It’s been in my blood for as long as I can remember and no matter how hard I try and deny it I’m a Fame Junkie.
In his book "Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction" author Jake Halpern takes a dark look behind the fame we crave.
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Halpern starts out by spending time with aspiring child stars. He begins by letting us know of his childhood and that the doorway to fame was just down the street from his Buffalo, New York elementary school.
As he begins to take us on his fame journey, Halpern introduces us to some of the kids at the International Moldeling and Talent Agency (IMTA) and how they’re paraded by their parents around the convention, networking with agents. Ironically, the children wear numbers and agents shout out the number of who they’re interested in possibly representing.
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If that isn’t bad enough he also spends time at Oakwood Toluca Hills where there’s a banner welcoming parents and children with the phrase "Home to the famous and almost famous." Oakwood is a gated community where would-be child actors live (mainly during pilot season which runs from Jan. 1 to April 30) with it’s close proximity to the studios.
Staying at Oakwood isn’t cheap (and neither are fame schools such as John Robert Powers) and Halpern gives a rough estimate of how much parents should consider doling out to their up and coming star.
In the second part of the book, Halpern focuses on the entourage and working for a celebrity. The first chapter in this section is probably the best since it tells the story of being an assistant to a celebrity-what the perks are and what the downfalls are to working for them.
Finally the third and final portion deals with the world of celebrity worshipers and he introduces us to Marcy Braunstein who has devoted much of her life to following Rod Stewart around the world.
Without her help Stewart probably wouldn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had she not nominated him. Once the nomination was accepted she along with help from other fans helped raise the $15,000.00 induction fee.
What’s fascinating about this chapter is Halpern asks the question if she’s really stalking him instead of just being a fan, and are we all not stalkers when we cross a certain line with celebrities.
Over the last year I’ve been doing celebrity interviews for a column I write and I had to stop and reflect on this question myself. When I do an interview request, do the interviews and stay in touch with them via email am I not stalking them?
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On the other side of the coin, as a writer, I’ve gained a few "fans." When I first started writing on my high school paper I wasn’t very popular but when I started writing for our local newspaper (complete with my picture in the column) my popularity went from the basement to being with the "popular crowd." Always being recognized isn’t always fun either, especially when you want to be left alone.
After years of not being in "the public eye" I started writing for another paper and knowing full well what I was getting into, my ego again was fed with being recognized and receiving emails, phone calls and being a popular figure in the community.
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While Halpern paints a dark picture (the only boring parts are when he starts to bring psychology into the stories) of the trappings of fame, this is one of those books which needs to be read since we all crave fame in some form of fashion.
One of my big complaints is he should have followed up on the aspiring child stars and if they had gotten at least a baby toe in the door of Hollywood.
So if you’re still wanting to be (or are pushing your kids in the fame direction) famous see what it’s like on the road to stardom. You’ll be very surprised.
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Written by EricT - Visit Website
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