It really is true that there is no such thing as bad publicity. No matter what a public figure does, all they have to do is shed a few tears, apologize on Oprah, Larry King Live, or the Jay Leno show, and then, for added measure, spend a few weeks in alcohol, drug, sex (fill-in-the-blanks) rehab, and they're good to go."It wasn't my fault. The devil made me do it..."
No, you just got caught.
And you have to keep a score card in order to keep track of the weirdness factor. Lindsay Lohan missed her court date because her father stole her passport, Sarah Ferguson is divorced from Prince Andrew, but she still lived with him while she was attemping to
My head is spinning...
But I am a strong believer in redemption. No matter what a person does, there is always a way back to the light. I guess all of these people are larger than life, and as long as they're in the public eye, whatever they do will remain -- in the public eye, and there is always the chance for redemption. Thank goodness. Several years ago Pee-Wee Herman fell into disgrace, and everyone thought that would be the end of him. Now Pee-Wee's Playhouse is headed to Broadway, at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, with all the playhouse gang – Miss Yvonne, Mailman Mike, Cowboy Curtis, Jambi the Genie, Pterri, Conky, Chairy and the rest of the crew. I'm Pee-Wee's biggest fan. I love Pee-Wee Herman. Saturday mornings have never been the same without Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
"I know you are, but what am I...?"
29 comments:
I'm pretty tired of celebrities who are famous only for being celebrities. High weirdness abounds.
Tonight I watched a PBS special with James Taylor and Carole King, both still fantastic and class acts. I really miss the days when people were famous for being talented or great humanitarians or something other than drunken louts and loutesses. :)
We get all that celeb news over here as well. And best of all it overshadows our own celebs. The public is celeb mad often you have to wonder if some of the celebs don't just do what they do to stay in the news.
These folks are only sad and contrite because they got caught, not because they did whatever bad thing they did. Everyone wants to be famous, until they get there. So many famous people self medicate with their drug(s) of choice. What a shame. I think they get far too much airtime. Celeb stories ARE NOT news items, IMHO.
I have never seen a Lindsey Lohan movie that I am aware of and yet I know her name and if shown a picture of her I recognize her, because of all the bad publicity she gets. Non-stop bad publicity. How mixed-up and sad is that?
As for Pee-Wee, I wish I did not know anything about him except his show because I and my kids loved Pee-Wee and his playhouse. We even loved his movie...I would watch re-runs of his show now...I just don't want to know anything else about him. Just like I do not think I need to know the private life of my doctor if his private life does not badly affect his work, or mailman, or grocery clerk, or... you get the drift!
Good post Jo~hmmm, "the Pee-Wee Herman Factor" I might use that phrase sometime soon.
I only know Lindsey Lohan through the media, and I try to avoid it but there you are, it's everywhere. I even saw her antics on the BBC news! How sick is that? I never knew who Peewee Herman was until his disgrace. I still wonder about why it was so newsworthy, when you realize how much the media distorts the importance of such things.
I have to say, the Lindsey Lohan thing hits home for me because, at the moment, my tween daughter is obssesed with the Parent Trap and Freaky Friday remakes she stared in. And she was good. Really good, not just cute. The kid could act.
I do think she is slighly insane now, but she's young enough that I think she might eventually find the help she needs.
Lots of people seem to be pulled to drama, no matter what or who it is about. The media makes a living out of finding the stories. I just tune them out.
I am convinced the media has way more power than our government....
Lohan was in a Herbie movie. I never saw it. I don't know anything else about her. Sheen is in a hit sitcom. I've never seen it. Tiger woods plays golf. I've never watched it. Sarah Ferguson has red hair and was somehow associated with the royal family in England. I never follow them. that's about my knowledge of celebrities.
Jo, I wanted to tell you yesterday, but my husband served me dinner in mid FB comment...I LOVE your blog. It is never ever boring and always about something either important or unexpected. I also like your regional-focused blogs...I've learned what little I know about BC from you. And well...now the Olympics but before that it was you.
