In Popular Culture
O'Neill's emergence as a cultural figure was not restricted to commercials. Four years before his retirement he had a cameo role in the February 17, 1983 episode of Cheers entitled "No Contest," which featured him ducking into the bar to escape a woman who pestered him on the street about his political ideals. The show, which was ranked 60th in the Nielsen ratings at that time jumped 20 places the following week. O'Neill also made a brief appearance in the 1993 film Dave as himself, assessing the work of the fictional American President in the movie. He also did narration for a segment of the Ken Burns series Baseball in which O'Neill, a lifelong Red Sox fan, read the Boston Globe from the day the Red Sox won the 1918 World Series. He also appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom Silver Spoons, which featured him delivering a mock press conference praising recurring character Freddy Lippincottleman's efforts on behalf of the homeless.
Read more about this topic: Tip O'Neill
Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“Like other secret lovers, many speak mockingly about popular culture to conceal their passion for it.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Theres that popular misconception of man as something between a brute and an angel. Actually man is in transit between brute and God.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“The hard truth is that what may be acceptable in elite culture may not be acceptable in mass culture, that tastes which pose only innocent ethical issues as the property of a minority become corrupting when they become more established. Taste is context, and the context has changed.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)