Pajamas Media

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“Is it any wonder that so many of them, including Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, Sonny Tufts, Robert Walker, John Barrymore and Bing Crosby, tried to find their refuge and possibly their lost manhood in a bottle of booze?”

Burt Prelutsky’s theory sounds entirely plausible. I simply fail to understand why anyone would want to be an actor—except for the money. It seems so boring. What is supposed to be so glamorous about it? I’m sure acting might very well drive me to drink. A number of actors later switch to directing. Perhaps they are seeking a way to regain their manhood. Directors appear to have real power and artistic talent.

I agree that acting sounds like one boring job. My personal opinion is that during the 20’s and especially the 30’s the key word was “job” and the fact that there weren’t a lot of them around so like many people back then they took what was available and what was available to goodlooking people was acting. And I think that actors drank for the same reasons anyone drinks.

i have a slightly different theory (opinion).Ahem, even though I have never been an actor I can IMAGINE what it must be like to be an actor; and by Hollywoods standards that qualifies me as a relevant spokesperson.
Its this . All actors wind up seeing themselves on the silver or electronic screen and the reality of their irrelevance must impact their egos like a bunker buster. Either through the effects of time or the lousy performance. They see with their own eyes how superficial acting is and realize that anyone could do this.It conveys no permanence and displays no skill.
At least singers, dancers and specialty artists had a real practiced skill. Those seem to have greater longevity and we still marvel at their talent.
I recently watched Broadway Melody of 1940 and was dazzled by the dancing of Elanor Powell and Fred Astaire introducing “Begin the Beguine”. There is also a scene in an agents outer office where a girl juggler wows just about everybody.
Those were entertainers and they still amaze us.

A bimbo, male or female, cannot be simultaneously self-introspective and stupid. Members of the glitterati should be seen through a lens of their own out-sized egos. A person of average intelligence and just a little bit of introspection would understand that fame and wealth based on acting skill does not make someone morally superior or intellectually gifted. But a person of small character is easily seduced by fame and fortune to believe the flattery of the sycophants who surround him. Everything in life is seen through the reflection of his own inflated self-image. After a time their egoism becomes an addiction that must be constantly fed. There is no slave in the back of the triumphal chariot whispering, “remember, you are only a man.”

I’ve know a few actors - minor ones, not the big names - and from what I’ve seen the key to understanding many of them is: narcissism. I know this term has been used in the blogosphere lately as a club with which to bludgeon ones political opponents - a completely illegitimate use in my opinion. We’re all attached to our political beliefs to some degree. The more we identify with our beliefs, the more we want them to be “right” - to be proven correct by real-world events. In this respect, actors and other Hollywood types are the same as the rest of us. Where they differ, however, is in their need for acknowledgement and approval. They need to be the center of attention - in the spotlight acting out their beliefs and receiving the applause of those who ‘love’ them. Conversely, any expressions of disagreement or disapproval usually bring inappropriately violent reactions. When great events are taking place in the world, they need to seen to be in the middle of them. Some of them happen to have the money and clout to make this happen. Sean Penn is an extreme example; notice how he has pretty much followed the headlines in his travels and appearances around the world. This has nothing to do with acting per se. It’s about his narcissistic personality. I don’t think a man like Penn would have survived in the studio system of the 30s and 40s. He would not have received the deference that his ego desperately needs.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that these entertainers have expressed fewer anti-American sentiments since the writers strike. An unforeseen benefit of the strike.

Dead on! Hollywood makes me literally ill. Babs Streisand preaches to the little people about conserving energy whilst sporting an air conditioned horse barn. Only the the incessant fawning by the liberal base keeps these morons going. Nowhere does anything close to common sense rear it’s head. When does America wake up? Hopefully before these idiots make irreversible changes in our way of life. They have taken control of our educational system and dumbed down our children, brainwashing them at the same time to their socialistic agenda. They represent the European view of America. It’s time to fight back.

Here are my theories:

I have been told by several of the old Hollywood crowd that liquor was everywhere - people drank like fish. Consequently, if you had any genetic predisposition to alcoholism, you became one.

I believe the stars who went into World War II wanted to serve their country. They walked away from more than fat contracts - they took the chance that on their return, no one would want them. Tyrone Power told his studio that when he returned he only wanted to do one film a year - it was that or nothing. The man was #2 in the world. Fox’s reply was, well, we’ll take our chances. We’ve been spending a lot of time and money developing new people. He ended up going back (a mistake in my opinion) but it’s easy to see that the bosses weren’t about to make concessions for our returning military. They were much more interested in the people who stayed out of the service so they could take advantage of the man blight and feather their nests.

Aside from all the sensational stories average Americans have heard about things like private jets and the extravagant homes of these leftist gitterati, many would also be mortified to learn about the obscenity of expenditures for the more mundane aspects which these over paid elite engage in. There are stores here in Los Angeles where these celebs shop where a pair of denim jeans might run upwards of $1200, where cotton tee shirts regularly cost $400-$500, and something like a new pair of glasses might run $2000, $3000, or even more. I know from personal experience of one store where that working class hero Bruce Springsteen shops when in LA — paying sums like those stated above for his common man costume.

Now I have absolutely no problem with people paying whatever they want for whatever they want in the way of consumer goods, but it’s just plain disgusting to know about the spending habits of some of these pious whole-wheat righteous hypocrites.

So long as the Hollywood gliterati have their acting jobs, royalties, and other forms of income, they will use their money to flaunt their self righteous self importance.
Most humorous is their attitude that just because they are some sort of entertainment star, they are more intelligent & better suited or gifted, than average people. Especially those red neck, red state, middle Americans, who listen to country music or work at less than glamorous jobs. Too bad the gliterati do not really know “people” and especially “the” people who make this nation work, fight its battles, win its wars (when Congress permits), & attend the shows that pay the gliterati bills.
I am heartened by America’s response to the latest releases from Hollywood. America has firmly “REJECTED” the anti attitudes of Hollywood & I hope the day will soon come that average Americans will boo these jerks every time they present themselves with an award, collectively push international organizations to give out awards that no longer have substantial meaning, and just act out their childish behaviors.
Because they have significant financial advantages, criminal punishments for them should be multiplied by seven as compared to average Americans. Maybe actual suffering & real life will turn them around!

Hollywood is dead to me

“Most humorous is their attitude that just because they are some sort of entertainment star, they are more intelligent & better suited or gifted, than average people.”

But enough about Fred Thompson.

Hwood has made their fortunes on the backs of big corporations that they revile and portray as corrupt….Yet they are fueled by these same corporations.

The likes of Eentertainment tonight, tmz, tabloids, papparazzi, feed the celebrity ego and inturn feed their fruits to us the adoring public. If those pictures were not in demand, the whole industry of the “court” to their “royalty” status would level the whole industry.

If only celebrities were patriots…

Maybe the strike will hurt their pocketbooks.