And about this post, I remember a time when they only coverage you could get on CNN was of Brittany Spears, 24 hours a day. I worked at a bank and she was on that tv behind me constantly. Who cares? All the publicity only makes it harder for these people to get their crap together. I feel a little sorry for them.
Jo, I am so tired of hearing about celebs bad behavior. Yesterday I wanted to watch some news. I turned the TV to MSNBC and then Fox news but both of their reporting is so... Polarized? Not sure if thats the right word. I turned the channel to CNN and all I got was an ear/eyefull of celeb news. I then turned the TV off!
I think celebs should get a chance at redemption just as we all do, I just don't want to hear about it.
I actually was suprised to find that I could list 5 of Lohan's films that I have seen. When she did Parent Trap I thought we would see great things from her in the future... I was way wrong. At least at this point.
I enjoyed watching Pee Wee on the View so much, I didn't realize I missed him. We all do deserve a chance at redemption. Go Pee Wee!
YES! The PEE-MAN rulez!
But down here in the lower half of America, PEEWEE got mail from REBA The Mail-Lady.
And did you recognize the man who played COWBOY CURTIS?
Robert Altman's Prairie Home Companion [starring a pretty good cast], Nancy Meyers' Parent Trap, Garry Marshall's Georgia Rule [starring a pretty good cast], Mean Girls [written by Tina Fey, with a decent cast], Bobby [starring a pretty good cast], the creepy Chapter 27, I Know Who Killed Me, Just My Luck, those Disney movies Herbie Fully Loaded, Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and she's in the new Robert Rodriquez movie but I haven't seen it yet.
Susan, I LOVE James Taylor and Carole King. And yes, they had class, didn't they?
Firefly, *bingo* you have hit the nail on the head. Bad publicity is much better than none at all...!
Roxanne, I agree with you. I can't think of anyone who bores me more than Lindsay Lohan, except maybe Tiger Woods...!
Kathy, I love Pee-Wee, and I too would prefer not to know the sordid details of his fall from grace. But he's baaaaack...! *heh* Now, if only we could get rid of Lindsay. :-)
Djan, like Firefly says, I think a lot of them do it just to keep their names and faces in the public eye. Otherwise, they would drop out of sight.
Katy, that is the sad thing -- Lindsay Lohen was immensely talented. I do think someone led her astray somehow, sadly.
Brenda, it's difficult to tune the media out, though, because they are everywhere - TV, magazines, internet, etc. I guess it's whatever sells. *sigh*
Kathy, oh, yes, definitely...! The fourth estate and the fifth estate have great powers. It's almost frightening.
Charles, I'm right there with you. I'm afraid I haven't seen any of those things either. I used to watch Charlie's Sheen's sitcom, but it started to bore me.
Zen Adventurist, thank you, thank you, thank you..! What a lovely compliment. And yes, what has happened to Britney Spears now? She has sunk into obscurity, where -- in my opinion -- she belongs...!
Jennifer, I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw Pee-Wee was back. That was the BEST news ever. Now all I have to do is buy a ticket, go to New York, and see him. *heh*
KrippledWarrior, I didn't recognize Cowboy Curtis back in the day, but when I saw his picture today, I realized it was Laurence Fishburne. Who knew!!!???
MIa, believe it or not, I have actually seen "Mean Girls", "Freaky Friday" and "The Parent Trap", and Lindsay Lohan was wonderful in all of them. It's sort of sad that she has already become washed-up at the age of 23. Hopefully she will get her ... um ... act together. :-)
I have wondered if the public clamors for these stories because it enables them to say, 'hey, I've really got my act together compared to (fill in the blank).' I prefer to feel good about myself by looking at my own behavior.
Evidently, quite a few people do like hearing about celebrities problems and tune in to these stories. The media responds to the public demand, they say.
My kids loved Pee Wee, when they were growing up and I didn't, so that was always an argument at my house. lol Cheers!
oh, if it weren't for redemption, where
would i be?
