# Older celebrities becoming self-caricatures **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230 "2010-10-06T10:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/1 "2010-10-06T10:23:31Z")
I was watching Larry King’s interview with [Liza Minnelli](http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/2008/10/liza-minnelli-o.html). That woman is almost 65, and she has clung to the same look she had over 40 years ago. She has actually become a caricature of herself. I know she’s had some serious health problems over the years, but her face looks like an “after” picture for bad cosmetic surgery. Another self-caricature was [Joan Crawford.](http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2009/07/09/my-oergon-craft-beer-month-joan-crawford-radiant) And then there’s [Carol Channing](http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/channing-awards-and-clothing-stolen). And if you think all the self-caricatures are women, here’s [The Donald](http://thehiphopdemocrat.com/?p=6284). These people stubbornly cling to an image they established decades ago . . . and make it so easy for caricature artists; they merely have to copy reality. (I was going to include Michael Jackson, but he was just . . . wrong . . . even as a caricature.) Who else? ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/2 "2010-10-06T10:59:09Z")
Jack Nicholson. /thread ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/3 "2010-10-06T12:40:08Z")
[Adam West. Just Adam West.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdamWesting) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/4 "2010-10-06T12:42:37Z")
Joan Rivers William Shatner ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/5 "2010-10-06T12:42:53Z")
Meg Ryan gah… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/6 "2010-10-06T12:45:34Z")
BEtter link for Adam West: [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdamWest](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdamWest) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/7 "2010-10-06T12:51:42Z")
What if you cling to the same image but you _don’t_ look bad? I think Sophia Loren still looked much as she did in her prime when filming **Grumpier Old Men**. I think Raquel Welch and Terry Anderson still looked good as they got older, without significantly changing the way they presented themselves. But for self-caricature, you gotta consider **Mae West** at the ens of her career ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/8 "2010-10-06T13:27:22Z")
Michael Crawford. You cannot be the Phantom again. Move on or go home. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/9 "2010-10-06T13:35:04Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > (I was going to include Michael Jackson, but he was just . . . wrong . . . even as a caricature.) And he didn’t even get that old. I’ll nominate Gene Simmons (KISS) and Cher. Gene even moreso than Cher. It’s not the excessive cosmetic surgery alone, but also their respective attitudes towards it. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/10 "2010-10-06T13:41:12Z")
> [@monkeylucifer](#): > > Meg Ryan > > gah… She’s only in her 40s. But those over-inflated lips are indeed almost cartoonish. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/11 "2010-10-06T14:47:55Z")
Stallone and Segal. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/12 "2010-10-06T14:57:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > What if you cling to the same image but you _don’t_ look bad? I think Sophia Loren still looked much as she did in her prime when filming **Grumpier Old Men**. I think Raquel Welch and Terry Anderson still looked good as they got older, without significantly changing the way they presented themselves. > > But for self-caricature, you gotta consider **Mae West** at the ens of her career Dolly Parton. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/13 "2010-10-06T15:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton isn’t an older celebrity becoming a caricature of her younger self – she’s been a caricature all along. She admits it – her taste in Big-Hair wigs, overdone makeup, and choice in clothes complementing her existing physique was pretty much a conscious choice. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/14 "2010-10-06T15:22:46Z")
Ditto Stallone. He has never appeared as anyone but Rocky Rambo. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/15 "2010-10-06T15:28:05Z")
[Cher](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.celebritysmackblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/FP_5717642_RIJ_VMA2010_PRESS_ROOM_091210.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.celebritysmackblog.com/2010/09/13/cher-vma-outfit-photos/&usg=__1n5fih9N17Q2jyohi89LZVoa2sM=&h=700&w=466&sz=54&hl=en&start=2&sig2=afAozlgxRVK0j7fsotFiNQ&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=cUOtqNICP-swAM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcher%2Bvma%26hl%3Den%26newwindow%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D1004%26bih%3D1051%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=95SsTJnLB4H_8Abog42PBw). She’s 64. I win the thread. (Sorry, Amber, but I gave the picture.) ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/16 "2010-10-06T15:33:19Z")
Dear Sam Elliot, I used to love you - the quintessential western man. And when you purred in your soft-spoken rumble, “Beef - it’s what’s for dinner,” I melted into my comfy chair. You’re getting a tad old now but that’s no big deal. We all do and some of us age very well indeed. But I’ve seen “Ghost Rider” and “The Big Lebowski.” Both of them more than once. Hey, I know you thought you were doing a good job of tongue-in-cheek acting with those roles and I suppose you were. They drew an admiring chuckle from many of your fans, I’m sure. But for cryin’ out loud, man, take it easy on that stuff cuz you’re treading awfully close to the edge, Dood. I don’t want to convert to vegetarianism. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/17 "2010-10-06T15:49:28Z")
Joan Rivers… I couldn’t stand her look 25 years ago and she hasn’t changed much since then. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/18 "2010-10-06T17:46:20Z")
Of course, she’s now too ill to make appearances, but Zsa Zsa Gabor spent most of her career as a self-caricature. Truman Capote, and he wasn’t even all that good at it (see **[Murder by Death](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937/)**). ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/19 "2010-10-06T18:07:04Z")
Larry King springs to mind… ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230/20 "2010-10-06T19:14:47Z")
\*\*Al Pacino \*\*since _Scent of a Woman_. HOO-AH!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-celebrities-becoming-self-caricatures/556230.md?page=2)