Why does dying make you better?- Page 2
Why does dying make you better?
#25re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:10pm
Can you imagine if Marylin Monroe had lived?
She'd be a recluse now in Topanga Canyon. She would have come out a few times after her heyday to guest star on a '70s variety show... probably spoofing herself along side Donny & Marie and H.R. Pufnstuf... Rip Taylor would have poured a bucket of confetti on her head... She would have shown up drunk and confused on Carson and landed in the tabloids...
And in the '90s, we'd hear about her staring in "Legends" at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre... and if she'd lasted THIS long, she'd be hocking rubber panties or fake teeth in commercials... but only if she hadn't become a characture of herself. If she went the cuckoo route, she'd have shown up on the Psychic Friends Network, a regular on the Worst Dress List at the Oscars... and a VH-1 "Where Are They Now?" special.
And either Tim Burton, Quentin Tarrantino or David Lynch... or all THREE would have cast her in some comeback "macabre" role that would have brought her into the limelight for an extra "15 minutes," before she crawled back to her Topanga Canyon home and locked the door again.
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#26re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:12pmHow many episodes of Love Boat would Marilyn have appeared in?
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#27re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:13pmPeople say that if James Dean had lived, he would have had a career like Paul Newman, but I don't buy it.
#28re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:14pm
"How many episodes of Love Boat would Marilyn have appeared in?"
Two.
The first would have scared them a lot, but they would have felt sorry for her and asked her back again to do that Love Boat Follies special.
And Merman would have raised a big stink about it at the time. "This ain't FOX, honey, and we're not on the set of There's No Business Like Show Business anymore! So straighten up and fly right, or get the hell out!"
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#29re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:18pm
"People say that if James Dean had lived, he would have had a career like Paul Newman, but I don't buy it."
If anything Dean would have had a career more like Brando's. An occasional brilliant performance, surrounded by a whole lotta "crazy."
Family scandals, weight problems, addictions, erratic behavior, multiple marriages, kids who wouldn't talk to him or wrote books about him, etc.
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#30re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:21pmBut they all would have been the first guest star listed when they appeared on "Murder She Wrote."
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#31re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:23pmAnd, in the end, that's all that matters, Cal.
#32re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:24pmHaha that was really creative Best12. Made me think of the character in Michael Chabon's book Wonder Boys who's obsessed with celebrities who killed themselves and writes a novel about Marilyn Monroe.
joey
amalou
Broadway Star Joined: 5/15/07
#33re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:35pm
I agree with some of the posts I read. Believe it or not, lots of people thought he was a great actor before he died. He didn't really get caught up in tabloid drama, he avoided taking easy teen movie type roles, he challenged himself and he was very humble. I read in an article that someone left a card with flowers at the apartment saying "I couldn't find anything bad about you."
Obviously, fans or ordinary people don't know him personally but no one is a saint. We've all got flaws because we're all human. But when anyone dies, celebrity or not, people tend to focus on only the good things about that person and with Heath Ledger, that isn't very difficult.
#34re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 4:27pm
It's like what they are saying in the show IS HE DEAD? people become famous only after they die. and their work is so much better when they die.
now, do i think this is true? no.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
#35re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 4:43pmWell, since IS HE DEAD is obviously a satire, Mark Twain doesn't ACTUALLY think the quality of an artist's work changes.
joey
#36re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:13pm
No, but the point is that everyone ELSE assumes the quality of the work goes up.
I know many people, myself included, who have been fans of Heath Ledger for years and thought he was a talented actor. It's just that these people didn't go around saying, "I love Heath Ledger!" when he was alive.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
miss pennywise
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
#37re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:17pm
When someone dies, their body of work is complete so it can be definitively "assessed."
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
#38re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:18pmMP: That's actually a very valid and interesting point.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#39re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:24pm
Many question if JFK would have been lauded as he was had he lived
He went to Texas because he was in political trouble. JFK & LBJ hated each other.He went to mend fences & there is no guarantee he would have been won had he run again.
#40re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:43pm
No matter what happens in the world, Heath Ledger (and other celebrities) can never disappoint more than they already have (not that I'm saying he has or has not), making it 'safe' to say you're a fan because they can never, oh, shave their heads/go out without underwear/hold their children hostage a few years down the road. What they were is what they'll always be.
Of course, there are always those who believe in never speaking ill of the dead, which would also explain it.
I remember days
Or at least I try
But as years go by
They're sort of haze
And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky
And at times I think
I would gladly die
For a day of sky
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And Starbucks will use the words 'large' and 'small', not pretentious crap like grande and tall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You could get away with anything if you call it art and tell people who don't like it that it's cutting edge culture." --vmlinnie
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
#41re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/24/08 at 8:24pm
When someone dies, their body of work is complete so it can be definitively "assessed."
Exactly, Miss Penny. That's also why the value of the work goes up. It's now a "finite commodity." There is only so much of it.
So everything increases in value, like the price of autographs, mementos, memorabilia, etc.
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Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#42re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/25/08 at 10:57pm
I never expected such an astute comment Miss P, but I guess I should from you!
But the more I think about it, the more puzzled I am. Take Heath Ledger- lots of folks are saying that they always thought he was a brilliant actor- OK, I won't challenge that except to say that they kept it to themselves when he was alive.
But look at his IMDB page- mediocre films, outright bad films and a couple decent movies. Let me tell you, if all the people who "loved" 10 Things I Hate About You had actually seen it, it would have been bigger than Titanic.
miss pennywise
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
#43re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/25/08 at 11:29pm
Thank you, Joe. That's so sweet of you to say.
In a way, I wish I didn't have so much experience with death. On the other hand, it reminds me to LIVE!
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#44re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/25/08 at 11:31pmDon't get me started on my other theory: that some people react so to a celebrity's death because they have never experienced a REAL loss of their own.
DG
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/05
#45re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/25/08 at 11:35pm
Joe - for what it's worth, we've loved 10 THINGS since it came out. Always thought it was a more-than-decent adaptation of SHREW (as teen flicks go, anyway.) Heath was ok in it, but the standout for us was Ms. Stiles.
To be fair, though, Mr. Ledger got many rave notices for BROKEBACK (which we loathed,) and then got more critical acclaim for CANDY. It isn't as if no one ever commented on his talent until he died.
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
#48re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/26/08 at 2:50am10 Things certainly became very popular with my generation (currently in college and the like) after it came out on video. It's always been one of those movies that pretty much all my friends have liked a lot, a stand-out amongst teen comedies. And to say that the new Batman movie (and Ledger's performance) wasn't incredibly anticipated before his death is a little ridiculous. I've been reading tons of stuff for months about it.
#49re: Why does dying make you better?
Posted: 1/26/08 at 8:52am
I disagree, Joe. There were people saying he was an excellent actor all along. He won several awards for acting, remember? And during Oscar season the year he was nominated, you could have heard it a lot. I was one of them who said it.
You (and others) just weren't listening much, that's all. Not important enough to register on your radar.
But the "discovery" is yours now, not theirs.
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