More than ever people are famous for … well, for being famous. Why? Reality TV is certainly one of the reasons.
When I was a kid every famous person I knew of had to have a talent of some sort to end up that way. They might have been singers or actors, writers or filmmakers, politicians or business tycoons, but they had to be really good at something.
I never imagined that I could be famous myself one day because I didn’t believe I possessed a talent that could attract a fan base of any size. And then along came Paris Hilton, and my theory was put to the test. I was baffled by her sudden explosion of popularity.
She kept popping up in celebrity magazines and I didn’t know who she was or why she was there. When I found out that she was the granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the billionaire hotel magnate, I thought to myself: so what? Surely there were thousands of beautiful relatives of other rich, famous people who never ended up on the front cover of People magazine, but here was one who surpassed her grandfather in face recognition in a very short period of time and landed herself a TV reality series called The Simple Life.
Having an aversion to reality TV, I never saw an episode of the show, which featured Paris and her privileged best friend Nicole Ritchie temporarily living the everyday lives of ordinary folks. But that series, as well as a scandalous sex tape, catapulted her into a level of stardom that even the most talented stars of North America rarely achieve.
Since the early days of Paris Hilton’s fame, there have been a ton of people who have achieved equal or greater success from reality TV shows, many of whom don’t seem to possess any particular talent at all.
“If you put someone on TV for long enough they’re bound to become famous,” a friend of mine once said. I think he’s absolutely right about that.
Half the people I see in celebrity magazines nowadays seem to be famous for just being themselves on TV, and even someone like me who usually avoids this type of show gets to know who they are after awhile. It’s hard not to when you’re exposed to them in a variety of different ways.
Take Snooki for example. I’ve never watched a minute of a “Jersey Shore” show, but I’ve seen her image and heard her name hundreds of times in magazines, on talk shows and even on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
Perhaps she’s a poor example. Since I haven’t seen her show or read her book, she might be incredibly talented and destined for fame regardless of the reality show she was cast in. Even if she’s not the best example of someone famous for just being famous, there is a long list of others, and you’re probably thinking of a few yourself.
Call me old fashioned, but personally, I miss the days when people had to have a special skill in order to attract an audience. I used to watch old movies with my grandmother and the stars of her generation had to know how to act, sing and dance to make it in Hollywood. Some of them were incredible.
There are stars of today who have earned their fame as well as many who haven’t even come close. The discernible difference in the quality of their work is what either attracts or repels me.
So, let me ask you this: if you had to be famous, what would you want to be famous for? To hear what some of the people on the street told me when I asked, please watch my video at LoriWelbourne.com.
