So when did celebrity become a career?

When I was growing up, as kids we wanted to become a footballer, actor, pilot, Doctor or some other highfalutin job - tell me, when did being a celebrity suddenly become a career?

In the last 15 years I reckon. I loathe celebrity and pop culture and rarely watch tv, as it is filled with abhorrent people famous for.............nothing. 
 
Thank god for the internet. 
 

The thing is these days getting your face on TV, and therefore in front of the population, is a bag of piss. You don't need to be able to act, you don't need to be able to sing, you just need to have that first exposure on TV and get across some sort of character trait - either love or hate - so long as it is a strong reaction. So now you can bypass the talent aspect of becoming famous, and just 'get yourself out there'.
 
If you're lucky enough people will become interested in your pitiful existance, and you will become a self justifying waste of time that will save countless writers and editors of countless trashy magazines and newspapers having to sqaunder their 5 communal brain cells on coming up with actually interesting commentary on relevant topics around the world in order to shift their publications...

Whether it started in some way before I've not been inclined to look/explore but its certainly "blossomed" since reality TV, the first big brother series was a major contributer imo.
 
Although even from what I can remember in the 70's you had it but to a much lesser degree and few if any made any career/money out of it just the odd appearance on TV etc....

> Person does something completely unnoteworthy that generates a column inch in a tabloid.
> By virtue of being in the newspaper they become famous for whatever caused some sad hack to write about them.
> Equally sad and vacuous people want to read what a sad and vacuous person is doing so follow them on Twitter
> They go about their daily routine but because they're 'famous' it warrants more column inches.
> The perpetual cycle of being famous for being famous commences and their notoriety increases exponentially. Until the next pointless celebrity joins the conveyor belt of pointlessness.
 
This has been going on since the mid-90s with people like Tamara Beckwith and Tara-Palmer-Tomkinson being celebrities for no other reason than they went to parties and got photographes by Hello/OK! magazine at parties.
 
Ben Elton's book 'Blind Faith' covers the topic of celebrity really well.

But the sad thing is many talented people in whatever sphere are either overlooked (if they are normal or "boring") or are becoming vaccuous in regards to how they act and conduct themselves, the lines are also beginning to blur with supposed artists/celebrities having very little talent but getting there on vaccuosity (is that a word it is now) alone.

TBH I applaud people for it.  Sure, it may annoy the crap out of you but if you can make a huge stash of cash for a minimal return, involving you have to be seen at the 'in' places and being given special treatment and thousands/millions over a few year years, go for it I say.
 
IMO its typical British turning the nose up at someone doing well in which you personally don't think they deserve the plaudits IMO!

Well ultimately it is the system which "rewards" them and as has been said there are many who enjoy reading about and watching this type of person (personally I wouldn't give tuppence for any of them not through jealousy etc... but because I think people should receive reward/recompense for a little more). But its really not helping society imo as many are now seen as positive role models as can be seen for example in a little girl desperately wanting to follow her hero and wear make-up, revealing clothes (I'm talking under 10's etc..) such as the recent issue around the Play boy kit, without really realising who much they are being exploited.
 
Also surely there are better ways to provide a positive role model, such as someone one is truly talented or gifted in sport or the arts or science etc.. and who conducts themselves with a little more self respect.
 
Then again maybe I'm just old fashioned and overly judgemental (see other thread) lol.

There's nothing deserved about people paying you money to effectively go about your daily business but more fool the people who pay for these lifestyles

the media create, promote, milk and exploit the celeb culture and pathetic attention-starved, (usually) delusional narcissists come running in their desperate attempts to 'be somebody'
 
stupid, boring people with no individuality or taste lap it all up like idiots cause their own lives are so utterly pointless

Papa Lazarou


TBH I applaud people for it.  Sure, it may annoy the crap out of you but if you can make a huge stash of cash for a minimal return, involving you have to be seen at the 'in' places and being given special treatment and thousands/millions over a few year years, go for it I say.

