# You're too rich and famous to be that disgustingly unhealthy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275 "2008-01-04T15:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leechboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Leechboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leechboy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/41 "2008-01-05T06:48:18Z")
Well there’s the story of [Laird Cregar](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0187284/bio) that would put a John Goodman type off losing weight for a role. ---
**Author:** ![8675309](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ea5d25/32.png) [@8675309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8675309)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/42 "2008-01-05T07:39:31Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW] See: John Goodman, who should be in everyone’s celebrity death pool at all times, and who looked _gray_ in _Death Sentence_. [/QUOTE] Goodman is in my death pool! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/43 "2008-01-05T14:11:57Z")
[QUOTE=Malienation] It’s true. I saw him in an old commercial once for something (Red Wing Shoes?) and he was a total fucking stud. The commercial was pretty old, so he was fairly young, too. He was so thin and hot that he was basically unrecognizable (his voice gave him away). I would’ve done him in a minute. [/QUOTE] I assume [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV0s6lsK5fg) is the commercial you are talking about? I do agree, he was pretty hot back then. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/44 "2008-01-05T14:20:59Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I never liked Chris Farley, but if he wasn’t overweight, there’s no Christian Slater Chippendales sketch [/QUOTE] That was Patrick Swayze, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/45 "2008-01-05T15:38:43Z")
Peter Jackson lost a lot of weight. One of the nurses from ER - Yvette Freeman - lost a ton of weight on a liquid diet, but appears to have regained at least half of it. Sarah Rue from the show Less Than Perfect lost a lot of weight too. Speaking as a former obese person (lost 75 lbs 3 years ago), losing weight isn’t nearly as hard as losing weight and keeping the weight off. For me, it involved a complete lifestyle/food habits change and I can definitey empathize with other people struggling with the same issues - changing your entire way you eat forever is hard! ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/46 "2008-01-05T19:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] You can’t throw money at addiction issues (obesity related, drug related, alcohol related) and make them go away. My own belief - watching an alcoholic sister go through rehab at a celebrity rehab center - is the money makes it easier to be dysfunctional in the way addicts are. Poor people have to buck up or be miserable - and even then MANY MANY of them prefer to be homeless rather than change. For these guys, they go back to comfortable homes, surround themselves with people who tell them they are wonderful, that their lives are very stressful - and someone else will make sure there is food in the house so they don’t starve. Money is the great enabler for addiction. [/QUOTE] Agreed. I’ve got to go to work most mornings, so I can’t drink all of the time. If money wasn’t an issue, then it would be far easier to slip into an alcoholic routine.. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/47 "2008-01-05T19:51:31Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I don’t know how much money Sam Kinison had when he died - I doubt he was really rich, and he probably blew a lot of it on drugs as well - but he was a touring comedian, and life on the road doesn’t promote good eating habits. [/QUOTE] I have no idea why Sam Kinison is even on this list. He may have had a history with drugs, but he didn’t die because of them, nor because of his weight or any other vice or bad habit he may have had. [He was killed when his car was hit by a drunk driver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Kinison#Death). May he rest in peace. He was actually a really nice guy. A friend of mine opened for him on one of his tours, and I got to meet him backstage at the after-party for one of his shows. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/48 "2008-01-05T20:15:06Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Yes, she throws an awful lot of money at it, and supposedly works out or runs every day . . . yet right now she seems to be gaining again. I have the feeling that if someone with her inner strength and motivation and resources can’t keep it off, is there any hope for the rest of us fighting the same battle? [/QUOTE] Oprah was [recently diagnosed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#Health_problem) with [hypothyroidism](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothyroidism/DS00353), which has a significant affect on one’s weight and the ability to control it, regardless of how much money you have. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/49 "2008-01-06T03:17:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Lowry] I assume [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV0s6lsK5fg) is the commercial you are talking about? I do agree, he was pretty hot back then. [/QUOTE] Hmmm, he does look good there, but that’s not the commercial. I am almost sure it was for a work boot company, so he was dressed in construction worker gear. Totally fucking hot. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/50 "2008-01-07T17:05:29Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW] My #1 is Jorge Garcia, or “Hurley” from the Lost. The guy’s morbidly obese, and is incapable of doing anything about it to the point where the show’s writers had to insert a weird deus ex machina plot device to explain why his character wasn’t losing weight on the island. [/QUOTE] Anybody want to spoil for me what that deus ex machina device was? I dont watchthe show anymore, but I was just wondering recently (upon seeing a cast photo in the TV Guide, I think) how they were explaining his still being so large after so long on a desert island. > [@Sam Lowry](#): > > I assume this is the commercial you are talking about? I do agree, he was pretty hot back then. Yikes! John is pretty good looking, there, I’ll agree – but that is some _serious_ '80s hair! ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/51 "2008-01-07T17:24:24Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] Anybody want to spoil for me what that deus ex machina device was? I dont watchthe show anymore, but I was just wondering recently (upon seeing a cast photo in the TV Guide, I think) how they were explaining his still being so large after so long on a desert island. [/QUOTE] I think it is that Dharma still makes regular large food drops to the island, apparently by plane and parachute, although they have never seen or heard the plane. They stumbled onto one large food drop and I think they are still eating that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/52 "2008-01-07T17:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] I have no idea why Sam Kinison is even on this list. [/quote] I assumed **FriarTed** was just talking about his weight in life, not suggesting it had anything to do with his death. > [@](#): > > He was actually a really nice guy. A friend of mine opened for him on one of his tours, and I got to meet him backstage at the after-party for one of his shows. Lucky you! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/53 "2008-01-07T17:35:56Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] My mom always freaks out when she sees an actor with bad/weird teeth. “They have all that money, why don’t they fix their teeth?!” Unfortunately I can’t think of one single example. But she says it all the time. [/QUOTE] About ten other posters have volunteered answers to this, but let me add **Morgan Freeman**. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/54 "2008-01-07T20:23:10Z")
Well Britney Spears is too rich and famous to be that crazy and low class. Paris Hilton is to wealthy to be that much of a ho. The sad reality is that wealth tends to enable people to indulge in their vices with minimal consequences. If you are a 25 year old multi millionare, why shouldn’t you spend every night getting drunk and coked up? It’s not like you have work in the morning. Even if you get arrested , what’s a fine or pleaed out misdemenor to a multi-millionare? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/55 "2008-01-07T20:28:44Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I assumed **FriarTed** was just talking about his weight in life, not suggesting it had anything to do with his death. [/quote] Except that I didn’t think he was _that_ fat. A [little on the porky side](http://videodetective.com/photos/447/001881_40.jpg), sure, but not morbidly obese like [Louie Anderson](http://louieanderson.com/images/photos_stage_09_lg.jpg). Ok, I see he apparently [packed on a few extra pounds](http://www.kinison.com/pictures.php?page=personal&image=samrada) since I’d last seen him, but still, I don’t think he was knocking on death’s door due to obesity, either. Such a shame to have lost him like that. ☹ Anyway, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/56 "2008-01-07T23:33:15Z")
[QUOTE=Malienation] It’s true. I saw him in an old commercial once for something (Red Wing Shoes?) and he was a total fucking stud. The commercial was pretty old, so he was fairly young, too. He was so thin and hot that he was basically unrecognizable (his voice gave him away). I would’ve done him in a minute. [/QUOTE] Is [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV0s6lsK5fg) the one you’re thinking of? 'Cause…um…yeah, I’d hit that, big hairdo and all. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/57 "2008-01-07T23:38:22Z")
D’oh! Missed the post above! ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/58 "2008-01-07T23:45:32Z")
I haven’t seen Ricki Lake mentioned here. She’s managed to keep most of the weight off, hasn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/59 "2008-01-08T00:14:39Z")
[QUOTE=Illuminatiprimus] Stephen Furst was one that sprang to mind immediately - the difference between him in series 3 and 4 of Babylon 5 was very marked. But then as his wikipedia entry says he has type 2 diabetes (I assumed he had cancer of something) - I’m pretty sure that for a lot of people if it was the choice between weight loss and amputation they’d manage to find a way to lose weight. [/QUOTE] His choice was basically between death and losing weight. Some still pick death. [QUOTE=Wiki] In 1972, Furst’s father died from diabetes complications. Years later, Furst was diagnosed with type II diabetes. One of his sisters, Marsha, died from kidney disease as a result of adult-onset diabetes. After almost needing to have his left foot amputated due to diabetes complications in 1996, Furst lost nearly 80 lb (36 kg) in the time between the third and fourth seasons of Babylon 5. When filming started for the fourth season, the show’s producers found that all of the costumes were now too large for him. His weight loss is easily visible in the later seasons of Babylon 5. (This weight loss was not explained within the context of the Vir Cotto character.) He wrote the book Confessions of a Couch Potato about his weight loss and diabetes, and co-wrote and directed a video called Diabetes for Guys, an attempt to educate about diabetes management through humor. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275/60 "2008-02-08T14:15:21Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] I think it is that Dharma still makes regular large food drops to the island, apparently by plane and parachute, although they have never seen or heard the plane. They stumbled onto one large food drop and I think they are still eating that. [/QUOTE] Which is not a _deus ex machina_ device, just one of many, many plot elements. Also, even though the show has gone on for years, in the timeline of the characters, they’ve only been on the island about three months now, and have managed to keep themselves pretty well fed. Tom Savini was a muscular little guy back in 1980 (_Knightriders_); by 1990 he’d turned into a chubby little guy; but by 1996 (_Dusk 'til Dawn_) he looked lean and mean again, and looked pretty good in _Terror Planet_ last year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-rich-and-famous-to-be-that-disgustingly-unhealthy/432275.md?page=4)