Selling product or selling out?

In the late 1970s, Sir Laurence Olivier served as a television pitchman for the Polaroid SX-70 cameras. At the time, it raised eyebrows among the highbrows. After all, here was an actor’s actor, who electrified the London stage in 1935 in Sir John Gielgud’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” who rocketed to Hollywood stardom in “Wuthering Heights,” who directed himself in “Richard III,” who was knighted as early as 1947, and who would eventually be interred at Westminster Abbey. And he was letting the esteem right out of his career.

Fortunately, Larry, as he liked to be called, wasn’t reduced in the public eye to the crass and common level of a Larry Fine. He had accumulated enough artistic stock to withstand the criticism. Also, the money helped soften the critical blows. One of the great stage actors of the 20^th century often said he raked in more cash during his three years with Polaroid than he did in all his Shakespearean work. Rather than deny his association with Polaroid, he looked at it with a philosophical sigh. “After all the Shakespeare I’ve done,” he observed, “it will be (Ralph) Richardson who will be remembered for his Shakespeare; I’ll be remembered for my Polaroid commercials.”

He was not the first actor to appear in television commercials, and he won’t be the last. Dustin Hoffman did a Volkswagen spot in 1966, a year before “The Graduate.” Boris Karloff hawked A-1 Steak Sauce. Rin Tin Tin did Gravy Train dog food, and his star emerged relatively untarnished.

Still, there is an unwritten rule among the public on this issue, and it goes something like this: Don’t do them unless you have to.

Olivier shilled for Polaroid because he hadn’t been working much at the time, and he was trying to provide for his family. But lately there have been a wave of actors who are taking advantage of a new freedom in this area. Actors now seem to believe the stigma of doing TV commercials has vanished, and there is a new era of permissiveness, not to mention a fresh source of revenue.

But beware, famous thespians eyeing the small box like prospectors once viewed the California gold rush:  Bank on your creativity, don’t become creatively bankrupt.

Shilling for DirecTV
DirecTV has a series of commercials featuring actors like Danny DeVito, Joan Cusack and Andy Garcia. Fine. Danny is more celebrity producer these days than he is an actor. As much as I love Joan, playing Jack Black’s love interest in “School of Rock” won’t be confused with “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Andy Garcia is talented, but I haven’t seen him in much lately. I worry about his welfare and frankly I think he should try to get a national campaign like McDonald’s or Toyota so he can continue to afford his Lakers season tickets.

But Robert Duvall? He’s the latest spokesman for DirecTV. Isn’t anything sacred? He was Tom Hagen. He was “The Great Santini.” For heaven’s sake, he was Boo Radley! Now he’s selling satellite dishes. I suppose there could be an artistic agenda at work. The more people who buy dishes, the more movie channels they’ll have access to, and thus more opportunities to hear Lt. Col. Kilgore declare, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” But beyond that, I would think Robert has banked enough jack over the course of a 44-year career that he wouldn’t need to moonlight.

Joe Pesci also has gotten into the act. Lately he can be seen in an SBC Global campaign, in which he parodies his Mafioso image to counsel two youngsters on high-speed phone service. I realize Joe isn’t Olivier. After all, he was in “Home Alone.” But he does have an best-supporting actor Oscar for “Goodfellas.” If he really needs the dough, he could pawn it, or sell it outright on eBay. Do we really have to endure seeing him on one channel admonishing kids in a commercial, then hit the remote and see him being admonished by the judge in “My Cousin Vinny”?

Not just for the Japanese audience anymore
They’re not alone. Slowly, the barricade has been lifted and it’s becoming okay to do commercials here in the U.S. The list of Hollywood names appearing in commercials on our shores is relatively small, but growing, and includes the likes of Martin Scorsese for American Express and Sharon Stone for AOL. Actors more closely associated with television fame include Jerry Seinfeld, also for Amex, Patricia Heaton for Albertson’s, Snoop Dogg and Jerry Stiller for AOL and Jason Alexander for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Overseas, the names are more illustrious. Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Sly Stallone and Anthony Hopkins are all pitching products to Asian and European audiences. The idea is not to sully their film cred by appearing in spots here. But as in the cases of Olivier and Duvall, it’s only a matter of time.

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What’s next? Mel Gibson for the Rome Board of Tourism? Jack Nicholson for Ray Ban sunglasses? Clint Eastwood for Smith & Wesson?

This is not even including the myriad performers who do voiceovers. Every time I hear Gene Hackman’s voice for Lowe’s Hardware, I am reminded what a lousy carpenter his Little Bill character  was in “Unforgiven.” Marlon Brando, an icon of American acting since bringing Stanley Kowalski to life in “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway in the ’40s, reportedly put together a demo reel to showcase his voiceover prowess. I understand why Marlon might want to do voiceovers instead of appearing on TV. If he gets behind the wheel of a Range Rover, they might not be able to get him out.

I realize it’s not easy to turn down easy money. I’m for easy money. But I’m not an international film star with a long list of prestigious credits who is headed for a place of honor in the pantheon of film history. A quick buck can make quick work of one’s career while sending an actor into a downward  spiral of celebrity despair.

If you’ve seen “Lost in Translation,” you’ll remember Bill Murray’s character — a famous American actor — filming a commercial for Suntory whiskey. Remember how unhappy he was in that movie (until Scarlett Johansson came along, that is)?

A warning: When you sell out, there is always a price to be paid.