Celebrities, for the most part, stand the test of time. Once they become stars, they remain stars until the day they die and even beyond. But there is another type of celebrity. This kind is known as the "fleeting celebrity". They are said to have their "15 minutes of fame", which was a phrase coined by the late Andy Warhol. Our culture has seen a number of these 15 minute wonders. We're going to take a look at just a few of them here. Why don't we start off with two for the price of one? Remember quite a few years ago when a 16 year old girl by the name of Amy Fisher had an affair with a guy by the name of Joey Buttafuco? Amy ended up shooting the guy's wife in the head and ended up going to prison for 6 years. Today, nobody gives her or Joey a second thought. Then of course there was Monica Lewinsky who had sex with President Bill Clinton. Of course Clinton's celebrity status has not diminished since, but Lewinsky has so fallen off the radar map that today nobody even knows where this woman is or what she's doing. Then there was the big scandal in the late 80s involving Jim Bakker, who began the Praise The Lord Ministry in Fort Hill, South Carolina in 1974. A big sex scandal and some shady business dealings involving the PTL landed Bakker in prison for 45 years. Most people today don't even give him a second thought. In the world of music, a guy by the name of Carl Douglas gave us the totally ridiculous song "Kung Fu Fighting". While Douglas may have been yesterday's news after that song mercifully fell off the charts, the song itself has been in more Kung Fu movies than you can possibly imagine. But NOBODY remembers who did it. And then of course there was the novelty song of the 90s, "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. These bald headed brothers probably grew hair after this total embarrassment of a song. Neither one of them has been heard from since and the song only gets played as a parody. A very bad one. In the world of comedy, there was probably no greater 15 minute of fame star than the one and only Unknown Comic. Murray Langston, who was so desperately in need of money at the time, didn't want his friends to know so he put a bag over his head and appeared on the "Gong Show". He was an instant hit. He also burned out faster than a speeding nova. And of course who could ever forget the incomparable Blossom Rock? (who)? She just happened to play the grandmother on the short lived TV show "The Adams Family". Rock was actually the little known sister of the famous actress Jeanette McDonald. Obviously she didn't have quite he luck or he talent. And the list goes on and on. So many that lasted so briefly. Makes you really appreciate those who have stood the test of time. |
