Celebs whose fame and success just baffles you?

In My Humble Opinion
81

My, my my!

So many of my favorites mentioned as “baffling” people - actually, I think that’s a bit why I like them. Somehow if everyone actually “got” Sandra Bernhard’s humor I think I might be a bit disappointed. She doesn’t necessarily do “setup-punchline-applause sign lights up” humor, so it’s hard to get into. If you want to know why she’s famous, find any gay man and ask him for the bootleg copy of “Without You I’m Nothing” that he’s gotten hidden under his bed, and have yourself a listen, or else rent I’m Still Here, Damn It! from your local video store. She’s best live, or in a live recording, so I guess if all you’ve seen is “Roseanne” and maybe a Letterman appearance or something, you might not think she’s great. Not to mention I met her once and she was very gracious about letting me get a picture with her, which was one of the peak moments of my life. But that’s another story…

Bjork made some really amazing songs and has a totally unique voice. I think “Birthday” and Dancer In The Dark easily explain her fame away.

For many of these people, I think despite much mediocre work they’ve had one standout performance and/or famous parent. For example, Liza Minnelli: Judy’s daugther, Arthur and Cabaret. Whoopi’s made some bad choices (i.e., The Telephone) but watch Jumpin’ Jack Flash or The Color Purple and tell me she’s talentless. I can’t imagine someone watching The Color Purple and thinking she’s a bad actress - or that Steven Spielberg is a bad director, for that matter. Same for Melanie Griffith - Working Girl is still a really great movie, PLUS she’s the daughter of Tippi Hedren. Why is Drew Barrymore famous? How is that baffling? She’s a Barrymore, she was in E.T. (Hey, wasn’t that a Spielberg film?), and she became addicted to cocaine before she hit puberty. If that doesn’t spell FAMOUS I don’t know what does. Now, her continuing success, that perhaps you can find baffling, but her initial fame is perfectly logical.

In other words, maybe these people have something you’ve overlooked or don’t know about that led to their initial success, which they’ve then mucked up with crappy performances. In reading through many the lists, I found myself saying, “But she was on Laugh-In and won an Oscar for Cactus Flower! And Overboard was sorta funny!” or “Didn’t they see his ass in Thelma and Louise?”

Musically, I don’t understand the appeal of Patti Smith. She’s my Elvis Costello.

I can see why little girls like Britney Spears, but I cannot understand why they don’t realize she’s not actually singing at her concerts, or even that she’s not lip synching that well. Mariah Carey and Christina Aquilera can both sing AND both dress like hookers, so I can see why they’re famous. I am dismayed but not baffled, let’s put it that way.

So, finally, to answer the OPCaroline Rhea, hands down.

You know you can’t beat that one, can you? :slight_smile:

82

When I saw the thread title I immediately thought “Rosie O’Donell”. Why is she famous? I think the Powers That Be one day decided to just grab some woman from a K-mart somewhere and make her famous. Rosie was that woman. The most noteworthy thing about her that I can think of is that she has memorized far too many TV show theme songs.

83

Oooh, yeah, I totally agree with that. Have you ever noticed that every time he needs to express an emotion other than weariness or boredom, he does it by screaming? What a ham. Completely overrated.

84

Tori Spelling

85

I don’t get Madonna. She’s ugly, and whenever she’s on Letterman, etc. she is pure prima dona.
“You must make all the talk, as I have nothing I specifically wan to say.” Then when they finally give up trying to get her to say anything at all, and want to bring on the secodn guest, she throws a hissy fit and demands the second segment. Which then also tanks, and the real second guest is hung out to dry.

86

Jeff Goldblum - The guy has been self-righteous from the start and has only gotten worse with time. I see him as the John Luvitz character in the SNL “acting!..genius!” skit. I can’t understand why he’s famous, but whoever is responsible should be drawn and quartered.

