Actors, to make a sweeping generalisation, enjoy the spotlight. That's at least part of the reason they go in for the acting lark in the first place; to be seen by millions of people across the world, to be adored by strangers, to have their ego fed, to have people pay attention to them. So it stands to reason that when they decide to quit their chosen profession they go and make a big song and dance about it, too. Just look at the recent shenanigans of the kid from Even Stevens. There are exceptions to that rule, though. Actors who quietly disappeared, fading into obscurity rather than burning out in a blaze of self-promotion for whatever other field they're devoting their time to (which usually culminates in them returning to acting after all; I call this "Jay-Z retirement"). There are actors who don't necessarily intend to stop working, but whose IMDb pages haven't been updated in years. Work dries up. Skin sags. And people just disappear. Here's ten of those very thespians who inexplicably disappeared from Hollywood at the height of their fame.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
