Sports star made Jim Carrey a star…
June 4, 1997

Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Dan Marino has all the ingredients that make up most movie stars-looks, charm, charisma and personality and maybe that is why Hollywood came a calling when they filmed the hit "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." "I had fun doing movie, it was filmed right in Fort Lauderdale. So I could home every night" said the down-to-earth NFL quarterback.

Acting may look like an easy profession but Dan found out from his experience acting in "Ace Ventura Pet Detective" that it is quite demanding. "I have a news respect for the way actors and everyone who is involved with it. It’s a lot of hard work." said Dan.

Dan appeared in a music video with the popular band and fans of the Dolphins "Hootie and the Blowfish" for the song "Only Wanna to Be With You" which included a line "…the Dolphins make me cry." The video features Dan and Darius throwing the football to each other-yes, Darius caught a few.

Dan told me doing the music video wasn’t exactly an acting job. Flashing those pearly whites-he said, "That was pretty easy, its was just an afternoon thing that we did with Darius Rucker(lead singer of ‘Hootie & the Blowfish’) we met at some high school in Chicago when we both were there and did it in half a day. It was fun."

I asked him if his buddy Darius ever gave him some singing lessons. "No, no not singing and no rapping" said Dan. Does he ever give golf tips to Darius who loves the game almost as much as he loves the Miami Dolphins? "No, I just go get him some Budweiser every now and then." said Dan.

Would Dan consider an acting career? "I had fun doing the "Ace Ventura" thing. I do not know, I have friends in the business that are writers, directors and things and if anything ever came up where I could have some fun I would try. I never think I could be real serious about it. "

And what was Jim Carrey like to work with on the film set of "Ace Ventura:Pet Detective?" "He was fun and he worked real hard on that movie about twelve hours a day. And basically I made Jim Carrey a star, the star that he is today. If it wasn’t for me he would be a nobody." "Jim is not much of a sports fan. He did not know much about it but he is a Dolphins fans now. "

"I watch ‘Seinfeld’ once in a while I would act on more shows but I don’t have the time to go to Los Angeles for a week just to do a television show, you know what I mean. Maybe after my football career I can do it."

A Little of This and a Little of That…

Hollywood’s favorite soccer player "Melrose Place" star Andrew Shue has not had a starring role on the Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer team. Andrew has been placed on the team’s inactive list. Earlier in the season, Andrew had hurt his hamstring and was listed as injured reserve…

Chicago Bulls have a new TinselTown fan—Bruce Willis attended one of the Bulls’ playoff games vs. the Miami Heat. I wonder if Bruce who bleached his hair blonde for his role in the just released "Fifth Element" shared hair notes with the sometime blonde Dennis Rodman…

Now that the Los Angeles Lakers are out of the playoffs, Shaq can concentrate on his film career. Shaq’s rep tell me that his movie "Steel" will bounce into theaters August 8th. Shaq plays "Steel" based on the character from the comic scenes of the popular "Death of Superman" storyline…

Gheorghe Muresan who plays Center for the Washington Bullets has been cast to star in Castle Rock’s "My Giant" starring Billy Crystal. Gheorghe is in Los Angeles rehearsing for the movie as the ink dries on this column. I’ll have more for you on this unique project in a future column.