87

I have misgivings about saying what I have here in this thread and in the similar one I started called Strangely Failed Film careers. I remember reading an interview with Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin once in which he said that fans just don’t realise how ordinary stars remain to themselves throughout their careers. At Christmas, for instance, they just go home to their motley families like everyone else and spend time doing mundane things. Celebrities are obscenely overpaid but they must become completely fucked up by a lifetime of confronting stuff like this. If stardom is so great what happened to Elvis Presley and Kurt Cobain just to name two? It seems to me that Elvis Presley’s health would not have deteriorated if he had had any true friends at all. The performers who have success and yet remain under-talented and undeserving of it are probably well aware of the situation.

88

But in Tori Spelling’s case, the home in question is the size of Idaho and has a bowling alley.

89

“He’s a frickin’ moron! We can get away with anything!”

And in a similar vein, I toss out Ronald Reagan, George F. Will, and Rush Limbaugh.

90

Pacino WAS a good actor, though. To get an diea of the transformation from good to bad, watch him in the first two “Godfather” films - his acting is subtle and understated when it needs to be. Beautiful performances.

Now watch him in the third “Godfather.” Yuck.

So he may suck now, but there’s a reason he made it big; he really was a tremendous actor.

91

Do you mean that no talent southern boy who capitalized on black music and became a slightly cooler version of Pat Boone?

92

Fabio is famous for being on the covers of romance novels.
For some reason, someone has the idea that women find him sexy.

93

Erm…not to quibble, but you’re wrong.

Sue, Pacino has made a couple of clunker choices in the 90’s. God only knows why anyone wanted to be involved in the stench-pit that was “Scent of a Woman,” but he also did some of the finest work of the decade. Let’s run it down:

“Glengarry Glen Ross,” a standout in what Jack Lemmon refers to the finest cast he ever worked with.

“Heat,” a movie full of fine moments, which all comes down to a quiet little scene in a diner between him and Robert DeNiro. Primo acting between the two, with som many unsaid things floating in the air.

“Richard III,” which, yes, is about him…but it’s about so much more.

Finally, the best Pacino performance since “Godfather II”:

“Donnie Brasco,” in a towering achievement of stripping away the little mannerisms and shouting that plague some of his other performances (see the above “Scent”) and breathes wonderful delicate life into the potrayal of a guy who was once a big “made” man but is now just shuffling along the sidelines of the mob.

On other hand, I’m not sure what I think of “Carlito’s Way.”

94

Would just a few more Dopers please post something to this thread? I’ve never started a thread that reached 100 posts before!

95

Can I add a post just to confront a Doper for maligning the immaculate George Will? rjung is not fit to kiss Will’s bow tie.

96

I think a lot of people in this thread are mixing up people who they dislike/hate with the actual talent of that person.

I hate Michael Jackson but I can understand how and why he became so big. Like him or hate him the guy has talent.

Woody Allen has done some very questionable things in his life but he is/was a great comic, writer and director.

Jim Carey is positivly hateful IMO but anybody who saw him in In Living Colour or Man on the Moon has to admit the guy has talent.

There are 1000’s of people out there who are amazingly talented and could blow the current crop of celebs out of the water but have not had the lucky breaks that others have.

To add to the OP I’d add most of the members of boy bands. The majority of them are good looking people who just answered the right add in the paper and can dance a bit (but I suppose there is some talent in that aswell :rolleyes: )

97

Pul-eeze. The only difference between George Will and Rush Limbaugh is that George has a bigger vocabulary and better access to obscure quotes.

(Are we over 100 yet? :))

And to get a less inflammatory nominee, I’ll toss in a vote for Madonna.

98

Scott Baio.
How any of those many beautiful women wanted to date him is beyond me.

99

Dr. Brothers won $64,000 on the “The $64,000 Question”. Then on the “$64,000 Challenge”, she won $70,000. Both times the topic was boxing.

Zsa Zsa Gabor was Miss Hungary in 1936.

100

John Lovitz’s character was Master Thespian.