If you are like me, you often see celebrities and stars on television impeccably dressed, the women often carrying $3,000 handbags and the men driving cars that cost almost as much as some of our houses. And I admit, there are times I am envious. To be able to be famous and enjoy all the perks of it must be grand. But then, I realize that it is not always the case.
I am currently reading the biography of Anthony Perkins called Split Image. I’m not nearly through, but from page one, the stage has been set. Actor Osgood Perkins, was a somewhat distant father that died when Tony was young. Tony’s mother Jane was a bisexual who moved a playwright in to their home while Tony was off at boarding school. Always cerebral, Tony didn’t quit fit in with others, but struggled to be an actor, perhaps to honor his deceased father. Throw in that young Tony realized he was homosexual in the 1950s when anything out of the “norm” was met with angry and often even violence, and you have a recipe for Hollywood tragedy. It seemed that his whole life was spent acting – acting as if he was just one of the guys, acting like he was straight (something Hollywood studios of the 50s and 60s often forced upon actors whose sexuality was questionable), acting like be typecast as a psycho didn’t bother him.
I don’t need to finish the book to know the rest of the story. Tony garnered huge success in his role as Norman Bates in Psycho. But it haunted him forever. He was often required to play psychotic roles. He ended up marrying actress Berry Berenson in 1973 after the two met on the set of a film. The marriage produced two children, but eventually, Tony became ill with AIDS and died from complications at the age of 60. Misfortune continued as Berry was on Flight 11 that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Anthony Perkins is by no means the only person to be forced to pay the price of fame. I was reading an article the other day about child actor Danny Pintauro. He played the son on “Who’s the Boss?” between 1984 and 1992. In the past 14 years, he has had on acting credit. How hard it must be to have society basically tell you that you are washed up at the age of 16! There is a whole herd of child actors out there who were given their walking papers when puberty hit. Many turn to drugs and alcohol and don’t make it through like Anissa Jones, Buffy from television’s “Family Affair” or “Diff’rent Strokes” Dana Plato.
Then there is the constant paparazzo with which celebrities must deal. Even though I really, really don’t care for Britney Spears, I feel a bit sorry for her in that every action she performs is caught on film for posterity. I know there are many times when I don’t look my best and I would hate to have a camera in my face. I haven’t even mentioned celebrity stalkers!
But despite much of the negativity of fame, each day, thousands of hopeful actors are desperately trying to make it. What other adverse things to celebrities have to deal with? Is it worth the sacrifice?