Oh, how the mighty have fallen: Ben Curtis, famous just a few years ago as "Steven the Dell Dude," is now a waiter / bartender at Tortilla Flats in New York. Although the Steven ads were hugely popular and generated tons of buzz (and revenue) for Dell, the company eventually dropped the campaign after Ben got arrested for buying pot in 2003 -- shocking no one who actually watched the commercials, but apparently not the message Dell wanted to send the parents fronting the cash for all those machines. Although he's down to slinging drinks, Ben's taking it in stride, saying "There were times when I made boatloads of money as an actor, but here I can be myself." That doesn't mean he's given up the dream just yet: he's hoping to score big with his band, Whale, which he says has "the green light," but has "decided to take a little time off to record our EP and package ourselves properly." Hm, seems like a perfect opportunity to get back together with Dell, actually -- it could use some new music after getting caught using GarageBand's built-in loops in that
XPS One teaser.
posted November 8th 2007 3:09PM
no, he made boatloads. if he did one national spot he'd do well. that commercial had numerous subsequent versions, which he was paid again on. and he got residuals on each version every time it was shown, in any market across the country. variations of that commercial were played to the point the tag line was a part of pop culture at the time. as to what became of the "boatloads," like Floyd and the phonebook, he likely smoked it.
Hahaha! Oh you guys...
Seriously, how can anyone say Apple didn't have druggies when they had Ellen Feiss.
As for trying to be hip and cool, I don't think he was every really supposed to be either of those. I think he was supposed to be a nerd. The dorky nerd. It was supposed to be funny.
As opposed to, say, Justin Long, who is absolutely supposed to be hip. The cool nerd.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong and it was a complete failure, but still not as obnoxious of one as Justin Long.
"Drugs are mm-kay?!
"..boatloads of cash."
Um, then why are you serving drinks if you were so rich?
(wheezing, inhaling noise followed by a chortle...)
Probably, like 90% of people, he didn't ever manage his money. The average person would be screwed if they lost their job, and that doesn't seem to change with more salary. More money often equates to more bills, cars, credit cards, et cetera. Without any savings it doesn't really matter how rich you are.
I couldn't stand that hippie loser
I wouldn't say "the mighty have fallen." It's not like he got Will Smith, Denzel or Tom Cruise money for his acting. Nothing wrong with living a normal existence.
Agreed. I'm happy to here he's getting on with his life.
Why do I always roll my eyes when someone mentions a "band" and a lame way of saying "we're getting on our feet"? His band will flop.
Dude, where's my drink..?!?!?!?!?!?
Leave the poor guy alone. Pot is hardly even a drug. If you remember, the guy helped an injured woman during the 9/11 attacks. What have YOU geeks done lately?
exactly, pot is less harmful then alcohol, especially in huge amounts. Bing-Drinking your whole way threw college will leave you with half a brain in your 30s. Smoking ounce after ounce of pot and you won't have any brain damage at all.
The Dell Dude is still cool. Pot is cool too.
He's also done other acting work.
Here's him playing a gay guy...
http://images.broadwayworld.com/columnpic/joy07.jpg
I kid you not, I was visiting Los Angeles in 2002 with my brother and his friends and we were in Venice Beach. My brother is Wesley Snipes black and was wearing a Raiders scarf as a doorag under a cap. He looked very gangsta. Anyway, this Dell guy walks up to us and starts chatting us up. I had never seen the Dell commercials myself, but one of my brother's friends says, "Hey, that's the Dell guy."
And before he walks away, the Dell guy asked my brother if he would sell him weed, which offended me because, despite his look, my brother doesn't drink or smoke. Anyway, a few months later, the Dell guy got arrested for trying to buy weed. No doubt from another black man he just assumed was a drug dealer.
@Bludelf
I will admit i boght a dell during that campaign, but subsequently moved on to apple. At least their commercials don't have druggies in them.
Did you forget Ellen Feiss?
DELL HELL
yeah, instead teh have some smug sand francisco sosofolo
i graduated high school with this guy and he was the head of the magic club. shocking to see things aren't coming up aces for him.
I always thought the Dell "dude" was Ethan Embry. It's an honest mistake.
See...
http://tinyurl.com/29d5cg
"dude, you're gettin some hot wings"
"dude, you're gettin some hot wings"
"dude, you're gettin some hot wings"
whoa, 3 times the fun with only one click. whats up with that?
I'm confused, I thought pot was a Gateway drug.
Dude, who got the turkey on rye?
No, it's NOT the corpse of actor/dancer Gregory Hines dug up and sprung to life. It's Jaleel White, aka Family Matter's Steve Urkle TRYING to score some pussy!!!
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tmz.com/media/2007/10/1029_urkel3_spyonvegas.jpg
Dude all of a sudden doesn't look so bad going from Dell pitchman to humble waiter.
Honestly, what a bunch of dumbasses on this thread. At least the guy went out and got a job. How many people do you know of that would rather hold up a sign out in front of wal mart saying they need money becuase they are an out of work anything. My props to the guy for not giving up!