Column

Fame is fleeting unless it's unwanted

By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Staff Writer
Published December 7, 2007

Fame, (fame) puts you there where things are hollow

The lyrics from David Bowie's 1975 chart topper sure could serve as words of wisdom for so many people in our society today.

Anyone who picks up the newspaper or turns on the television knows how fame's double-edged sword swings both ways. Three pictures on the front of the Times on Tuesday illustrate the downward spiral of Jessica Sierra. The nation celebrated Tampa Bay's Mary Delgado as The Bachelorette, but the fanfare faded last month when she made headlines for a domestic dispute arrest.

However, the downfalls have done little to curb America's appetite for fame. People seem willing to do anything to get on TV. Flavor of Love, one of VH1's highest-rated shows, pitted women against each other in a battle for the affection of rapper Flavor Flav, a man whose physical attributes only a mother could love.

A curvaceous comet nicknamed New York parlayed her breakout appearance on the show into her own series in which she made it clear she wants a man to be her wife. Huh?

Meanwhile on MTV, a group of men and women endured catfights and tears in an effort to win the affection of Tila Tequila, an alleged bisexual. (I swear, I only watch the commercials.)

Flip the channel, and you find Cheaters, wherescorned spouses chase their cheating mates with cameras in tow. Catching your husband or wife in the arms of another should be a personal moment, to be sure, but these people share the hurt with an audience that most likely just laughs and mocks them.

No boundaries exist, of course. Girls Gone Wild showcases topless teens, but what drives them to degrade themselves? A sad mix of alcohol and "wanting to be discovered."

We're divining entertainment from people's dumb decisions, but if a (losing touch with) reality show staged a casting call in Tampa today, people would have started lining up last night.

The funny thing about fame? The people who don't have it, want it, and the people who have it, don't want it.

Ask Julia Roberts, who chased a paparazzo from her children's school. Ask, Jennifer Love Hewitt, whose private beach moment got shattered by a photographer who revealed the unflattering look of her backside.

For what it's worth, she still looked good to me, but I digress.

Such invasive stories have become commonplace for celebrities, but they won't steer people away from the quest for fame. At this point, I'm not sure anything will.

Fame has become some kind of euphoric, hypnotic drug. People want to leave a mark on the world, they want to be somebody, but they should realize crafting a substantive life makes a more indelible impression than chasing a flawed and fleeting intangible.

It may be nice to have adoring strangers say you matter, but when you're dead and buried, it'll be more important to have your friends and family say you mattered.

A lifetime of respect rates higher than 15 minutes of celebrity.

I wish that thought could have reached Robert Hawkins. He walked into an Omaha department store and shot 13 people Wednesday, killing eight before taking his own life.

Why? He said in a letter he wanted to be famous.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified December 7, 2007, 00:41:24]