Being Famous

No, I am not famous, and I am not claiming to be in any way. I know a few select people may read this blog as they are lovely enough to tell me they do. But as I discussed in my last blog entry, I do want to aim to be more reflective and document my thoughts on here as part of my TYSIC. So here goes...

Today I began to ponder, what is it that makes someone "famous"?

The Cambridge Advance Learner's Dictionary defines it as follows,

Famous adjective

Known and recognised by many people

Being a little bit pedantic, I am recognised by "many people", but I guess that depends what you mean by many.

The reason why I was thinking about this is that over the last year I have met a few comedians, some I consider to be famous. Don't get me wrong I am not constantly rubbing shoulders with comedy royalty, but I have said hello after gigs and been fortunate enough to have a drink or two with a small minority. Of those comedians that I consider famous, I am always shocked to find that many of my friends and families have never even heard of them, and give a blank look when I express how happy I was to meet them.

The flip side of the coin is that of the comedy fans I talk to online, many do know who I am talking about when I say I am off to see a great show, or I was lucky enough to say hello after they share my excitement, so to them those comedians are famous.

Does being famous really mean being a household name? Is it being on the telly all the time? Being splattered all over the tabloids for every minor out of context mistake or fashion faux pas you make? If it is I cannot see the appeal. Being stalked by the media can't be any fun, it must be bad enough being stalked by fans (in a nice way in my case, not in a weirdo "I want your babies" fangirly way).

I have been on Tim Minchin's fan forum for over a year now, and as he became more well known thanks to his excellent tour and an increasing number of TV appearances, it has saddened me to see the fallout. After I saw him in Sheffield last October there were hundreds of people outside, many asking him to sign their boobs, really? *Sigh* I mean I know he loves boobs but come on. Tim being a very nice man, stayed outside until he had met every single person, something I am sure he cannot keep up as his fame grows (or he would be there all night and exhausted). But does this mean that being famous means you can no longer have a connection with your fans?

I can think of many comedians who have DVDs out, have had very successful Edinburgh fringe performances, won awards and had UK tours, yet unless you are a comedy obsessive like me, many people don't recognise their names. To me they are famous, as they have the respect of fellow comedians and have made a success of their careers in comedy, this does not necessarily mean they are on TV a lot or a household name. I prefer this level of fame, as speaking from experience they are the ones who are usually happy to say hello and accept your praise or gratitude after a good show.

I do wonder if the being on TV level of fame is something to aspire to? Yes, I bet it does pay well and raises the comedian's profile, but as I said before, at what cost? I'm sure many TV programmes are restricted in content and subject matter, meaning you don't get a true sense of what the comedian meant when he/she wrote the material. I know lots of comedians work very hard within such constraints and with fantastic results, but to me there is nothing better than seeing live comedy. There is room for banter and interaction and the comedian has the freedom to take the show in which ever direction he/she wants to.

Although I have pondered ad reflected upon this subject, I don't think I really know what it means to be famous. I guess it is more important to be a success at the level you want to be.