Celebrity Gossip,
And All The Dirt1x
We live in the age of celebrity. In fact, sometimes it seems Andy Warhol was underestimating when he surmised that everyone would get his or her fifteen minutes of fame. Even Warhol couldn't have predicted that the cult of celebrity would rise to the point where an intern who has a lurid affair with the President of the United States can go on to host Saturday Night Live. Of course, we normal folk only feed the fire by drooling over every trashy tidbit that refers to someone we see on TV. Let's face it: We love celebrity gossip because it humanizes our icons by tearing them down to size . . . and it's a hoot1x
Once upon a time, actors, musicians, and sports heroes were remote, idealized figures; we knew them only through their work. If anyone was aware, for example, of deeply personal details like macho leading man Rock Hudson's homosexuality, they kept it quiet. But now we can probably find out what Will Smith ate for breakfast. This morning.
When in search of some dirt to make you feel a little better about your mundane life, you can always start with the online version of The National Enquirer. It might feel weird at first to peruse the outrageous NE headlines at home, far from any supermarket checkout line, but you'll get over it. A few good clicks and you won't even miss the print tabloid's el cheapo, see-through-yet-somehow-glossy newsprint. Mike Walker's column, in particular, always shows you a good time.
Along similar lines, if you enjoy gossipy magazine items but don't have the time or the funds to collect all the necessary rags, just pop over to E1x Online. Their " Print Soup" feature distills all the worst of the worst from various periodicals into a few handy pages. And while you're at E1x, visit Ben Stein's "Monday Night at Morton's" for a slightly more narrative and literate take on celebrity dish.
Then there's The Daily News, whose Rush and Molloy practically wrote the book on Big Apple trash talk. The fun thing about their online column is that it's ever-changing (no daily rehashing of Matthew McConaughey's naked, bongo-playing pot bust). Today we're pointing out that no amount of plastic surgery can bring Courtney Love some class, and tomorrow it's Jim Carrey going ballistic when he's upstaged at a press conference. Notably, in between the wild headlines, Rush and Molloy even do some straight-up and timely entertainment news reporting.
Okay, we've gotten the heavy-hitters out of the way; now it's time to look at a few smaller sites that also serve up the gossip piping hot. A section of the dynamite Allexperts.com that's devoted to movie and TV stars offers brief bits of dish that change weekly. Geez, some of this stuff is so juicy and ridiculous ("Woody Allen Doesn't Bathe1x") nobody cares even if it's not true? Likewise, a page by someone or something named Goldi gives you the goods you crave, more or less as they happen (on a dull week feel free to comb through the site's archive). When you're done passing through the rumor mill, test your knowledge with the "Trippy Tryptic," a gossipy quiz that asks you to make the connection between three well-known spotlight hogs. The names aren't always the most current, though: a recent puzzle links Ulysses Grant, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mick Jagger.
Finally, any investigation into the sordid celebrity underbelly isn't complete without mention of Richard Gere. After a stiff couple of drinks, even the officer and gentleman himself wouldn't dispute that his somewhat stale career was given new life by a certain (alleged) little gerbil. Again, no one of sound mind would believe such a silly story, but you know what they say about bad publicity being publicity nonetheless. Read what an urban legend specialist thinks of The Gerbil Affair and you'll learn more than you imagined about the very nature of folklore (yes, this counts1x). And the article's much better written than Runaway Bride.
By Michael Parillo
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