Not sure celebrities break the law more these days than in the past. They just don't (at least the ones who work in movies) have the protection of the big studios as they did in the past, when they were contract employees. Didn't Eddie Mannix build his career at MGM cleaning up all the sordid messes their stars got into?
Also, except for what used to be called the yellow press, the newspapers back in the day helped cover things up by not reporting on a lot of celebrity transgressions (thanks to ad dollars and kickbacks from the studios). However we now live in a 1,000-channel 24/7 news cycle era and it's all badly-needed (from the point of view of the news outlets) grist for the infotainment mill. Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Hershenson To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 11:37 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Somewhat OT: Phil Spector Verdict & Lana Clarkson Much more impressive to me than Greg's membership in the Steve Miller Band is that he personally collected most of the AIP titles before many of the MoPo members were born! I have often thought they should set up a celebrity court in Los Angeles, and televise it 24/7, but there would be too many cases just for one channel. Maybe Greg or some other MoPo member can shed some light on this for me. Is the reason so many celebrities break the law with such regularity these days, as opposed to long ago, simply a case of their not getting away with near as much these days, or are there truly far more celebrity criminals now, and do they now (or did they then) simply think they were above the law, and entitled to disregard it as they wished? Bruce On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 7:23 PM, David Kusumoto <[email protected]> wrote: No Greg -- I never speak for all, but I myself believe that these are the kind of personal stories that flesh out the experiences, attitudes and character traits of fellow MoPo members -- that are often hidden -- or misleading -- behind the bare text of e-mails. I've always found your background fascinating, especially because until recently I had no idea that one of our members wrote many of the songs my wife and I cherished as fans of the Steve Miller Band. Yeah, there are subject boundaries made of harder metal than others -- we know what they are and try to proceed cautiously/delicately and sensitively when we post. But your story as posted below is a personal experience as it relates to the entertainment industry and hence still has great fascination/interest to people like me. I was cheered about the verdict before your post (and frustrated that Spector's trial(s) seemed to go on and on) -- but I'm even more cheered to know that there was someone (you) -- on these boards who had a personal stake in the outcome. Best, -d. > Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:42:12 -0700 > From: [email protected] > Subject: Somewhat OT: Phil Spector Verdict & Lana Clarkson > To: [email protected] > > I was immensely cheered today to see that Phil Spector was finally > rightfully convicted for the murder of Lana Clarkson. Lana was a > beautiful, vibrant woman, and a former girlfriend of mine during my > "rock star" days. I met her in her home town of Cloverdale, in Northern > California, where we became good friends. After she moved to Hollywood > to make her fortune, we dated for awhile. > We drifted apart, I married, and I was at the Courts show at the Beverly > Garland Holiday Inn several years ago. My wife and I were walking around > looking at posters to buy when this six-foot tall Amazon came up and > started squeezing the breath out of me. It was Lana, in her full > "Barbarian Queen" outfit. My wife gave me a "What th...?" look. I very, > very quickly introduced them, and we sat down with Ms.Clarkson to catch > up. . > While she was very aware of her approaching fortieth birthday, saying it > was an unhappy milestone for someone whose looks were her career, but > she was upbeat and busy reinventing herself. She was embarrassed about > being at the Courts show; I told her to stop being ridiculous, and told > her about playing crappy disco music upon occasion to make a buck. Lana > was certainly not the suicidal type, and if she did off herself, she > wouldn't have shot herself in the mouth. She was too aware of her beauty > to leave a corpse with a gaping gunshot wound to the mouth. (I saw the > police photos; Lana would have been appalled.) > We stayed in touch, mostly via e-mail, and she was busy putting together > a one woman show when the emails abruptly ceased. I found out a few days > later that she had been shot and killed by Spector. (I knew Spector had > shot /someone, /but it was several days before I knew it was Lana.)I > have been waiting for this moment ever since. Spector AND O.J in jail? I > almost have faith in the American justice system again. > I apologize for my venting, but I DID mention movie posters in the post, > so hopefully Scott will let me off with a slap on the wrist. > Greg Douglass Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