NyaHaaaa
I am Peewees biggest fan and best imitator!
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
Jo, That video was a breath of fresh air - thank you! It seems like there is such serious news right now - it's depressing. I feel sorry for Fergie's daughters - not a great maternal model - very sad.
And don't forgret from the fabulous world of multiples, Jon and Kate Gosselin - their negative publicity could fill volumes, all at the expense of their children. I agree, sad.
I have worked with some Fleet Street reporters, and they are unscupulous.
I think what everybody missed is that some "a-hole" set her up in a weak moment or two of a long conversation and got it all on tape. That's what we were told to do when I worked for the National Enquirer, though I must say,over in Lantana, Florida, they really treated me well.
It was a set-up for a lady in her cups with a clever seducer, as some journalists and photographers are.
Poor Sarah found out the hard way that the medium is indeed the message.
Pee Wee Herman did nothing wrong - so he masturbated in a porn theater - big deal. Better than hitting your wife on Xmas Day.
He's insanely talented - good to have him back.
As for all the others, I really take no notice. Lohan is a good actress, but all that money and fame can really go to your head at a young age.
Jo, you crack me up. You say you are not a writer, but you are one heck of a writer! I think you should do a daily column in your newspaper! I always enjoy stopping in to visit the tree house. I sit and drink my decaf French Vanilla coffee and enjoy everything you write!
Isn't it funny how all 3... Fergy, Lohan & Sheen are fond of Alcohol!? :D
I never really realized I'd never seen a Lindsay Lohan movie or she only had 6. Sorry I like Chalie Sheen, @ least he has a show, I like the show, not the guy I guess. Sarah Furguson? That's just too weird, I'm thinking Andrew knew about it or just feels sorry for her or doesn't care...
I agree about the celebrity deal, give people more credit for REAL talent other than the ability to screw up....
I actually feel sorry for Lindsay Lohan. She really was a darling little girl, and had a lot of promise. I don't know how her life went that far wrong, but it's clear that not having a childhood -- performing, becoming an actor -- can take a very serious toll for some people. I felt sorry for Brittany Spears, also.
I wish both of their parents had said, "There's plenty of time for that when you're older, right now finish being a kid."
I hope that there's still some way for Lohan to be helped. She really does look like she's in so much physical distress. I'm not a catty person, generally speaking, so I mean this literally -- I've seen pictures of Lindsay Lohan where she looks every moment of my age, not hers. I'm forty-three.
Anyway, I really don't understand the fascination with famous people. The one that really baffles me, the people I've only ever seen mentioned on internet pages, and TV comedy programs (Colbert, Stewart, Conan) are the entire cast of the Jersey Shore.
Oh so true! How I grow tired of the constant and seemingly never-ending stream of vacuous, celebrity drivel that pours from our screens 24 hours a day, that seeps and saturates nearly every element of the media. I could not care what these people are doing in their lives, I have not the slightest interest in their marriages, divorces, disputes drunken scenes, antics, or any of it!
It truly does anger me that such people are given news time when we should be discussing real issues. *Sigh* How I wish it would end...
I grew up watching Pee Wee's Playhouse and all his movies. Cowboy Curtis and Chairy were my favorites.
It's amazing to me how just in the span of my life-- almost 30 years-- how much the notion of "fame" has changed. Now you can be famous just for making a sex tape or similar. All the sudden the cameras start following you, and then you get a reality show, and you start showing up on talk shows... and before long, no one can remember why you got famous in the first place, just that now you ARE. So we end up with talentless twits with drug/party/mental problems (like Lohan, Paris Hilton, the Kardashians) as role models for our little girls.
Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now :)
Good old Pee-Wee...
Haven't seen it in forever, but Big Adventure was watched so many times in my house the VCR finally had a a conniption and devoured it in rage...
My brother sister and I watched it forward but were hysterically delighted to watch it rewind as well... kids... heh...
Good to see you once more and glad you are well.
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