Even though Paul Reiser and Peter Falk’s careers are over, they both just starred in Reiser’s movie The Thing About My Folks (2005). Like you, we probably won’t watch it either.
The Noid
Will Vinton Studios, the creator of the California Raisins, also created the Noid, the mascot for Domino’s Pizza in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The commercials featured stop-motion animation by Tony Merrithew (tonymerrithew.blogspot.com) and the slogan, “Avoid the Noid.”
In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid thought the commercials were a personal attack on him and held two employees of an Atlanta, Georgia, Domino’s Pizza restaurant hostage for five hours. After forcing the employees to cook a free pizza for him, he surrendered to police, was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, extortion, and possession of a firearm during a crime, and was later found not guilty by reason of insanity.
In 1990, Capcom produced a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System called Yo! Noid. It’s a classic, right up there with Mega Man and Street Fighter II…not.
7 Up Spot
Spot, also referred to as Cool Spot, was 7 Up’s mute mascot throughout the early and mid 1990s. The commercials were well done.
Several video games were produced featuring Spot. Coming soon: The Adventures of the Coca-Cola Hyphen.
Gallagher
Gallagher was a popular comedian in the early and mid 1980s and a candidate for the governor of California in 2003. His trademark joke was smashing fruit with a giant sledgehammer. Hilarious, right?
Michael Jackson
In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson was a popular black male singer. Now, he’s an unpopular white female alien.
Update 2/16/11: Michael Jackson died (or returned to his home planet) on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50 (Earth years).