for 6 July 1998. Updated every WEEKDAY.

My Life as a Has-Been

Surely making fun of
washed-up childhood stars is
about as
shooting-fish-in-a-barrel as
you can get, but I can't get
enough of it! Bravo! And
excellent links, as well
(I've downloaded the Leif
Garret sound clips from the
Feelin' Groovy site, and I'm
quite happy, indeed).

Jennifer Jarett
<jjarett@bn.com>

Well, this topic is sort of
dear to our hearts, since
Carl and Joey are sort of
like washed-up childhood
stars themselves.

Dear Destiny,

Take a look at Judy Garland's
productivity. She was run
into the ground by her
producers who had her on a
hellish cycle of downers and
uppers, just so she could
belt it out for them. She was
wrung out by her workload.
She didn't die for her art.

Sincerely,

Jack Garman
<jackgrmn@cruzio.com>

So, she died as a result of
her art. How's that?

Subject: Evil to him who evil
pens

A good story requires a
moral; alas, you fail to
supply one. Let me therefore
only suggest that we try to
differentiate between
"actors" and "celebrities."

Actors are real people with
thankless jobs. A good one
can't be only thin skinned;
he has to be "no skinned" (to
steal a phrase); that's what
acting means. Unfortunately,
even the very best working
actor (an oxymoron at
multiple levels) is rejected
many times a day, typically
for things he can do nothing
about. Is there any wonder
that so many block the pain
any way they can? (True, one
can say similar things about
almost any artist, but at
least writers and painters
typically are rejected less
personally, more remotely,
and not nearly as often.
Models also are constantly
rejected personally and for
irrelevant reasons, but I'll
let someone else work up pity
for them.)

What an actor wants to do is
act; he or she is fairly
judged only by how well that
is done; and the rest should
truly be none of our
business. Give them a break.

Celebrities, now ... those
odd people famous for being
famous ... now that's a
different story. He who lives
by the media dies by the
media.

Alan Kornheiser
<ASKORNHEISER@prodigy.net>
The Doctor Is an Unemployed
Off-Broadway Actor (as, when
you think about it, who is
not?)

You put forth a good defense
of actors. But we have to
disagree with your statement
that "The rest should be none
of our business."

Most actors want at least
some of the rest to be our
business, otherwise how would
InStyle magazine exist?

Actually, we also disagree
with your statement that
"What an actor wants to do is
act."

As far as we can tell, what
many actors want to do is go
to hot parties and date
Winona Ryder.

My Life as a Has-Been

Surely making fun of
washed-up childhood stars is
about as
shooting-fish-in-a-barrel as
you can get, but I can't get
enough of it! Bravo! And
excellent links, as well
(I've downloaded the Leif
Garret sound clips from the
Feelin' Groovy site, and I'm
quite happy, indeed).

Jennifer Jarett
<jjarett@bn.com>

Well, this topic is sort of
dear to our hearts, since
Carl and Joey are sort of
like washed-up childhood
stars themselves.

Dear Destiny,

Take a look at Judy Garland's
productivity. She was run
into the ground by her
producers who had her on a
hellish cycle of downers and
uppers, just so she could
belt it out for them. She was
wrung out by her workload.
She didn't die for her art.

Sincerely,

Jack Garman
<jackgrmn@cruzio.com>

So, she died as a result of
her art. How's that?

Subject: Evil to him who evil
pens

A good story requires a
moral; alas, you fail to
supply one. Let me therefore
only suggest that we try to
differentiate between
"actors" and "celebrities."

Actors are real people with
thankless jobs. A good one
can't be only thin skinned;
he has to be "no skinned" (to
steal a phrase); that's what
acting means. Unfortunately,
even the very best working
actor (an oxymoron at
multiple levels) is rejected
many times a day, typically
for things he can do nothing
about. Is there any wonder
that so many block the pain
any way they can? (True, one
can say similar things about
almost any artist, but at
least writers and painters
typically are rejected less
personally, more remotely,
and not nearly as often.
[Models also are constantly
rejected personally and for
irrelevant reasons, but I'll
let someone else work up pity
for them.])

What an actor wants to do is
act; he or she is fairly
judged only by how well that
is done; and the rest should
truly be none of our
business. Give them a break.

Celebrities, now ... those
odd people famous for being
famous ... now that's a
different story. He who lives
by the media dies by the
media.

Alan Kornheiser
<ASKORNHEISER@prodigy.net>

The Doctor Is an Unemployed
Off-Broadway Actor (as, when
you think about it, who is
not?)

You put forth a good defense
of actors. But we have to
disagree with your statement
that "The rest should be none
of our business."

Most actors want at least
some of the rest to be our
business, otherwise how would
InStyle magazine exist?

Actually, we also disagree
with your statement that
"What an actor wants to do is
act."

As far as we can tell, what
many actors want to do is go
to hot parties and date
Winona Ryder.