# Real Life Howard Beales **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120 "2002-05-28T01:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diff\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Diff\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diff_T)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/1 "2002-05-28T01:47:13Z")
Who are some people that you think might have some psychological problems but are aloud to be, (or even encuraged), in the public eye? I mean people who really might be “different.” Not really looking for people who ACT different because they’re losers, (like **Marilyn Manson** ), and need people to say “that person must be messed up.” **Tori Amos** always struck me as being a little nutty. I think her nursing a pig on a picture of one of her albums was my first tip, then I heard some of her songs. I really like her music though, I just think some of it’s messed up. I’m not saying there’s anything I find wrong with her being eccentric, but she IS eccentric. Who do you guys think might be genuinely “different” or a little nutty? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/2 "2002-05-28T03:45:50Z")
I guess Mike Tyson is the obvious choice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/3 "2002-05-28T05:18:59Z")
Chris Chubbock, R.I.P. She was a Florida local-news anchorwoman (morning show), who announced on the air in 1975 [?] that she was going to kill herself – and promptly pulled a revolver from her purse and blew her brains out. The whole thing went out live. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/4 "2002-05-28T05:56:42Z")
**The Scrivener** I know of her. I’ve read her famous last words, but I can’t find any more info on her. Like why she might have done it the way she did. Did the video make the rounds? Were there signs that she was distressed? If you know a place I could find more info on the net, could you tell me? I always thought this was a sad and interesting story. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/5 "2002-05-28T09:53:28Z")
Well, there’s Dan Rather, who in the middle of a newscast got pissed off and walked off the air. One could also make the case for that wingnut on TV who “talks” to the dead. Or the innumerable appearances on TV of Charles Manson. Or Ed Dames, the former CIA employee who seems to have orgasms talking about death and destruction. And at least one of the “channelers” who was popular during the 80s would be a good candidate for having mental illness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/6 "2002-05-28T13:22:06Z")
I learned of Chris Chubbock incident from Harlan Ellison’s preface (yes, Virginia, some of us read even H.E.'s windy prefaces!) to his **Strange Wine** , in which the salient info was quoted from Daniel Schorr’s article on the incident for Rolling Stone. The exact quote is, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts in living color, you’re going to see another first – an attempt at suicide.” 9:38 A.M., 7/15/74; in the WXLT-TV studio, in Sarasota, FL. Now we can all go on “Jeopardy!”…? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-howard-beales/111120/7 "2002-05-29T08:18:59Z")
For some reason I thought Monica Lewinsky seemed as little… off. It’s not because of what she did, just the way she seemed afterwards.