Why did Whoopi Goldberg’s career go straight down the shitter?

The real question is the reverse: How did this unattractive purple-lipped dame even have any career in Show-Business?

She was a black woman in a white man’s world.

She thought she could be the next Paul Lynde by being the center Hollywood Square.

Whose career do you think she should have had? By all accounts I think she’s been pretty damn successful.

Yes, she didn't have a bad run at all. Especially considering she isn't the easiest to cast and not many actresses have long, high profile careers as leads as it is.

I am surprised she didn't work more in supporting roles post the 90s though. But I suspect that was mostly her idea. She doesn't seem to want to give up her The View gig. The salary is much better probably and keeps people talking about her.

She did make some bad decisions career wise, but she has endured. She seems to have all but given up on making movies…

Her performance in "The Color Purple" is one of the best in the history of American cinema. There wasn't much Hollywood could do with her after that, she was not a beauty.

She was a character actress who had an interesting run on the front burner.

The Color Purple was perfect for her, as were the Sister Act movies, but I don't know that anything that's happened since has captured her talents so perfectly.

She should have done more character work, but whether it was her choice or her people, they kept trying to land her leading roles. And she just really isn't a leading lady.

It's a shame she wasn't able to find the right TV vehicle. I hate seeing her wasted on The View. She is in that solely for the money, as she's all but admitted before.

[quote]She seems to have all but given up on making movies

Sister Act 3 is supposedly finally going to be filmed.

I think between “The Color Purple” and “Ghost” she more than demonstrated her versatility as an actress. I think while she had the talent, writers and producers just didn’t know what to do with her. She was a character actress (second banana) and there just wasn’t a lot of those type roles being written.

Roles for women are in short supply, roles of black women are even more rare

Unless she develops roles for herself - but she is no longer an A-list star that can open a movie. Despite Color Purple, Ghost & Sister Act

It is all cyclical, she had her day in the sun. Now she is re-inventing herself as a character actress, doing smaller roles in TV and film

Nothing wrong with that.

Didn’t the producers of FATAL BEAUTY cut her sex scenes with Sam Elliott because test audiences weren’t comfortable with them?

Whoopi reached a tricky level of success. She was hugely famous but also not likely to find great parts. It was bound to be downhill from there. Remember: Sister Act was a fluke given it was written for Bette, and Ghost only happened because Patrick really pushed for her to get it. It wasn't like there were tons of big gigs she could get. She happened to get two big ones in quick succession.

I di agree Hollywood Squares was a surprise and probably signaled her departure from the A List. But maybe she was fine with that and saw the writing on the wall. Better something steady.

Looking back, Sister Act, Ghost, Star Trek, Color Purple and Soap Dish were all great. Corina, Corina too.

That's more than most actresses get, even in terms of variety. I get the sense she burned out a bit and was glad to settle.

She clearly hates The View though and is just going through the motions. I wonder if/when she'll leave.

She stuffed herself so full of herself and pot fumes there was no more room left for intelligence, performance or a consistent respect for the truth.

She has 200 credits on IMDB. I'd call that a successful career.

She appeared in many more films than fellow Oscar winner Cher whose film career was brief.

She's also good as the detective in Robert Altman's "The Player."

Ahhhh the 80s, when you could say f@ggot as a joke right in the movie trailer.

On the plus side, Whoopi had a LOT of talent.

On the negative side, there was... everything else. She wasn't the right age, level of attractiveness, or color to have become a huge, A list film star in the '80s and '90s. And yet, for several years, that's exactly what she was.

It was quite incredible she achieved all that she has, because the odds were greatly stacked against her. It's a testament to her talent, her work ethic, and commitment that she did so well, because it sure as hell could not have been easy.

OP she's ugly. She's not leading lady material. Her roles are limited.

She had and still has a great career. But she let herself go, looks terrible and unhealthy. Sorry, Whoop, but it's true.

Whoopie had health problems and gained weight. I don't think she ugly - she has a unique look

You answered your own question there OP. She had a four flops in a row which finished her status as a leading lady. No studio was going to invest in movie starring her after that number of box office failures. The problem with Goldberg's was studios continually cast her "fish out of water" comedies while I think she wanted to take her career in a more serious direction which she did in several films that basically went under the radar. Goldberg was also terrible at selecting films I mean Theodore Rex for christsake! The Associate is really her last decent leading lady film (it also has a fantastic supporting cast) but it bombed due to lack of promotion and being pegged as a Mrs. Doubtfire ripoff.

[quote] Goldberg was also terrible at selecting films I mean Theodore Rex for christsake!

My understanding about "Theodore Rex" is that she was forced to do it

When Kim Basinger ducked out of the movie Boxing Helena, she was forced to pay $7.4 million in damages. That judgment gave precedent to lawsuits against stars who balked at being in films they may have previously agreed to star in.

