Anne Helen Petersen, the voice behind "Scandals Of Classic Hollywood" (previously) and "doctor of celebrity gossip" gives us an academic rundown of the hows and whys of the last hundred years of Hollywood Star Making, celebrity, PR, marketing, fandom, and scandal management.
posted by The Whelk on Jan 24, 2013 - 7 comments

Scandals of Classic Hollywood* is a fantastic series of articles exploring the careers and private lives of old Hollywood's most legendary performers, written by self-styled "doctor of celebrity gossip" Anne Helen Petersen. [more inside]
posted by showbiz_liz on Oct 3, 2012 - 44 comments

I Went to the Pre-Oscar Celebrity Gifting Suites and All I Got Was This Sense of Disgust [more inside]
posted by philip-random on Feb 26, 2012 - 70 comments

"The Duke in His Domain" - a profile of Marlon Brando by Truman Capote, published in The New Yorker, November 9, 1957
posted by Trurl on Jun 3, 2011 - 22 comments

"To someone my age (47) Keith Richards (67) in his memoir Life has a kind of rare healthy post-Empire geezer transparency. But for my younger friends, it’s no longer rare; it’s now just the norm. What does shame mean anymore? my friends in their 20s ask. Why in the hell did your boyfriend post a song called 'Suck My Ballz' on Facebook last night? my mom asks. But nothing yet compares to the transparency that Sheen has unleashed in the past two weeks—contempt about celebrity, his profession, the old Empire world order..." Bret Easton Ellis on Charlie Sheen and the worlds of pre- and post-"Empire," i.e., celebrity.
posted by bardic on Mar 16, 2011 - 110 comments

Judd Apatow made a public service announcement for the American Jewish World Service that won't be shown on TV, and not just because it's five minutes long. AJWS is a quiet but powerful force for good in the world. The organization was among the first on the ground and continues to help rebuild in Haiti, post-tsunami India, and many other places around the world. This is its 25th year of philanthropy and humanitarian aid (and its president's 70th birthday).
posted by yiftach on Nov 12, 2010 - 34 comments

She's a public mystery, craving attention but shying away from private interviews. She is a human being Andy Warhol would have created, a painter (of) herself. She ran for Hollywood City Council in 2002, joined the much-parodied 2003 California gubernatorial recall election (previously), and most recently tried to become Mayor of Hollywood (archive of her Mayoral site). She is still loved by snark-mongers. She is Angelyne. She is ... [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Nov 5, 2009 - 44 comments

Hitchcock Classics as illustrated in the 2008 Hollywood Portfolio from Vanity Fair.
posted by dhammond on Feb 8, 2008 - 34 comments

Would you like a little head from Tom Cruise? Drew Barrymore? Brad Pitt? Lou Costello? Faces of Fame can help you... lifemasks from dozens and dozens of famous people.
posted by crunchland on Sep 15, 2006 - 42 comments

How To Contact Celebrities.
posted by cribcage on Oct 13, 2005 - 38 comments

Brando ill. The saddest, scariest part of this story is that he was just getting ready to film Scary Movie II when he got sick. Scary Movie II...and the Oscar for "Most Pathetic Former Genius" goes to....
posted by jpoulos on Apr 13, 2001 - 17 comments