# What celebrity has the best/worst Wikipedia picture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877 "2011-10-17T02:42:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/1 "2011-10-17T02:42:27Z")
I’m talking about the main one, in the upper right corner when you open their page. Wikipedia has a fairly strict policy that any pictures on it are to be put there legally. Because of this, a lot of celebrities have pictures snapped by fans. If I was a celeb., I’d upload my own nice photo, l[ike JMS did.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski) So, who has the best and worst pic on Wikipedia? Best: [David Duchovny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duchovny) - It’s a decent picture. Worst: [Eric Idle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Idle)- He should put his own up. Yours? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/2 "2011-10-17T04:01:15Z")
[Vince Vaughn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Vaughn) looks haggard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/3 "2011-10-17T04:46:47Z")
I’ve never understood this, nor the related phenomenon of missing pictures on IMDb. I mean, what actor doesn’t love free publicity? Even if it makes very little difference, it makes _some_, and the benefit-to-cost ratio has to blow away anything else actors or their agents do. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/4 "2011-10-17T04:52:36Z")
[Here’s one.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MarcRegnier.jpg) He’s a Grammy nominated classical guitarist, and his brother is a professional photographer who gave this particular image to the Public Domain. If I may toot my own horn, I’m fairly proud of [this picture](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Leon_Redbone_at_Knuckleheads_Saloon-Kansas_City_MO.png) I added to the WP article on Leon Redbone. The article pic of Kate Bush is [pretty bad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KateBushComicRelief.png), which is a shame as she is still a beautiful woman. That’s what happens when you’re not interested in publicity and avoid the spotlight. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/5 "2011-10-17T04:52:49Z")
It looks like he changed it, but for a long time, Matt LeBlanc had [this](http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/419px-Matt_Le_Blanc.jpg) picture up on Wiki. I can only assume that someone put it up when Friends first got famous (or rather, when wikipedia got big enough that it included celebrity stuff) and it was just never updated. But I’m surprised no Friends fanatics changed it for him, it’s just such an awful picture. ---
**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 17, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/6 "2011-10-17T06:33:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve never understood this, nor the related phenomenon of missing pictures on IMDb. I mean, what actor doesn’t love free publicity? Even if it makes very little difference, it makes _some_, and the benefit-to-cost ratio has to blow away anything else actors or their agents do. People who make money selling content are often very wary of putting out content for free. I mean, truly free, where people are free to deface it or even sell it. Wikipedia does not accept non-free pictures of real famous people. The rule is, if they are alive, you can in theory get a real picture of them, and thus there is no excuse to use a non-free image. The only way it is acceptable is if the image itself is notable, and thus worthy of discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/7 "2011-10-17T06:48:42Z")
It’s also worth noting that (officially) you are not allowed to edit your own page nor that of anyone near to you. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/8 "2011-10-17T07:37:30Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > It’s also worth noting that (officially) you are not allowed to edit your own page nor that of anyone near to you. The [policy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Autobiography#If_Wikipedia_already_has_an_article_about_you) seems a bit more nuanced than that. It’s strongly discouraged, but not completely banned. And one of the things that’s explicitly permitted is uploading a photo: > [@](#): > > If you do not like the photo, you can help Wikipedia by contributing a good photo under a suitable free content license. If you have a promotional photo that you are willing and able to release under such a license, that’s ideal for us and you. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/9 "2011-10-17T07:45:07Z")
Tom Cruise used to have [this one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Cruise_2006.jpg) as the main photo (for about a year), but it’s since been changed. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/10 "2011-10-17T12:01:54Z")
So, if I understand the rules, you can send Wikipedia a preferred picture of yourself and they will put it up if the rights are cleared? Because basically, JMS did give his photo to fans and ask them to put it up, which is nearly the same thing. I, too, am surprised how many people just let crappy pictures of themselves go up and stay up. I’d at least ask a friend to put a decent, rights-free, photo of me up. ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/11 "2011-10-17T14:05:40Z")
[Tom Colicchio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Colicchio). ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/12 "2011-10-17T14:16:34Z")
Don’t know if it’s a cultural thing or what, but I don’t see anything wrong with any of the pictures presented here: this is what those people look like in real life, ie. fine. ---
**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 17, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/13 "2011-10-17T14:33:36Z")
I love the photo of [Andrew Vachss](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Vachss) though some find it very vaguely creepy. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/14 "2011-10-17T14:43:43Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Don’t know if it’s a cultural thing or what, but I don’t see anything wrong with any of the pictures presented here: this is what those people look like in real life, ie. fine. The Matt LeBlanc one is just a poor-quality picture. Overexposed and slightly blurry. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/15 "2011-10-17T14:48:43Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Don’t know if it’s a cultural thing or what, but I don’t see anything wrong with any of the pictures presented here: this is what those people look like in real life, ie. fine. Basically, you’d expect famous people to put up a nice, professional photo of themselves on a major site like Wikipedia. Most have good photos on IMDB. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/16 "2011-10-17T14:49:51Z")
[Stephen King could use a better one, too.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_king) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/17 "2011-10-17T14:54:56Z")
[Kevin Bacon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Bacon) looks like he’s thinking about murdering someone just out of frame with that statuette. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/18 "2011-10-17T16:09:18Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I love the photo of [Andrew Vachss](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Vachss) though some find it very vaguely creepy. Damn you, I came into this thread to post that! He has the most awesome Wikipedia picture in the world, bar none. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/19 "2011-10-17T16:18:58Z")
[Paul McCartney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_mccartney)’s photo looks pretty good, especially considering it’s a relatively recent one. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877/20 "2011-10-17T17:55:27Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Damn you, I came into this thread to post that! He has the most awesome Wikipedia picture in the world, bar none. A quick glance at the [discussion page about the photo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_talk:AVachss_honey.jpg) and you can see the fight that goes on getting any sort of decent image on Wikipedia. I enjoy working on Wikipedia, but the best description I have come up with about the annoying parts is this - _volunteer bureaucrats_. It’s like the old saw about academic politics being the most vicious type because the stakes are so low. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-has-the-best-worst-wikipedia-picture/599877.md?page=2)