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.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Iconic TV role: Maureen McCormick

Longtime TV viewers doubtless will associate the name of this actress with her role as Marcia Brady, eldest sister on the 1969-1974 sitcom "The Brady Bunch."

This character's upbeat, peppy personality made her very popular with the teeny-bopper set during those years.

McCormick's start in show biz came as a child acting in TV commercials. From there, she got small parts on such shows as "Bewitched," "I Dream of Jeannie," and "My Three Sons."

In recent decades, around 50% of marriages end in divorce, so the Brady Bunch story of two families coming together as one was relevant to many viewers, young and old.

The part of Marcia Brady gave McCormick her share of celebrity, but after that show's close, she made appearances on "Happy Days," "Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and a few other programs, plus playing small parts in a few less than stellar movies.

Unable to repeat her Brady Bunch success, McCormick developed a variety of unfortunate personal problems.

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