Vanilla Ice: Latest '80s/'90s Throwback to Turn to TV

Aug. 18, 2010 — -- Rise to stardom. Fall from fame. (Attempt to) revive career with questionable TV project.

For so many stars of the 1980s and early '90s, it's just the way the cookie crumbles. Earlier this summer, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany threw away their '80s pop star rivalry (and possibly their common sense) to film the Syfy movie "Mega Python vs. Gatoroid," which features them brawling on top of dinner tables and in a swamp, and Gibson uttering the utterly appropriate post-fight line, "I think we're alone now."

The latest throwback to turn to TV for a tune up: Vanilla Ice. He couldn't hack it in rap, but apparently, home renovation is his new thing.

"The Vanilla Ice Project" will focus on Robert Matthew Van Winkle's (yep, that's his real name) "passion for home renovation." It will document the room-by-room overhaul of his 7,000-square-foot mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a statement from the DIY network, which plans to premiere the series in October.

Will the "Ice Ice Baby" singer's latest endeavor crown him the king of cool again or make him melt into the morass of '80s/'90s trash? Looking at how five stars of Ice's ilk fared by attempting similar career reboots offers some clues: