You know these titans of entertainment for their acting and singing abilities. Long before they reached stardom, each worked a regular job to pay the bills. Which famous person did which job before becoming a celebrity? Test your knowledge with this short, fun quiz.

1. What job did Elvis Presley once hold?

A: House painter
B: Truck driver
C: Carpenter
D: Bulldozer operator

Answer: B. Before being crowned the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” Elvis drove a truck for the Crown Electric Co. in Memphis, Tenn.

2. This early job put John Wayne on the path to becoming a movie legend. What was it?

A: Scriptwriter
B: Makeup artist
C: Set prop mover
D: Audio technician

Answer: C. As a favor to Southern Cal’s football coach (who gave him free game tickets), director John Ford hired the hunky 6-foot-4 inch to lug scenery and props around movie sets. That led to him being an extra, then to a few speaking parts, and then … the rest, as they say, is history.

3. While honing his craft as a crooner, which celebrity singer once delivered newspapers and was a shipyard riveter?

A: Perry Como
B: Bing Crosby
C: Dean Martin
D: Frank Sinatra

Answer: D. Ol’ Blue Eyes worked his way out of his Hoboken, N.J., neighborhood while also paying his dues as a singer.

4. How did movie star Brad Pitt once pay the bills?

A: Delivering singing telegrams
B: Male stripper
C: Dressing as a chicken
D: Giving interpretive dance lessons

Answer: C. Though he’s been making moviegoers swoon for more than 30 years, no one recognized him in one role. Pitt donned a chicken costume and waved at passing drivers outside a restaurant.

5. What early job did rocker Freddie Mercury hold?

A: Travel agent
B: Baggage handler
C: Pet groomer
D: Manicurist

Answer: B. Years before belting out “We Will Rock You” as a frontman for the supergroup Queen, Mercury labored as an unglamourous luggage handler for British Airways at London’s Heathrow Airport.

6. What late-night TV talk show host made money in high school as a magician?

A. Johnny Carson
B. Dick Cavett
C. David Letterman
D. Jay Leno

Answer: A. The future king of late-night TV did magic tricks for $3 a show while in high school. He later spoofed himself in his recurring “Carnac the Magnificent” sketches.

7. Singer Madonna lasted just one week at this job:

A. Hairstylist
B. Waitress
C. Donut maker
D. Caterer

Answer: C. She may have been a 1980s cultural icon as the “Material Girl,” but befoe that, Madonna made donuts at a Dunkin in New York City. She told Howard Stern she was fired for “playing with the jelly squirter machine.” (She also briefly was a hat checker at the Russian Tea Room.)

About the Author

J. Mark Powell is a novelist, former TV journalist, and diehard history buff. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.