I've always liked music videos. I still remember me recording the videos on my old VHS record player when they were aired on the TV. Maybe I could say that I became an eltonite for the videos. It was so amazing to see Elton dancing on "Who Wears These Shoes?", falling on the sea on "Passengers" (not mention the helicopter), playing the piano on "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That"; the list could be so extensive. But I could not forget the video guests credited on Elton's videos: Robert Downey Jr. on "I Want Love", Bernie Taupin on "Passengers", Justin Timberlake on "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"; another extensive list. Those were celebrities, of course, but what about the others guests? Who are they and what they've been doing now? 
Bruno Tonioli, was 28 when he starred as one of Sir Elton's dancers for the top ten hit video
"I'm Still Standing" (1983), which was filmed in Nice and Cannes, France. He wore a number of outrageous outfits including the ripped leotard, complete with studded belt and leather military-style cap, which he wears to greet Elton outside the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. In another scene, he sports some very tight and revealing orange trousers for a dance on the beach, while in another, he gyrates semi naked on a sun lounger. Bruno starred in the video when he was working as a freelance dancer in the Eighties.
He is a renowned choreographer and has worked on countless films, plays, music videos, commercials, concerts, trade shows and television series with such music icons as Elton John ("Please"), Michael Jackson ("Give in to Me"), Sting ("This Cowboy Song"), Tina Turner ("Steamy Windows") and Paul McCartney ("Hope of Deliverance"). He also works in theater and television: Tonioli has been a popular judge on all seasons of the ballroom US dancing competition, Dancing with the Stars and its UK counterpart Strictly Come Dancing.
On "Ice On Fire" (1985), Elton released a love song who reached the top of the music charts across the world:
"Nikita", featuring George Michael as a backing vocalist. It's undeniable that video helped in the success. Directed by Ken Russell,
Anya Major features an East German female Border guard, on one side of the Wall during the Cold War conflict, with her "ten tin soldiers in a row", while Elton, a rich westener, is taking photos on her at the border crossing, as he is refused to entry. Only in dreams they could get together sharing their love. As a spin-off, Major released a single, "Moscow Nights", using the name Anya. "Nikita", a russian male name indeed, was not the first guest appearance by Major. In fact, Ridley Scott provided Major, then a discus-throwing athlete, the role in Apple's famous 1984 Macintosh commercial, for being the only one capable of running up to a large video screen, swinging a sledgehammer in a wide spin, and releasing it at the video screen of Big Brother.
Major was born in UK at 1966. There was a widely-circulated rumor years ago that she had died of breast cancer, but happily this was false. She's living in England with her husband Kim Rajah and their three children: Luke, Georgia and Oliver. Anya Rajah, graduated from Central St Martins, has exhibited her artworks in Tunbridge Wells (where she lives now), Brighton and London.
Singer and actress
Mandy Moore appeared in the promo for Elton's
Original Sin landing roles in the video as the daughter of Elizabeth Taylor and Elton, following her journey as an awkward teen circa 1976 (complete with braces, acne, bushy eyebrows, and wig) to her dream like fantasy of transforming into a rock groupie front row center of the VIP section of an Elton concert. The video, directed by David Lachapelle, let Moore to be close to her idol, as she explained about the experience: "Being the geek I am, I had him sign a copy of his ‘Yellow Brick Road’ album and [I] am getting it framed immediately", while adding "I remember sitting alone in the living room portion of the house we shot in and listening to Elton play ‘Crocodile Rock’. It was like no one else was listening.. like a private concert… too cool!!!".
