These celebrities worked at Kings Island before becoming famous

Nick Lachey, Carter Calvert and Woody Harrelson are three celebrities who once worked at Kings Island amusement park in Mason. FILE PHOTOS

Nick Lachey, Carter Calvert and Woody Harrelson are three celebrities who once worked at Kings Island amusement park in Mason. FILE PHOTOS

MASON — There are a handful of celebrities who once were employed at Kings Island amusement park before they were ever famous. A few ... well, as the “Cheers” theme song (sort of) says: Everyone knows their names.

Woody Harrelson, who acted on the “Cheers” TV series, is one of those people. The actor and two-time academy award nominee was a wood carver at Kings Island during his high school years. Harrelson is a 1979 graduate of Lebanon High School and worked at the park around that time.

Another celeb many recognize these days from being all over our television sets, in everything from “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” to a recent appearance on “The Masked Singer,” Nick Lachey, of the band 98 Degrees, grew up in Cincinnati and spent multiple summers singing in a barbershop quartet at Kings Island.

Lachey’s 98 Degrees band co-member, Justin Jeffre, was also a quartet singer at Kings Island. The two met while attending the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.

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Remember actress and model Carmen Electra? She started her professional career in 1990 as a dancer at the park in a show called “It’s Magic.”

Electra was born in Sharonville in 1972.

Also on Kings Island’s list of celebrities who once worked at the amusement park:

Susan Perkins, 1978 Miss America: Worked at the park as a live show performer. She is a native of Middletown.

Dan Patrick, TV/radio sports host: Was an actor on the train in 1972. He attended Mason High School.

Lewis Johnson, sports reporter: A former rides supervisor on the Beast and Racer from 1981-87. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati.

Curtis Cregan, Broadway actor: His first performing job was an emcee for the Nickelodeon show at the park. Curtis attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Carter Calvert, lead role in Tony-nominated theater productions: She was a singer in a Kings Island country show in 1986-87. She grew up in Cincinnati and attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts.

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