The truth about Theodore Rex is sealed in settlement agreements, but we do know that Whoopi didn’t want to be in the movie. In 1993, she and the movie’s production company sued each other when negotiations over the film broke down. Whoopi said she never agreed to be in the movie, but producers said they’d hired a production crew based on her commitment for $5 million and profit sharing. The producers wanted Goldberg or $30 million in damages, and the Basinger decision gave them a chance. The case didn’t go away quietly. Instead, it blew up.

Judge Stephen Lachs refused to throw out the case and forced Goldberg to testify. The twist? Producers said they had a smoking audio tape of Whoopi agreeing to do the movie. A trial date of September 27th was set. Facing the prospect of a real trial over a dinosaur movie, Goldberg agreed to settle (and was rumored to take $7 million with her as a fee).

The skeptical expression she wears throughout Theodore Rex provides the answer: she will if forced to in a court of law.

R24 great story

Theodore Rex full movie here

It’s too bad her sitcom didn’t run longer.

Did anyone see the Sister Act musical, and was it any good?

I enjoyed her in Corrina, Corrina. She had great chemistry with Ray Liotta. For being an odd duck of sorts, she managed to do quite well in her film career.

I also liked her performance in Sarafina.

Whoopi is a working Character Actor. She has never NOT been working.

Her ability to showcase young black talent on The View is revered.

Her career has not gone down the shitter.

She did a guest spot on Glee! Of course her career went down the shitter.

Whoopi has the distinction of being the only black actress to have made Quigley Publishing's annual list of Top 10 movie stars.

From 1915 to 2013, Quigley's gauged film actors' bankability/box office clout.

Whoopi made the list not once but thrice (1986, 1992, 1993).

The other black actors to have made the list are:

Sidney Poitier (1967, 1968, 1969)

Eddie Murphy (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2000)

Will Smith (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Denzel Washington (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)

Poitier ('68), Murphy ('87), Smith (2008), and Washington (2012) each topped the list once.

"Corinna, Corinna" was a refreshing change of pace for both Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta in that each got a rare opportunity to play against type. And, yes, the chemistry was perfect.

Rest In Peace, Ray Liotta.

She was a recurring Madame Tibideaux on Glee, six episodes.

R28 The Sister Act musical was pretty good. I saw it in Toronto several years ago. The music was catchy. The movie was still way better though.

[quote] Whoopie had health problems and gained weight.

She also has the problem that, despite being an Academy Award level actress for over 35 years, people still cannot spell her name right.

It's WHOOPI, but she gets Whoopie, Whoppi, and every other variation out there.

Well, it's a made up kind of stupid name.

[quote]She was a recurring Madame Tibideaux on Glee, six episodes.

And nobody believed her as an accomplished artiste/dean of a performing arts school. Was the role originally intended for Phylicia Rashad?

Whoop is doing alright these days, the View pays her around $7 million a year, and she still gets time off for occasional acting gigs. She's doing fine for a long varied career and around age 70(?). She's already worth millions, she's fine. She's the big Whoop. :-)

Correction...Whoop makes $8 million a year for the View, and as of February 2022, her net worth is about $60 million. Like I said, Whoop I'd doing just fine.

Correction... Whoop is 66...

[quote]And nobody believed her as an accomplished artiste/dean of a performing arts school..

R39 How come? I've never seen GLEE.

I love Whoopi. I appreciated that she tried to be an action star in the ‘80s when it was mostly a men’s club. I still enjoy Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Burglar, and Fatal Beauty. And her desire to be on Star Trek The Next Generation.

Whoopi and Sissy Spacek were wonderful in the underrated The Long Walk Home. Far superior to The Help. They should have been Oscar nominated but the film flew under the radar and/or the release got bungled.

I echo the love for Corrina, Corrina. It was so nice to see so many fans of the film when people paid tribute to Ray Liotta. Whoopi and Liotta had great chemistry and that film showed both of their versatility in film.

It was the head wraps, r43.

She got fat.

Is her career “dead-dead”?

Whoopi has gone GOP. She’s calling for tax cuts.

She was amazingly versatile (and hilarious) in her one-woman Broadway show (directed by Mike Nichols). It launched her film career.

r48, it is so funny that Whoopi is both a black woman and a VERY RICH Black woman.

When she goes off on taxes, I see the clash.

So funny.

I'm one of 17 EGOTs. Kiss my big black ass.

Because she sho is ugly!

"Big Stone Gap" was a sweet little movie with Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, and Whoopi (playing her usual cantankerous character).

I feel like she's relevant, and doing fine at the moment. My only negative comment about her, in general, is that she is just so damned full of herself.

I wonder if this might have had anything to do with it. See below

I can see why men have been attracted to her…she seems like she is fun to hang out with. What is that French term DLers use for ugly but attractive women?

R56 jolie laide Though I don't imagine Whoopi got laide too much

Whoop got plenty of prime dick.

The Associate is my go-to feel good movie.

I like her, but not on The View where she easily steps in shit. I mean, Jill Biden for Surgeon General?