Alan Jackson Drove a Forklift for Kmart and Other Weird Forklift Facts

Country music superstar Alan Jackson recently revealed to US Weekly that before he became famous, he once worked as a forklift operator at the Kmart distribution center in Newman, Georgia.

Jackson made the surprising admission — or perhaps not so surprising, given the “working man” sensibilities of his music — in an article entitled “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me“.

Among the other interesting facts revealed by Jackson was that he used to own a pet squirrel monkey when he was a boy, he is addicted to watching the Weather Channel, and he always wears his trademark cowboy hat to cover up a bad scar on his forehead.

Other Famous Forklift Operators

Jackson isn’t the only celebrity who earned a living driving a forklift before getting their big break in show business.

Others former forklift operators include the actors Liam Neeson and Robert Redford and reggae singer Bob Marley. And perhaps the world’s most creatively inventive former forklift driver is TV’s own “MacGyver”, Richard Dean Anderson.

Famous Forklifts Throughout the Ages

These may be some of the most famous former forklift operators, but there have been other famous forklifts in popular culture.

One of the most well-known is Guido Quaroni. Not familiar with the name? You might want to ask your kids.

Guido was one of the vehicles featured in the hit Pixar animated movie “Cars”. He was the best friend of Luigi, one of the film’s main characters and the owner of Casa Della Tires.

Guido the Forklift is meant to be an everyman in the movie. He’s an Alza/Tutto forklift who faints at the sight of his favorite celebrities.

Fast and Furious Forklift

A forklift used to lift boats in a marine facility was featured in the movie “2 Fast 2 Furious”, the second chapter of the popular street racer film series that was released in 2003.

Although the forklift is featured for only a split-second, it takes center stage in a thrilling stunt involving a car chase between actors Tyrese Gibson and the late Paul Walker. As the pair whip around turns in a boat storage yard, they confront a towering forklift that happens to be lifting an expensive speed boat.

The two cars slip under the forklift’s forks with just millimeters to spare before continuing their high-speed chase.

While the forklift is clearly the star of this scene, what most people remember is Tyrese  Gibson’s abs, which he exposes after needlessly peeling off his shirt. Apparently, racing through a boat yard can make you work up a sweat!

‘More Than Meets the Eye’

Another famous forklift in popular culture is Scrapper, the forklift that transforms into an Autobot/Decepticon in the video game version of the movie Transformers.

Although he is big and impressive like other Transformers, Scrapper has a distinct weakness compared to other vehicles — unlock most other Decepticons, he can’t block or shield other from gunfire.