You see the celebrity spotlight does more than shine a light on, or focus attention to, someone who has done something truly remarkable. Celebrity status (and its media focus) upon certain personages rises and falls like the tides. Are we happy to be a simple being that pays their bills, is a devoted son or daughter, is a loyal friend, is a hard worker, and is a mentor/example to those around us? Or, do we secretly seek to be the one in the spotlight like some national politician or star --- no make that the superstar! We want to “be like …” and such desire is used time and again to separate us from our money to buy a certain brand of hot dog, a special SUV, a pair of sneakers, etc, etc, etc. One football star in my lifetime was associated with a brand of pantyhose… HUH???

Nowadays it would not to be so much a matter of a good spotlight, or a bad spotlight. It is the spotlight itself that matters. We have no sense of shame or embarrassment any longer. It matters not that one’s celebrity comes from the impregnation of someone famous (or even borderline famous), from stashing a child in the attic while an “empty balloon” captures the cameras, or from the infidelities of a celebrity straying with some “friend” on the side --- make that two, no three, no four, no seven friends on the side. Will any sudden surge of notoriety mean more sales? I fear that appears to be the case. I say shame on them and shame on us for making it so.

Artist Andy Warhol said that eventually everyone will have the 15 minutes of fame. (I hope that my 15 minutes occurs while I am sleeping!) For some the clock will tick longer --- lucky for them, I guess. This seems to be the case whether one is dealing with actors, musicians, sons in laws, sports figures, or politicians. It didn’t always work that way --- that is, until the estates of two well known figures took on lives of their own and presently make more cash for their heirs after death than during life. (HINT: “Happy Birthday, Mr….. President…” and “thank you, thank you very much…”)

Initially “being famous for being famous” applied to a special group of party goers and party givers. These maybe had minor careers in something and had married well, but divorced better. They made the circuit of guest spots on night time talk shows – a fame by association if you will. Now… reality TV has created a new subspecies of celebrity. The more outrageous the behavior, the greater the celebrity desires of the celebrity wannabes. When their star begins to wane, watch out… for there will come the “tasteful” spreads in the most popular of skin mags. It is as if we don’t already have enough information about them displayed before us.

I will admit that I’ve been out of the loop for a few months because of my heart surgeries and near fatal infection. Still… I am in awe by the number of stars, megastars, superstars, and OMG celebrities who have captured the stories on PAGE ONE. (I don’t even have a clue who they are!) I guess a lot can happen in a month or two. I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.