Born April 10, 1984 in Nashua, New Hampshire, she grew up in Orlando, Florida when she made a name for herself, from appearances in local theatre productions to singing the National Anthem at professional sporting events. Her first single, "Candy", from the CD So Real (1999), was released when Moore was only 15 years old (it was certified platinum in Australia). Her early films included the teen romance A Walk To Remember (2002). She has appeared in Romance & Cigarettes (2005) and American Dreamz (2006), including a role as Diane Keaton's daughter in Because I Said So (2007). Her fourth album, Coverage (2003), received a less than enthusiastic response for its musical maturity. Additionally, Moore has modeled, appearing on the cover of Cosmopolitan, started her own fashion line, Mblem, as well as the women's social network Upumpitup.com.End Of Part One
To Be Continued
"To make a chain of fools / You need a matching pair" reads the lyrics of "Passengers" (1984). Not habitual to see Bernie Taupin on an Elton's video, but a cameo appearance was due this time. Directed by Simon Milne in St. Tropez, France, the success of the video meant the success of the single in music charts. Passengers where black people of South Africa who were literally passengers on a train, traveling from desolates homelands to their jobs. Bernie caught the idea and symbolized a route to the freedom. The anti-apartheid message of the song is well reflected on the video, where dancers in half-black/half-white faces are dancing along Elton, who's playing a kind of cross-cultural facilitator between different cultures. Also, it was funny to see Elton dangling from an helicopter.
Born in 1950, Bernie Taupin grew up in the Lincolnshire region of the north of England. Taupin is best known for his 40-year collaboration with Elton John, although he has released several solo albums and has written lyrics for others. Taupin's association with John has made him one of the most prolific lyricists of the 20th century. Also, he has expanded his artistic horizons and found it's way onto the canvas.
A word spoken in another language, on an imagined movie scene, brought a girl to tears. "A Word In Spanish", the multi-coloured video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, find Elton on the street, singing in the background, as two good-looking latino boys are fighting for the girl.
George Perez was born the seventh son of nine siblings in Tijuana, Mexico. He was accepted into the Los Angeles High School of the Performing Arts at 15 years old. While attending school, he was discovered by Kenny Ortega, Director and Choreographer of the "High School Musical" franchise. That same year he also appeared in his first break out role as the lead in Elton John’s music video “A Word in Spanish", and a string of guest starring roles followed on hit TV shows like "China Beach, "ER", "JAG", and "Walker Texas Ranger."
Born in Puerto Rico, Remmy Palacio is a multi-talented entertainer, mastering a variety of instruments and writing his own music. In 1986, Remmy and two other musicians created the group “Nice N Wild”, whose album "Energy, Love & Unity" produced two 1 radio hits: “Diamond Girl” and “Oh Baby”. He studied under choreographer Vince Patterson, who choreographed Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”. Remmy also studied with Kenny Ortega, known for his choreography in “Dirty Dancing” and many other music videos. Remmy appeared in two of Ortega’s music videos: “A Word in Spanish” by Elton John, and Chayanne’s “Este Ritmo Se Baila Asi”. Remmy began his career as a soloist in the English market with “Another Lover” an original song of his, and one of the most important hits of his career.
Thomas Jane and Teri Hatcher made a cameo appearance on Elton's video"Turn The Lights Out When You Leave" (2005). The promotional video of the song was lensed by Sam Taylor Wood and reflected the disagreements of a young couple in their relationship. Elton unveiled Hatcher as his celebrity choice for the video because he was a massive fan of the hit show "Desperate Housewifes". Hatcher said she enjoyed every moment of it: "It was really surreal, very arty". 
Thomas Jane was born in 1969 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He ended up in Hollywood and wound up working the streets, acting mentally disabled and asking for money. Working in local theater productions as well as a few commercials (although the commercials never aired on television) provided money for the bills. Jane first attracted the attention of audiences when he was cast in the starring role of real-life strike writer Neal Cassady in the Sundance-premiered The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997). He's also best known for The Punisher, Deep Blue Sea, Boogie Nights and Original Sin. 
Teri Hatcher was born in Palo Alto, California, USA, in 1964. She studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while taking a degree course in mathematics and engineering at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. Hatcher went to Hollywood to lend moral support to a friend during a open casting call. She, however, auditioned and won the role of the singing and dancing mermaid for the television series, "Love Boat" (1977). Her portrayal of a divorced mother, "Susan Mayer", was consistently named as America's favorite "Desperate Housewife".
