About this Blog

"In the future everybody will be world-famous for 15 minutes." So said the bleached-out, late lamented artist Andy Warhol. Having lived and worked in New York City, Warhol came to fully grasp the hold celebrity has on us. In this very famous sentence, he meant to point out that in a culture fixated on fame, many people will suddenly flash brightly onto the public screen, then--poof--will just as quickly disappear from public view--like shooting stars. Other individuals derive their celebrity from one stellar accomplishment (one hit song, one iconic role, etc.) that they never again match.

This blog is devoted to the one part of our celebrity culture that no one has written much about: temporary/one-shot celebrities.

The pace of modern life has quickened, and now we hear people speaking of someone's 15 seconds of fame. These "celebrities with a lower-case c" who will appear in this blog sometimes come to us from the world of entertainment, sometimes from the world of news. All are fascinating.

The need of our communications media for a continual stream of new material assures that we will have no end of colorful people who go quickly, where celebrity is concerned, from zero to hero (or villain) and back to zero. Now you see 'em, now you don't. What a crazy world, eh?

Temporary celebrities coming from the world of entertainment include one-hit recording artists; TV and movie icons who, although they might have had a great many accomplishments in their career, are remembered for one big role; standouts of reality TV; sports figures remembered for one remarkable accomplishment; and people whose celebrity came from one big role in a commercial or print ad.

News-based temporary celebrities come in many forms: mass/serial killers, other murderers of special note, sex-crime offenders, disgraced figures of government/military/business/media/religion, spies/traitors, hoaxers, femmes/hommes fatale, heroes, whistle blowers, inventors/innovators, and victims.

Celebrity Blogsburg will consider each category in turn.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Victim Vince Foster

Vince Foster of Arkansas, who committed suicide at age 48 in 1993, appears to have been a victim of political pressure at the highest level.

Foster had grown up in Hope, AR, with Bill Clinton and also had helped hire Hillary Clinton at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock. He was a prototypical Southern gentleman and had the reputation of being a superb corporate lawyer. Foster and Hillary had become close friends, but despite his success and good connections, Foster is said to have suffered depression.

When Bill Clinton became president, Foster went to Washington with him as Deputy White House Counsel. Almost immediately Foster came under fire from the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets due to his connections to the always controversial Clintons.

Foster was found shot to death in Fort Marcy Park outside Washington on July 20, 1993. The cause of death was ruled suicide by self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth into the brain.

An unexplained puncture wound was also found in his neck, which prompted a near epidemic of rumors. Some conspiracy theorists thought he and Hillary had been lovers. Others said he was murdered because he knew too much about the Clintons' various misadventures. A torn-up letter of resignation was found, but it shed no light on the circumstances of his death.

It is unlikely that anything more will be discovered about Foster's sad demise.

No comments:

Post a Comment