6 'Dumb' Stars Who Are Actually Really Smart

If you've ever assumed Dr. Oz is just like Dr. Phil, or that Jerry Springer and Flavor Flav are both kind of a joke, take a look at this Cracked list revealing secret celebrity smartypants:

• Dr. Oz: Considering he's best known for peddling health tips on daytime talk shows, you might be surprised to hear that he's actually a highly accomplished cardiothoracic surgeon—one of the best of his generation, according to the New York Times. He also got his MBA while attending medical school, and completed five years' worth of education in just three. And yes, he still performs surgeries despite his fame.
• Flavor Flav: At this point, he's known more as a "reality TV punchline," but he's actually a musical prodigy who taught himself to play a bunch of instruments as a kid.

• Jerry Springer: Yes, he's done more than stand by as dozens of people beat each other up in front of a live audience on his talk show. Springer was something of a political prodigy, graduating from Northwestern's law school and advising Robert F. Kennedy by 26; he then worked his way up to mayor of Cincinnati. When his bid for Ohio governor didn't work out, he became known for delivering brilliant TV news editorials.
• Michael Bay: You may have written him off as that guy who made the Transformers movies, but apparently his peers regard him as a sort of cinematic auteur. James Cameron has "reverse-engineered" Bay's shooting style, film theorists have praised him, and he was already considered to be a great visual storyteller when he was fresh out of college.

Click for Cracked's complete list. (More Dr. Oz stories.)