Wednesday, February 14, 2007
VICKIE LYNN MARSHALL
I had hoped to remain above it all.
Anna Nicole Smith meant little to me in life. Why would I bother with her in death?
It is the prurience that got me.
Others' first; then mine.
What is it? What attracts people to this kind of sideshow?
The tales of the media's fixation are unbelievable at one level and then not at another.
In life, Smith thrived on the coverage. It couldn't end.
There have always been, usually blonde, bimbos who attract the attention of the multitudes.
In my lifetime there was the A-list including Monroe and Mansfield. And then, there were the B's.
In this most current case, there is even a bimbo intersection.
Zsa Zsa's husband, Count something or other, claims paternity for the Smith nee Marshall baby.
Zsa is a B. Even two Zsas did not elevate her status.
The train wreck is on going.
The will left everything to the recently dead son. OD.
The new baby gets it all.
All the money. Inheritance from the oil man who took Vickie Lynn in and made her a star?
The oilman's son who sued to stop Smith from getting the payday is dead and now Smith herself.
The permutations and combinations of this story are endless.
And why do we care?
For me, it was just plain curiosity. I am slowing down to take a look at the wreck.
I held out for days before I started linking into the news items.
I just couldn't stay away from it.
I have to admit that this tops most of the other similar stories that I have seen. It has everything.
Sex, of course. Geriatric sex.
Outrageous social behavior. Drunk and disorderly. Drugs.
Always tits.
Lots of tits.
Serial monogamy with very messy interfaces between one monogamy and another.
The will. The money. The legality of it all. The underground, illegal, outlaw nature of the rest of it.
Money. Money. More money.
And it is self fulfilling. The notoriety becomes a perpetual motion machine of its own.
Some 'stars' have managed to live through a bimbo stage and re-enter polite society on the other side. Liz Taylor comes to mind.
Some die with their boots on. Zsa.
There are some who are trying to make it into the bimbo hall of fame. Lindsay Lohan is coming close. Britney Spears.
There.
That is what I think about it.
A side bar: Gay men are thought to be particularly drawn to bimbos because, as we all know, they are 'women hating' and......well, I will spare you the details.
If any of this is true, it is because gay men identify with the downtrodden, the sexual outlaw, the flamboyant, the camp.
The gay crowd likes a bit more tragedy in their mix. Alcoholism will do for a start. Rejection by other men. Continual tries at a 'straight life' and failure each time.
But, for the most part this is old-time, older, drag queen interested gay man.
I think, today, that gays are equal opportunity voyeurs like anyone else.
A tragic spiral downward attracts all our attention. It is a cautionary tale, of course; a moral lesson. And, at the same time it gives a bit of a frisson at seeing the forbidden acted out. The dissolute. The sordid.
Who can't get a little bit interested in that and at the same time get a hit of moral superiority out of it.
All very interesting. And absorbing.
And who cares about global warming, Iraq, the environment, education, all that, anyway?
