The Failed Projects of 15 Comedy Legends

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The Failed Projects of 15 Comedy Legends

We’ve all heard countless inspirational quotes about failure, and they’re all pretty much the same Sesame Street lesson of never giving up. “The secret of life is to fall seven times, but to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho. “Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” ― Oprah Winfrey. And hey man, if Oprah said it, you carve that shit into your desk. Failure comes for us all, and comedy legends are no different. Yes, they achieved successes beyond their wildest dreams, but that doesn’t mean that every venture was a hit. 

And we don’t like to revel in others’ failures, but we just want to remind you that not everyone has the Midas touch. And don’t worry, their successes far outweighed these little potholes in the path to greatness. If anything, a little failure now and then keeps the ego in check. And that’s what these 15 comedy legends felt… A good ol’ flop to keep them humble.

Sadly, Heartbeeps was Andy Kaufman’s last movie.

CRACKED ANDY KAUFMAN- HEARTBEEPS This 1981 sci-fi rom-com about two robots falling in love was so bad that people questioned if it was another one of Andy's pranks. Не passed away just 3 years later.

MTV / IMDB 

Only love will break your heart.

CRACKED MIKE MYERS - THE LOVE GURU Commonly referred to as one of the worst comedies of all time, Mike Myers was on a tear with the Austin Powers and Shrek franchises until The Love Guru basically tanked his movie career.

Looper

The Chevy Chase Show

CRACKED THE CHEVY CHASE SHOW GETS AN F. Only lasting one month in 1993, Entertainment Weekly said it has managed only to give vulgarity a bad name, and gave it an F rating.

EW / Yahoo 

Dennis Miller or John Madden for Monday Night Football? Hmm.

CRACKED DENNIS MILLER- MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Hired for color commentary in 2000, Dennis Miller, his dry, hyper-intellectual humor and non-football related rants were not appreciated, and he was replaced by John Madden. NIGHT OTBAL

Bleacher Report / SI

A string of Eddie Murphy movies.

CRACKED EDDIE MURPHY- HOLY MAN, NORBIT, AND THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH Rumored to have turned down Rush Hour for 1998's Holy Man, Eddie Murphy had one terrible movie after another in the 2000s. One of the biggest flops of all time, 2002's The Adventures of Pluto Nash, lost almost $100 million. CIO O

EW

Jerry Seinfeld needed to apologize.

CRACKED JERRY SEINFELD- BEE MOVIE Bee Movie is a coin flip between good and bad reviews from fans and critics, and Seinfeld took time on The Tonight Show to apologize for the sexual tension between a human woman and a bee.

The Guardian / YT 

Luckily Chappelle’s Show was around the corner.

CRACKED DAVE CHAPPELLE- BUDDIES In 1996, the sitcom Buddies starred Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer, but Breuer was quickly replaced, causing ill-will between Dave and the network. The show lasted just 5 episodes, and 8 episodes remain unaired.

Geeks / Ebay 

Jeff Foxworthy’s sitcom got two chances.

CRACKED THE JEFF FOXWORTHY SHOW 1995's The Jeff Foxworthy Show, only lasted one season on ABC before NBC took over and... Only gave it one season before canceling the show altogether.

Geeks / Get TV  

We already knew George Carlin could rant.

CRACKED THE GEORGE CARLIN SHOW Showcasing Carlin's rants about the world, The George Carlin Show was just a sitcom version of his much better stand-up. His feuds with co-creator Sam Simon and low ratings had it canceled after 27 episodes. Fillo

Vulture

Reverse Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

CRACKED KEVIN HART - THE BIG HOUSE In The Big House, Kevin Hart played a rich kid from Malibu who is forced to live with his working-class relatives in Philadelphia. It only lasted from April 2nd to April 30th in 2004.

Geeks

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