Famous People Who Have Been Homeless

Published October 23, 2008 @ 04:27AM PT

With all the recent talk of foreclosures, the economic crisis, homeless families, and hate crimes, I've been in need of a good dose of optimism. Luckily, I found one on Homeless Tales.

Homeless Tales has compiled a list of 33 actors, singers, writers, and Nobel laureates who were, at one time or another, homeless. Some were living in cars before careers began, others experienced great success then became reclusive, fading away on the streets.

You might be surprised by some of the names on this list. Here's a sampling:

David Letterman: Emmy Award-winning television writer, comedian, author and talk-show host of the television talk-show Late Show with David Letterman spent time living out of his Chevy pickup truck while struggling to establish his career.

Halle Berry: In an interview with magazine, US Weekly, Berry stated that she had stayed in a shelter for a time.

Bobby Driscoll: Oscar-winning actor (as child star); the original voice of Walt Disney's 1953 Peter Pan animated movie died alone and destitute of a heart attack at age 31. The body was discovered by boys playing in a vacant tenement building in New York City and was buried in an unmarked grave, unidentified until several months later.

Ella Fitzgerald: Ella spent years as a struggling, homeless teenager before she was discovered in a singing competition.

Read the rest of the list here.

I guess this is proof that even the most dire situations can turn around for the better. Or, perhaps more realistically, that homelessness is a condition that can happen to anyone.

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Comments (4)

This story encourages me and I hope it encourages others as well.

Posted by Ly Syin Lobster on 10/23/2008 @ 11:57AM PT
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This story encourages me and I hope it encourages others as well.

Posted by Ly Syin Lobster on 10/23/2008 @ 11:58AM PT
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Yes this story encourages us a lot.. We have many things to learn from these famous celebs.

Posted by Fame is yours on 10/24/2008 @ 02:32AM PT
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be sure and done

Posted by charles spansky on 04/09/2009 @ 09:00AM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.