Know Any Former Celebrities?

[SoDesuKa]

It must be tough to go back to being an ordinary schlep after being famous and important. I don't know anybody like that personally, but I've had encounters with a few. I guess it's nice to be recognized, even if your fame happened twenty years ago. Former Hollywood stars attend conventions of autograph seekers and sell photographs and other memorabilia.



Remember Peter Falk? He used to be a big star. Now he's just an old man. It's tough being a has-been.

[bluesbassman]

1. Yes, Peter Falk is an old man...

but I would hardly call him a "has been". He has amased a pretty impressive body of work. At his age, I would venture to say he is "retired" rather than a "has been".

[av8rdave]

2. I don't think he's ever been lacking for work when he's wanted it

That's not "has been."

[SoDesuKa]

3. On Edit

Yes, you're right. The word "has-been" is unfortunate. The original post contained a few examples of some people who truly merit being called that. But I edited that out because it took too much verbiage to explain who they were back in the 80's. Unfortunately I forgot to correct the reference to Peter Falk.

You raise an interesting point of what it takes to be a has-been. Is Eliot Spitzer already a has-been? I ran into former governor Hugh Carey who's definitely a has-been. Nobody recognized him on the street but he seemed pleased when I greeted him.

Who would you consider a has-been - David Hasselhoff? They still love him in Germany.

[bluesbassman]

4. I think Hasselhoff would classify as a has been (German fans notwithstanding)

His "has been" status is due to a variety of issues, but I would venture to say that the primary reason is that his acting range was always fairly limited to his looks, and that just played out. He will probably never completely fade away though, as there will always be parts available for him to play caricatures of himself, re: Dodgeball.

Spitzer's status is almost certainly due to his fall from grace, and thus is a self inflicted "has been" status. Hard to say if his image can be rehabilitated enough to come back, but it's been done before.

A couple of prime examples of true "has beens" that come to mind would be Vanilla Ice and Gary Coleman. Both never resurfaced past their respective flameouts. Well, they did, but it sure wasn't singing or acting.

[kwassa]

5. Better to be a has-been than a never-was.

The nature of the entertainment business is that fame is usually fleeting, especially for performers. It also is youth-oriented, and the numbers of roles diminishes quickly with age, especially for women. There are a huge number of people who try to make it in show business and never get into anything important at all. Like, most of the waiters in Los Angeles.

[Book Lover]

6. "Has-Been implies failure. Not so."

"Has-Been was...

Has-Been ... might again"