its release.

Why They Got It: The real question is how the producers of a shitty Rodney Dangerfield movie even got Kurt Vonnegut on the phone, let alone to show up on the set and appear in a scene for them. We're guessing it had something to do with the illustrious Mr. Vonnegut only having to say one line and the writing of a giant check. As his books have proven, he' not a stupid man.

How it Went: Vonnegut is so utterly convincing in the 4-second clip where he portrays himself that it' a wonder he hasn't appeared in more movies. Alas, another great author/actor (See Shatner' Tekwar novels as an example) goes sadly untapped.

Most Memorable Moment: Really the only moment-the one where he' there in the movie. Although we also enjoyed Rodney Dangerfield yelling, "Fuck you!" into a disconnected phone which we, the audience, are to imagine has Vonnegut on the other end.

The Cameo: When it came time to shoot the facehugger scene, Scott opted to stick his own hand up the creature' rubberized backside and make like Jim Henson.

Why They Got It: Well, he did direct the movie. Other than that, no one else on set really seemed to be able to make the thing writhe in that particular facehuggerly way.

How it Went: They had to shoot a lot of takes, but for some reason Scott didn't seem to mind hitting John Hurt in the face over and over with a spider/boxing glove. And in the end, we've got to admit it' the scariest game of "got your nose" ever captured on film.

Most Memorable Moment: We couldn't find the facehugger scene, so here' the other most memorable cameo from Alien: Nicole Richie as the penis-shaped thing that bursts from Kane' chest in a fountain of blood. At 3:07 you can see her skitter off in search of a bangin' nightclub: