A long time ago, on a cable channel not so far, far, away from the ones we have now, a certain "musical" channel played music videos.

In fact, this unnamed channel that primarily focused on "music" played the videos that showcased them from sun-up to sundown and all the other hours in between.

Some of them featured more than just the musicians that brought the music to life. They also featured up-and-coming talent, some of whom got their big start on this mysterious "musical" channel.

These days, the music has, well, died and the format that made that unnamed channel such a revered pop culture icon has been lost to the sands of time and trashy reality shows.


We, however, haven't forgotten the videos that gave new and current talents another place to appear on the dial. (You realize we're talking about MTV, right?)

1. Courteney Cox in Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark'
It would be impossible to make a list like this without including this classic from "The Boss," mainly because the flood of angry comments for leaving out such an obvious entry would crash the site. The future 'Friends' and 'Cougar Town' star scored a front-row seat for this video directed by Brian De Palma back. It not only helped launch her career, but it also inspired other starry-eyed starlets to flaunt security laws and jump the stage for a chance to dance with the rock stars until security rushed the stage.



2. David Cross in The New Pornographers' 'Use It'
The 'Arrested Development' star and one-half of the genius 'Mr. Show With Bob and David' (figure out which half) could have his own career in the music video biz. He has appeared in videos for bands such as Superchunk, Yo La Tengo and The Strokes, and he even directed them for bands like the Black Keys. Our favorite, however, is this 'Twilight Zone'-ish contribution by The New Pornographers featuring Cross as one of the invisible puppet masters who control every move of the band as they go through their day. It almost feels like a 'Mr. Show' sketch, but with less cursing.



3. Chevy Chase in Paul Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al'
Paul Simon has a long history with 'Saturday Night Live.' His brilliance as a comic's straight man shines through in this video in which he stars alongside the eagerly egotistical Chevy Chase, who is just Chevy being Chevy by stealing the spotlight and lead-singer job from Simon. An SNL legend wouldn't be this funny in a music video until Eddie Murphy teamed up with Michael Jackson ... at least not intentionally.



4. Jaime Pressly in Aerosmith's 'Girls of Summer'
If you have to ask why this future 'My Name Is Earl' eye candy made the list for her performance as a freewheeling California girl with a penchant for licking hood ornaments, you might want to check your pulse.



5. Donald Faison in Fall Out Boy's 'Beat It'
Any band who dares to make a quick buck by covering a Michael Jackson song in an unintentionally hilarious manner should automatically be moved to the discount bin at Wal-Mart. The only thing that saves the video is 'Scrubs'' Turk doing a dead-on M.J. midway through. If you can make it through the rest of the song (I suggest leaning on the mute button), you'll also find cameos by 'Arrested Development's' Tony Hale and stand-up Hal Sparks.


6. Christina Hendricks and Wink Martindale in Everclear's 'One Hit Wonder'
'Mad Men''s Christina Hendricks might be known as the buxom babe on one of television's most celebrated dramas, but they she got one of her big breaks early on as a bouncy contestant named "Loopy" in this Everclear video. She also appears alongside game-show legend Wink Martindale, who gets to play the girl butt-slapping cool guy we all imagined him to be in our heads.

7. Danny Cooksey, Michael Maronna, Jason Zimbler and Marc Summers in The XYZ Affair's 'All My Friends'
If you don't immediately recognize all of the names of the TV stars above, don't tell the 9-year-old version of yourself who spent every waking hour watching Nickelodeon in the '90s because he or she will kick the *#$& out of you. Stars from the kids' cable network shows like 'Salute Your Shorts,' 'The Adventures of Pete & Pete' and 'Clarissa Explains It All' team up with the band to secretly throw a party in the host of 'Double Dare's' apartment who exacts his revenge by (what else?) covering them with slime. A good time is had by all, especially the 9-year-old inside of you who still gets starstruck when he runs into the guy who played Donkeylips at the mall.

8. Florence Henderson in "Weird Al" Yankovic's 'Amish Paradise'
The king of comedic pop parodies regularly hires the great faces of TV's yesteryear and today to appear in his videos, like casting Drew Carey and Donnie Osmond as his personal gangsta partners to calling on Dick Van Patten, not once, but twice in 'Smells Like Nirvana' and his Red Hot Chili Peppers' mashup 'Bedrock Anthem.' Mrs. Brady, however, wins a spot on this list for her dead-on serious and doubly hilarious take on Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise.'

9. Bill Paxton in Barnes and Barnes' 'Fish Heads'
And if you thought a Yankovic video would be the strangest clip on this list, you clearly don't get out very much. 'Big Love' star Bill Paxton not only appeared in the video for Barnes and Barnes' classic twisted ballad 'Fish Heads,' he also directed it! If you haven't seen or heard the crazy music video that deftly accompanies Barnes and Barnes' unique style, we dare you to listen to it once and not have it running in your head on a constant loop.

What are your favorite music video cameos by TV stars?