Spin Cycle: Celebrity

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What a mixed bag of ideas the topic of celebrity represents for me.

I grew up in Southern California. Various Los Angeles suburbs. My dad was a film editor and my uncle was a cameraman. I was allowed on sets and saw a few celebrities in the process.
For the most part, I have narrow and somewhat negative opinions on celebrity. I admire and respect artistry over celebrity. Although the two may come hand in hand, I turn sour at a person who works their celebrity past the level of his or her artistic ability. I admire the artist recluse.

I boycott movies by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt because they gross me out in their celebrity. I never see the character they are supposed to become anymore. I only see them acting. And full of themselves.

I don’t buy magazines which feature photos taken by paparazzi as I try not to contribute to that mess.

I think athlete celebrities should represent better as role models instead of the way that many of them behave as if they are too good to live by the rules the rest of us are supposed to follow.

I wish Americans were more interested in their own lives than in celebrity gossip.

However.

We moved in 1968 from the San Fernando Valley to live full time at the mobile home park on the beach where we had only before spent our weekends and summers. Most of the weekenders at the park earned their living from the film and television industries. Most of these industry people were from behind the camera. Other film editors and cameramen. My sister remembers the names and occupations much better than I do. She’s good like that; check out this post. I was a daydreaming child who loved to be active. Remembering details like names and occupations even then was not my strong suit. There was a man in his thirties who we of course thought was old (being adolescents) but still a hottie. He was a stunt man. There were some retired actors, some who had had their days of glory, but they were eccentric old people to me.

There was one resident I was mightily impressed with though. Sheriff John. Sheriff John had a TV show for kids in LA and I had grown up watching it. My friends and I would walk by his place hoping to catch a glimpse of him. If he was outside we would smile and wave and he would smile and wave back.

The daydreamer in me had a fantasy where he sang the birthday song for me, and give me a private wink on his show.

Put another candle on my birthday cake, my birthday cake, my birthday ca-ake. Put another candle on my birthday cake I'm another year old today.

I thought he was awesome.

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