Daily Dirt: Fonzie, Barbra, Rizzo … teenagers? Not hardly

Have you ever watched a movie and thought, “Geez, he (or she) looks kind of old for that role?” Yeah, me too … welcome to Vol. 143 of the Daily Dirt and today’s three thoughts.

1. I was first irritated while watching “Grease” in a movie theater way back in 1978.

Just about every main character looked a bit old to be playing teenagers. And, as it turned out they were. Ever since, I have tried to track that kind of thing. Here are some of my findings over the years:

• Olivia Newton-John: She was 30 when playing teen queen Sandy Olsson in “Grease.” She as hardly alone in that cast when it came to this kind of thing.
• Stockard Channing: Remember her as Rizzo in “Grease”? She was 33 — 33!! — when portraying the leader of the Pink Ladies gang. For the record, at least a half dozen of the main teenage characters in that movie were in their 30s.
• Jennifer Grey: Yes, she and Patrick Swayze made a great couple in “Dirty Dancing,” but Grey was 27 at the time of the making that film — not a teenager.
• Stacey Dash: She was the bouncing “teenage” best friend of Alicia Silverstone in the classic “Clueless,” but who knew she was 28? 
• Alan Ruck: He portrayed high schooler Cameron, Matthew Broderick’s best friend in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. Ruck, however, was already 30 at the time of the film.
• Shirley Henderson: She played Myrtle, one of the teenagers in the popular “Harry Potter” film series. Henderson was 37.
• Emma Thompson: The highly respected Thompson was 36 while playing 19-year-old Eleanor in the “Sense and Sensibility” movie.
• Barbra Streisand: Remember the movie “Yentl”? Streisand was 41 while playing a 17-year year-old in that 1983 film.
• Henry Winkler: Winkler was an immediate hit as a “hip teenager” in “Happy Days” back in the 1970s, portraying Arthur Fonzarelli — a.k.a “The Fonz”. Winkler, however, was 29 when he began his role as Fonzie, and by the time show ended he was 40.
• Gabrielle Carteris: Carteris was a central figure on one of the definitive teen dramas of the 1990s,”Beverly Hills 90210,” playing 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman at age 29. By the time the series ended, she was 40, but still cast a teenager.
• O.Z. Whitehead: Possibly the oldest actor to ever play a teenager in either film or TV, Whitehead was 51 when cast as a teenager in the “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” movie (1962), which starred the late Jimmy Stewart.
• Diana Ross: The former lead singer of the Supremes-turned-actress, was an amazing 34 when playing 12-year-old Dorothy in the adaptation (“The Wiz”) of “The Wizard of Oz”.

2. Fun fact: The eatthis.com website says the average American spends $1,200 a year on fast food. I’m pretty sure I help keep that total in four figures.

3. Here’s our final college football rankings of the regular season:

Tier 1(Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-12, major independents)

1. Georgia (12-0): If Georgia defeats No. 3 Alabama (11-1) in Saturday’s SEC championship game, does that knock the Tide out of the playoffs?

2. Michigan (11-1): The Wolverines have earned this ranking. That was an impressive showing against Ohio State, which had beaten Michigan in 15 of the previous 16 meetings.

3. Alabama (11-1): Might as well hand quarterback Bryce Young the Heisman Trophy.

4. Oklahoma State (11-1): A month ago, who would have thought it would be Oklahoma State instead of Oklahoma in the best position for a spot in the final four?

5. Notre Dame (11-1): Face it, at some point Notre Dame has to join a conference. There are 10 conference title games this weekend and Notre Dame is not involved in any of them.

6. Ole Miss (10-2): The Rebels don’t have a shot at the playoffs, but they have certainly had an entertaining season under Lane Kiffin.

7. Ohio State (10-2): For those looking ahead, the Buckeyes open the 2022 season against Notre Dame.

8. Baylor (10-2): The Bears will try and knock Oklahoma State out of the playoff talk in Saturday’s Big 12 title tilt.

9. Utah (9-3): Currently the hottest team west of the Mississippi?

10. Iowa (10-2): Yes, I’m rooting for Iowa in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game vs. Michigan.

Tier 2(Conference USA, Sun Belt, Mountain West, MAC, AAC)

1. Cincinnati (12-0): Who thought Ohio would be represented in the playoffs by a team not named Ohio State? The Bearcats will make that a reality Saturday with a win over No. 2 Houston (11-1) in the American Conference title game.

2. Houston (11-1): If the Cougars upset Cincinnati, just imagine the chaos.

3. Louisiana (11-1): Bon voyage, Billy Napier.

4. Appalachian State: Personally, I would to see an App State vs. Cincinnati matchup.

5. San Diego State (11-1): Aztecs will be a heavy, heavy favorite against Utah State (9-3) in the Mountain West championship game.

6. Fresno State (9-3): Bulldogs have wins over UCLA, San Diego State and Nevada.

7. Air Force (9-3): The top-ranked service team. (For the record, I have 8-3 Army at No. 15.)

8. Coastal Carolina (10-2): Earlier this season, Coastal was the darling of Tier 2.

9. Nevada (8-4): Back-to-back 2-point losses earlier this month to San Diego State and Air Force are keeping the Wolf Pack out of the top five.

10. UAB (8-4): Blazers closed regular season with three wins in final four games.

Steve Fact O’ The Day Steve has never been described as svelte.