# Artists and Showbiz ppl forever stigmatized by ONE thing they did **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606 "2009-04-19T08:51:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/1 "2009-04-19T08:51:28Z")
…in their PROFESSION. No personal relationship/drug/booze/health/weight/family issues! This is purely about what some famous people did ON STAGE OR SCREEN that left them “brandmarked” forever, so to say. Those who will always be, I don’t know, “the girl who bit the bear’s ear off” or “the guy who drank menstrual blood”. You know what I mean. Who comes to mind? I’ll start: Ned Beatty is relatively unfortunate. _squeals_ Also, Linda Bleeeeaaauuurrrgghhh, I mean Blair. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/2 "2009-04-19T10:35:29Z")
Warren Zevon is a perfect example. Mention his name, and of the people who’ve heard of him at all, three out of four will start mocking the piano intro from “Werewolves.” And then refuse to believe that he could ever have produced anything of substance. It’s far from his best song, but people tend to assume that it must be, and if the rest of his catalog is weaker than that…Which would be pretty bad if true, but it’s not! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/3 "2009-04-19T12:02:49Z")
Jason Biggs is well and truly typecast as “That Guy Who Had Sex With A Pastry Dish” in the first _American Pie_ movie, I think. Yes, I know he was in a couple of other movies, but even he acknowledges (in _Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back_) that he’s only remembered for his Prandial Nookie as a result of that film. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/4 "2009-04-19T12:21:12Z")
Four posts to mention Ozzy Osbourne? That drives me batty. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/5 "2009-04-19T12:21:22Z")
Going off the Waren Zevon example, occasionally a really talented band/songwriter will score a single hit, their only hit (or their only BIG hit), with a novelty song- and will thus never be taken as seriously as they deserve. The Tokens, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” The Bangles, “Walk Like an Egyptian” Suzanne Vega, “Luka” Don Was, “Walk the Dinosaur” Dead Eye Dick, “New Age Girl” Jill Sobule, “I Kissed a Girl” The songs themselves may not qualify as stigmas _per se_, “I Kissed a Girl” is generally well thought of by music fans and critics- but it did lead many to write Sobule off as a “Novelty Act”, a shame because she’s one of the best songwriters out there. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/6 "2009-04-19T12:22:57Z")
I thought Suzanne Vega was best known for _Tom’s Diner_? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Gutgore\_Blooddrink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Captain\_Gutgore\_Blooddrink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Gutgore_Blooddrink)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/7 "2009-04-19T12:26:21Z")
Chloe Sevigny for her fellatio scene in the Brown Bunny ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/8 "2009-04-19T12:41:50Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I thought Suzanne Vega was best known for _Tom’s Diner_? Looking at the charting info [on her wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Vega#Singles) looks like “Tom’s Diner” was a much bigger hit than “Luka” in Europe and Australia. Here in the U.S. “Luka” was a much bigger hit. “Tom’s Diner” got a lot of placement in movies and T.V. but I really think not very many people knew what the song was called despite hearing it through various media on a regular basis. By the time it got play at all, Vega was already well know for “Luka”. YCMV (Your Continent May Vary) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/9 "2009-04-19T13:33:49Z")
Well, by his own choice, Paul Reubens was heading this way with his Pee-Wee character. He kept appearing in character all the time. Oddly enough, it was his infamous off camera incident that “fixed” this. He now appears as an actor in various roles, including on shows like Pushing Daisies. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/10 "2009-04-19T14:16:10Z")
Robert Englund’s imdb listing shows over a hundred movies and TV shows, yet is most famous for Freddie Krueger in the _Nightmare on Elm Street_ movies. This happened to a lot of the old Universal Studios horror stars: Lugosi, Karloff, Chaney Jr. Alice Cooper says he still gets flak over the chicken incident. Keanu Reeves is perpetually associated with the “Bill and Ted” movies. Bill Murray has done heavy drama, but people still associate him with the groundskeeper from _Caddyshack_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/11 "2009-04-19T14:20:22Z")
Rob Lowe, Snow White, “Proud Mary” and the Oscars. Took him about 20 years to get over that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/12 "2009-04-19T16:02:22Z")
Sinead O’Connor tearing up a photo of the Pope on SNL. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/13 "2009-04-19T16:44:24Z")
O.J. Simpson’s film work. Marion Davies has been stigmatized for the decades by **Citizen Kane**. Everyone assumes that Susan Kane was based upon her and that she was a no-talent actress who got her roles because she was shacking up with William Randolph Hearst. In reality, she was a successful actress and comedienne without him and most who follow her career believe that Hearst hurt her more than he helped (he insisted she play drama, while she was more at home with comedy). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/14 "2009-04-19T17:00:12Z")
Nobody here knows [Ted Weems](http://redhotjazz.com/weems.html), but he had been one of the top bandleaders in the country for 20 years before WW2, when he made the admirable mistake of volunteering to direct the U.S. Merchant Marine Band. Official policy was to keep the USMM very much out of the media (they had unusually high casualty rates _and_ were regarded as slackers by combat military), so his name disappeared from public life. Next that was heard of Weems was in the late 40s, when a novelty record he’d made in 1933, called _Heartaches_, hit big in the South. 25 years in the biz, all to become a one-hit wonder. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/15 "2009-04-19T17:33:51Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Sinead O’Connor tearing up a photo of the Pope on SNL. Yeah, but that \*\*\*raised \*\*\*public perception of her, for many of us. Are we including sports people? How about Tyson and the ear? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/16 "2009-04-19T17:40:16Z")
Fergie (of the Black Eyed Peas) pissing herself onstage. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/17 "2009-04-19T17:47:24Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Keanu Reeves is perpetually associated with the “Bill and Ted” movies. Seriously? I think he’s more strongly associated with “The Matrix”. Green Day is a funny one- they’ve had a serious and successful career, but their most widely-known song, by far, is “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”. It’s a good song, to be sure, and will be played at every elementary school graduation from here to eternity, but it’s totally unrepresentative of the rest of their work. Which leads to amusing things like my mother buying their albums because she liked Good Riddance so much. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/18 "2009-04-19T18:03:02Z")
It’s especially funny given how misunderstood “Good Riddance” is. Right up there with “Every Breath You Take”. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/19 "2009-04-19T18:47:25Z")
Janet Jackson. Superbowl. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606/20 "2009-04-19T22:10:30Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Nobody here knows [Ted Weems](http://redhotjazz.com/weems.html), but he had been one of the top bandleaders in the country for 20 years before WW2, when he made the admirable mistake of volunteering to direct the U.S. Merchant Marine Band. Official policy was to keep the USMM very much out of the media (they had unusually high casualty rates _and_ were regarded as slackers by combat military), so his name disappeared from public life. > > Next that was heard of Weems was in the late 40s, when a novelty record he’d made in 1933, called _Heartaches_, hit big in the South. 25 years in the biz, all to become a one-hit wonder. I’ve heard of Ted Weems. Perry Como got his start as the male singer with the Weems band. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-and-showbiz-ppl-forever-stigmatized-by-one-thing-they-did/493606.md?page=2)