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Have you ever known someone who ended up becoming famous? When you see them years later you name drop and tell your friends how you used to know them way back when, hoping that their celebrity will rub off on you? Maybe it was a dorky child you knew who grew up to be an actor?  In my case it was a local news anchor who lived on the same street as me that I often exchanged pleasantries with who ended up becoming a pretty prominent national news star.

In the rarest of cases it could have been your teacher.The custodian of your education and the molder of your mind. There are pupils out there who are now watching their former mentors living the life of a celebrity. I can tell you that it has not happened to me. While I enjoyed my high school education and thought my teachers were great, there wasn't a single one who had that star factor. As far as college is concerned, I attended an online college, so I wouldn't really know but I'm going to guess that they won't end up famous.

Here's a list of some famous celebrities that you probably wouldn't have guessed lived the humble life of a teacher long before they answered the call to stardom.

STEPHEN KING

That's right, the nut used to teach High School English class in Hampden, Maine. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Maine, King taught while writing stories and working on novels at night. If you've ever read any King or saw any of his films you can imagine how wildly depraved and fantastically macabre his mind is. Now imagine that fella' being in charge of shaping the future of your child.  The thought itself is chilling.; His birdseye view of the ruthless psychological battery that teenagers use on one another was no doubt the muse for his first novel, "Carrie."

WILLIAM GOLDING

You're forgiven if this one doesn't immediately come to mind. Then again, if you've ever finished a High School English Literature course, you should probably be a little bit ashamed.  Sir William Golding is the author of the seminal study in adolescent anarchy, "Lord of the Flies." As the story goes, while teaching a classroom full of young boys he decided to allow the luxury of debating without restrictions. What soon followed was unabashed pandemonium. The vitriolic and downright violent nature of the boys was the impetus for the novel. The book turned a onetime teacher into a Nobel Prize winning author.

GENE SIMMONS

Hard to believe. Long before his tongue made him famous, this notorious lothario was an elementary school teacher in Spanish Harlem. According to Simmons, he was let go from his position by swapping out students Shakespeare texts with copies of "Spider-Man." Not a smart move according to his bosses (and probably the students' parents as well) but it looks like it worked out well for him anyway. Simmons briefly returned to teaching in 2004 in the television show "Gene Simmons Rock School."

JK ROWLING

Forget Dumbledore, how about having the author of history's most beloved children's literature franchise and a future billionaire as your teacher? That was the case for a number of students in Portugal who were privy to Ms. Rowling's lessons plans as she taught them English in the 1990's. Rowling dealt with hard times between being a teacher and the ultimate success of the "Harry Potter" books, but used the time she spent as an educator to help shape the world of Hogwarts. No word on whether or not she ever helped students learn any spells or taught transfiguration.

SHERYL CROW

All she wants to do now is have some fun and make albums go platinum. But there was a time when the beautiful songstress was an elementary school educator. Long before the convenience of getting an online degree, Sheryl Crow got her education degree from the University of Missouri. She carved herself a nice little life in the suburbs but continued to follow her passion for music and song. She made a good bit of money in the TV jingle business but met her ultimate success as a multi-platinum recording artist. She even went so far as to star in the horrid (and thankfully short-lived) television musical police-drama "Cop Rock." Let's hope that her time spent teaching children can help redeem her for such a travesty.

STING

Before he was the frontman for "The Police"... before he was a singing legend known by one name (a verb no less)... he was good old Gordon Sumner. Or Mr. Sumner to his students. During the mid 70's, Sting was known less for his vocal prowess and more for his ability to entertain and engage students. Teaching at St. Catherine's Convent School, Sting was the lone male faculty member and in fact the only non-nun teacher.  His students could occasionally forget their assignments but they couldn't hide. Because, after all, Sting can see every move you make, every breath you take and with every step you take, he'll be watching you!

SHAQUILE O'NEILL

Shaq was an English Literature professor at Yale University from 1989-2007. Ok, that's a joke (albeit a very bad one). In reality, Shaq left L.S.U. early to pursue a lucrative career as one of the best centers in NBA history. While he never received his degree while at L.S.U. he did go on to complete his MBA through an online school. I'm guessing that Prof. Shaq would be one hell of a lecturer. But it will only ever happen in my warped head.

MR. T

This one isn't a joke. Yup, B.A. Baracus was a teacher. Before Clubber Lang gave Rocky a scare in the ring he pitted the fool in public schools as a gym teacher in Chicago. For portions of the 70's Mr. T switched between gigs alternating teaching with bodyguard and bouncer duties. He was discovered as 'The World's Toughest Bouncer' on an NBC game show by Sylvester Stallone who subsequently cast him in "Rocky III." The rest, as they say, is history. I'm glad that Mr. T wasn't my gym teacher because I had a habit of forgetting my gym clothes. I've seen enough episodes of the A-Team to know that kind of retribution he was serving.