Everyone knows the names behind the music. The leads and singers are the namesakes of the greatest hits of rock and roll.
It’s easy to be a centerman, but getting famous from behind in the band line can be more challenging.
You need something crazy, like the film a sex tape with your supermodel girlfriend and get it uploaded to the mid-90s internet and become a living cultural meme.
That’s how most people know Tommy Lee, the drummer of Motley Crue. But he didn’t do that himself.
He was the victim of a low-scale robbery in an era before accidental TikTok, candid camera filming, or all the things we’ve come to accept in the always-online age.
The man who started that walk of fame and shame was Rand Gauthier. The man behind the rhythm was employed by Mr. Lee and had his sour taste in the limelight.
But something spurred him on to do more. Whether tragically or to tremendous success, he was the one who put Tommy Lee back in America’s spotlight not just as a rhythm keeper for heavy metal but as a celebrity amateur adult video co-star.
10 /10 Son Of The Spotlight
Rand remains to be a somewhat mysterious figure. He was born in LA to a father who was the original Broadway star of Bye Bye Birdie. His father was also Hymie the Robot on the 60s sitcom Get Smart.
That set Rand up for a life of acting and stage magic – but things didn’t quite work out that way.
Along the way, he was immersed in a seedier set of life.
He never got into acting, any known minor roles of any kind, and instead just used his connections to hang out on settings all day until he found something he could do.
9 /10 Austin Moore
Gauthier started in the porn business not as a secret tape thief but as an actor under the handle name Austin Moore.
He performed in over 70 videos in the 90s, usually with his then-girlfriend, who he eventually married—then divorced, most likely because she was still in the same line of work and he wasn’t. He went on dating.
He was a good-looking guy for the time, but age crept up on him, and his surfer body started to sag. Fortunately, he had another set of skills on which he could fall back.