Fly or Fade Away: Entertainers' Fates in Music and Film

When I saw the news about Paris Hilton today, I thought of a larger question. Would this hurt or help her career? The sex tape helped. This one will hurt ultimately, but maybe not right away. I believe she has had her run. She is what 27 or 28? The end of the hot-hot stage and frankly, I think the American public, as fickle as they are, are tired of her. She will have had a relatively short career ... of being pretty.

Now consider these names and tell me what they have in common: Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Bono and Sting. They all have 20 years in show business and their stars have not faded. Now these names, you might not remember them all: Nick Adams, Bobby Darrin, Jeff Buckley, Chris Farley. They all died at a relatively young age, leaving a short, but bright flame on the American culture. Those who could have long or relatively short careers: Scott Weiland, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Weiland, front man for the Stone Temple Pilots and more recently Velvet Revolver is a drug episode away from dying. Paris Hilton may fade away from the public eye, but will always be wealthy. Lindsay Lohan. A year or two ago, I thought she was one of the hottest chicks around. Check out her on the cover of Entertainment Weekly a few years ago and compare it to shots of her now. I don't know about you, but I think she has a hard look to her now. I don't think anyone would be that surprised to see her dead in a car crash, high on drugs. And the ironic thing is that Lindsay started acting when she was young, in The Parent Trap, and has already been in show business a long time already. She could have a long, long career in the public eye. But with a less than stable home life, I think her star will dim or she will. Not to be fatalistic, but I think she is a good value in the office Death pool. Just a hunch, here and I hope I am wrong. She is a good actor. Much better than Hillary Duff, who has her stuff together much more than Ms. Lohan.