Politicians' previous jobs: Before political life
Politicians' previous jobs: Before political life, As the recent sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain illustrate, pre-political history can haunt or help a candidate. We take a look at the lives of political leaders before they detoured into politics -- from actors to athletes, musicians to musclemen.Jimmie Davis + country singer
Years in office: 1944 to 1948 and 1960 to 1964
Office: Former governor of Louisiana, Democrat
Political life: He served two nonconsecutive terms as governor and attempted, but failed, to enforce thesecontroversial policies.
Helen Gahagan + actress
Years in office: 1945 to 1951
Office: Former U.S. representative, California, Democrat
Political life: The three-term congresswoman was the first Democratic woman elected to Congress from California. During her time in office, she had an affair with a senator who later became president .
Jack kemp pro football quarterback for NFL and AFL
Years in office: 1971 to 1993
Office: Former U.S. housing secretary and U.S. representative, New York, Republican
Political life: The nine-term congressman served as housing secretary and was the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 1996 election.
Previous gig: Kemp took more than a pass at a pre-political career.
John Glenn + astronaut
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (born July 18, 1921) is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut and United States senator who was the first American to orbit
Years in office: 1974 to 1999
Office: Former U.S. senator, Ohio, Democrat
Political life: Glenn was a potential three-time vice presidential running mate who also ran for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination but lost to a veteran politician
Previous gig: Glenn's pre-political career was out of this world.
Bill Bradley + NBA player
Bill Bradley. William Warren Bradley (Bill, Dollar Bill) Position: Forward-Guard ▪ Height: 6-5 ▪ Weight: 205 lbs. Born: July 28, 1943 in Crystal City, Missouri
Years in office: 1979 to 1997
Office: Former U.S. senator, New Jersey, Democrat
Political life: The three-term senator was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000
Previous gig: The former Rhodes scholar was a court standout before entering politics.
Ronald Reagan + movie actor
Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5 ... prior to that, a radio, film and television actor. Reagan was ... critics considered Kings Row to be his best movie
Years in office: 1981 to 1989
Office: 40th president of the United States, Republican
Political life: The former governor of California defeated the incumbent to win his first presidential race. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1984.
Clint Eastwood + Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in theDirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing
Years in office: 1986 to 1988
Office: Former mayor, Carmel, Calif.; Libertarian
Political life: The one-term mayor served two years and later was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission.
Fred Grandy + The Love Boat
Fred Grandy, Actor: The Love Boat. Fred (born June 29, 1948) is lovingly known as Gopher by his millions of fans around the world who watched him became for 9 years in the 1970s hit series
Years in office: 1987 to 1995
Office: Former U.S. representative, Iowa, Republican
Political life: He had been a U.S. representative for nearly a decade when he gave up his seat to run for another post and ultimately lost .
Previous gig: He was accustomed to being in the spotlight before entering politics.
Jim Bunning + former Tiger and Phillies pitcher +
Jim Bunning baseball stats with batting stats ... on July 20, 1955, with the Detroit Tigers. His ... 1971 Philadelphia Phillies: 14: Undetermined--Jim Bunning Stats by Baseball Almanac
Years in office: 1987 to 2011
Office: U.S. representative and senator, Kentucky, Republican
Political life: The five-term congressman won his U.S. Senate seat in 2004 but did not seek re-election in 2010
Previous gig: He roared into his first career.
Shirley Temple + child actress
Temple, Shirley (1928- ), American motion-picture actress, considered among the most successful child stars in the history of film.
Years in office: 1989 to 1992
Office: Former U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia, Republican
Political life: She was appointed epresentative to the United Nations and later ambassador to Ghana before serving in her Czech post.
Ben L. Jones + The Dukes of Hazzard
Ben Lewis Jones (born August 30, 1941) is an American actor, politician, playwright and essayist, probably best known for his role as Cooter Davenport in The Dukes of Hazzard.
Years in office: 1989 to 1993
Office: Former U.S. representative, Georgia, Democrat
Politicallife: The two-term congressman failed to win re-election in 1992 and again in 1994
Herman Cain + former CEO of Godfather's Pizza
He is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza from 1986 to 1996. Cain served as deputy chairman ... /2010/09/24/herman-cain-former-godfathers-pizza-ceo
Years in office: 1992 to 1996
Office: Former chairman and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, Republican
Political life: Cain announced on May 21 his candidacy for the 2010 Republican presidential nomination. By mid-October he was inching his way up in the polls, closing in on front-runner Mitt Romney, but allegations of sexual harassment could tank his poll numbers.
The Sonny & Cher Show
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband, Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS
Years in office: 1995 to 1998
Office: Former U.S. representative, California, Republican
Political life: The former mayor advocated the restoration of this lake during his one term in office.
Jesse Ventura + professional wrestler
James George Janos (born July 15, 1951), better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran,
Years in office: 1999 to 2003
Office: Former governor of Minnesota, Independent
Political life: The former mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minn., he won the gubernatorial election in 1998 but chose not to seek election to a second term.
Tom Osborne + college football coach
Dr. Thomas William "Tom" Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former college football headcoach and a former member of Congress. He is currently the athletic director
Years in office: 2001 to 2007
Office: Former U.S. representative, Nebraska, Republican
Political life: The three-term Nebraska congressman ran for governor of Nebraska in 2006 but lost the election to the incumbent .
Previous gig: He led the field before moving into politics.
Lynn Swann + NFL wide receiver + Steelers
Lynn Swann; NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann at a McCain-Palin rally on ... yards and a touchdown in the game, assisting the Steelers to a 21–17 win and becoming the first wide receiver.
Years in office: 2002 to 2005
Office: Former chairman, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Republican
Political life: After chairing the Council on Physical Fitness and Sports , Swann ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 but lost the election to the incumbent.
Previous gig: His early career helped steel him for politics.
Arnold Schwarzenegger + actor and director
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, director, businessman, investor, and politician.
Years in office: 2003 to 2011
Office: Former governor of California, Republican
Political life: The two-term governor was first elected in 2003 in a special recall election . He was re-elected in 2006 and served as a full-term governor.
Previous gig: He muscled up in his pre-political career.
Heath Shuler + NFL quarterback
oseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is a businessman, a former NFL quarterback, and the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district, serving
Years in office: 2007 to present
Office: U.S. representative, North Carolina, Democrat
Political life: The three-term congressman was resoundingly defeated in his 2010 bid to be House minority leader.
Previous gig: Before landing in Washington, D.C., he passed through several cities in his former career.
Dave Bing + NBA point guard
David "Dave" Bing (born November 24, 1943) is the mayor of ... As a lean, athletic and explosivepoint guard, he ... In 1966, Bing joined the NBA as a second overall first-round pick
Years in office: 2008 to present
Office: Detroit mayor, Democrat
Political life: Bing won his mayoral bid in a special election following the resignation of this beleaguered former mayor.
Al Franken + Saturday Night Live writer
Al Franken, Writer: Saturday Night Live. Al Franken is best known for nearly two decades of work on Saturday Night Live. During that time he wrote, performed in and produced
Years in office: 2009 to present
Office: U.S. senator, Minnesota, Democrat
Political life: He won his seat against the Republican incumbent in a tight race that required a mandatory statewide manual recount.
Source: specials