Five Chapters in the Origin Story of George Clooney

George Clooney directs and co-stars in this weekend's new political thriller 'The Ides of March.' Before George Clooney was a Very Famous Person, he used to spend his time on a show called 'E/R.' (I promise: the 'E/R' that we are talking about is not at all the 'ER' that you're thinking of right now.) After that he would go on to hang out with Joe Polniaczek on 'The Facts of Life.' Even a Very Famous Person like George Clooney has an origin, and sometimes that origin has you starring in 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes!' 'E/R' (1984) In George Clooney's first credited role, he played Mark "Ace" Kolmar in this sitcom that stars George Clooney that also happen to have the same title as the show that would later make George Clooney a star. Elliot Gould, the star of this 'E/R,' would later co-star with Clooney in the three 'Oceans' films. 'Riptide' (1984) I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this clip because it's dubbed into German for whatever reason. But George Clooney has a knife! Also, I faintly remember liking 'Riptide' because it came on right after 'The A-Team.' 'Street Hawk' (1985) 'Street Hawk' was a short-lived television series about a police officer who fought crime at night as a vigilante on his high powered motorcycle. His motorcycle could travel up to 300 miles per hour. Also, this is not a joke. This show existed. Sadly, George Clooney was not the Street Hawk. Fortunately, in his guest starring role, Clooney does appear to win a stuffed lion at a carnival. Facts of Life (1985) George Clooney played "George" as a semi regular on 'Facts of Life' after 'Facts of Life' stopped being a good show. Put it this way: a year later even Mrs. Garrett would bail on this ship. 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes!' (1988) I think even Clooney knew back then that this was beneath him. Only then it was more in a "I used to be a regular on 'The Facts of Life'!" kind of way. At least he had a recurring role in 'Rosanne' to look forward to. Oh, and 'ER.' Oh, and an Oscar and worldwide fame. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter. RELATED