Background: O'Donnell, the third of five children, was born and raised in Commack, Long Island, New York. She is the daughter of homemaker Roseann Teresa (nee Murtha) and Edward Joseph O'Donnell, an electrical engineer who worked in the defense industry. O'Donnell's father had immigrated from County Donegal, Ireland, during his childhood, and her mother was Irish American; O'Donnell was raised Roman Catholic. Her older brother is Daniel J. O'Donnell, now a member of the New York State Assembly.
Context: O'Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in clubs from 1979 to 1984. She got her first big break on Star Search, explaining on Larry King Live:  I was 20 years old, and I was at a comedy club in Long Island. This woman came over to me and she said, I think you're funny. Can you give me your number? My dad is Ed McMahon. I was like, yeah, right. I gave her my father's phone number. I was living at home, I'm like, whatever. And about three days later, the talent booker from Star Search called and said, we're going to fly you out to L.A. [...] I won, like, five weeks in a row. And it gave me national exposure.  After this success, she moved on to television sitcoms, making her series debut as Nell Carter's neighbor on Gimme a Break! in 1986. In 1988, she joined music video station VH1's lineup of veejays. She started hosting a series for VH1, Stand-up Spotlight, a showcase for up-and-coming comedians. In 1992, she starred in Stand By Your Man, a Fox Network sitcom co-starring Melissa Gilbert. The show bombed, just as O'Donnell's movie career took off. O'Donnell made her feature film debut in A League of Their Own (1992) alongside Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna. She was originally considered for the role of Mary Sanderson in Disney's Hocus Pocus, but it was ultimately given to Kathy Najimy. O'Donnell claimed on her blog that she turned down the offer to work with Bette Midler because she refused to portray a frightening evil witch. Throughout her career, she has taken on an eclectic range of roles: she appeared in Sleepless in Seattle as Meg Ryan's character's best friend; as Betty Rubble in the live-action film adaptation of The Flintstones with John Goodman, Elizabeth Perkins and Rick Moranis; as one of Timothy Hutton's co-stars in Beautiful Girls; as a federal agent comedically paired with Dan Aykroyd in Exit to Eden; as the voice of a tomboyish female gorilla named Terk in Disney's Tarzan; and as a baseball-loving nun in M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake.
Question: What was her earliest work?
Answer: O'Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in clubs from 1979 to 1984. She got her first big break on Star Search,

Background: Donnie Iris (born Dominic Ierace on February 28, 1943) is an American rock musician known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo career beginning in the 1980s with his band, the Cruisers. He wrote the #2 Billboard hit, "The Rapper", with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with "Play That Funky Music." He also achieved fame as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the #29 hit "Ah! Leah!"
Context: Dominic Ierace was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. The son of father Sam and mother Carrie Ierace, young Dominic began to learn how to sing at an early age from his mother, who had sung in Curly Venezie's orchestra. He practiced earlier on by singing along with his mother's favorite singers, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Per his mother's encouragement, Ierace began singing at weddings at age five, and by eight was performing on local television and entering talent contests.  Over time, Ierace began to develop his own interests in music with the advent of rock music, drawing inspiration from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly and later from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and even R&B and soul artists Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles in addition to other Motown acts. The popularity of rock and roll inspired Ierace to become a self-taught guitarist. When his voice changed around age 12, he gave up singing and took up the drums.  About the time he was a senior in high school (circa 1961), Ierace's voice changed again, and he got back into singing. He formed a vocal doo-wop group called the Fabutons with Johnny Roth, Anthony Matteo, Lou Delessandro and Chuckie Hasson and performed gigs around Beaver and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. However, the group only performed a few times before they disbanded and Ierace went to college.  While attending Slippery Rock State College, Ierace formed a band called the Tri-Vels with guitarist Jim Evans and drummer Dave Amodie, two fellow students at Slippery Rock. With the addition of bassist Dave Reiser, they renamed themselves Donnie and the Donnells. This band in both incarnations played R&B and pop rock covers at fraternity parties and lasted from about 1961 to 1964.
Question: How did his first band Tri-Vets do?
Answer:
they renamed themselves Donnie and the Donnells. This band in both incarnations played R&B and pop rock covers at fraternity parties and lasted from about 1961 to 1964.