IMO its typical British turning the nose up at someone doing well in which you personally don't think they deserve the plaudits IMO!

Hmm I see what you are saying but don't we seem to have lost the point of it a long the way somewhere?   A celebrity usually became one because he or she did something outstanding.  Maybe I am wrong but I don't remember the people I think fondly of, getting paid money for simple celebrity status, they usually had a career that led them to celebrity status, is that not the point? 
 
Icons that I think fondly of who were celebrity fodder all had been successful in one vain or another long before they were renowned.  We have celebrities for celebrity sake.  They don't, from what I can tell have a modicum of talent or stand out in any way.
 
At least in era's gone by, we had true legends, they had a veil of mystique that made them popular.  The fact they did not do kiss and tell's or reveal all on twitter, made them more lovable not less.  It was more about what we didn't know, than what we did - that was their attraction.
 
I just don't see them in the same ideal as such greats as Lana Turner, Vivien Leigh, Fred Astaire, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster or Clarke Gable to name a few - will we still remember them in 50 years time with any affection?  Mind you I can't even recall who won this years X Factor?

Well basically I see a celebrity as a kind of actor
 
Admittedly the lowest on my "rungs of actor respect" (I have patented this term)
 
 

Acting the part of celebrity?

peagreen


Acting the part of celebrity?

Yeah, like each celebrity seems to play their own role, to keep them "interesting" to the masses
 
Whether that role could be as simple as releasing sex tapes, or acting in a certain way that's got them attention in the past, or whatever. Attention seeking by doing certain things
 
 

I can't celebrity culture, complete waste of space. Be famous and a celebrity for some actual talent I can live with but if you're just famous for the sake of being famous then you can naff off.

Whilst the trend is a aload of old rubbish and highly irritating, its really become a 'soap' opera thing. Poeple follow the characters they like, and want to read about em. Beyond that I don't think many people actually truly give a stuff about these 'people'. 

So in effect Iain they're much like the 'actors' Drab refers to. They play a role in this obscure alternative celebrity reality and people lap up what they do, their comings and goings, any snippet of tittle-tattle, so the celebs have to continue acting out this role they've created to keep themselves interesting and in the public eye.

TOWIE, Made In Chelsea, Desperate Scousewives et al are known as 'dramality' shows. By that token, someone who lives their lives played out through Twitter are part of a 'twatality' show...

It dose appear that way LMC. I think soaps are bad enough so I'll be dammed if I need to keep up what some tool in 'real' if is doing. Twitter? Don't get me ****ing started!!!!
 
 
..... you've nearly unleashed the 'techrage' LMC! I think I may need to step outside before I repeatEdly press buttons on my keyboard in the vein hope that this will fix any problem... normally followed by pulling the plug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_(magazine)
 
so heat magazine started in 99, which is basically a celeb spotting rag on steroids. I would guess that the celeb-career came about in the lead up to 99 - dav mentioned BigBrother and i would agree, that was certainly a catalyst for the culture. The WAG culture too, when did that all go boom? Was it roughly with the Beckhams? As the WAG culture feeds into the plastic celeb culture nicely... 
 
Its all a load of shyte, I mean folk call Kerry Katona and Jedward celebrities - that alone devalues the term x1000000000

'hello' magazine was first out in 1988 and ok magazine 1993, so i imagine they were 2 of the big ones that got the whole thing of the ground.
 
have papers like the sun always been full of celeb garbage or is that a trend of the past 20 or so years?
 
at least kerry katona was in atomic kitten. pre-packaged pop garbage but its a dam sight better than all these groups we've seen off the back of shows like x-factor. that some glorified karaoke singer can make a coupla mill off that show and sell #1 records with covers of songs without an iota of musical talent/input is an absolute disgrace
 
ive heard people ask if you could kill hitler before the nazi party and ww2 would you do it....the question is if you could kill simon cowell before x-factor would you do it?