Celebrities

A popular Fox blogger did such a good job conveying what celebrity they related to, I decided to do likewise. Perhaps this exercise is attractive to me because I am completely full of myself. Perhaps these comparisons are completely off base. I am on the upper reaches of the Fox demographic. Back in my college days I was more the life of the party. Even with grey hair and increased responsibilities, my mind is always returning to the humorous side of things. A big reason I haven’t climbed further up the corporate ladder. Age hasn’t exactly been kind to me.

Many of the actors I admire had similar starts, playing the party boy. With age they have advanced into more mature roles, but often returning to play comedic roles. Truthfully, I should list supporting actors, because that's what I do best. But who knows any?

Here’s my top “ten”…
10. A. Taylor Hicks, from American Idol. Southern boy. Grey hair similar to mine, but his looks nicer…less wavy. Something in his face/smile/brows reminds people of me. I’m certainly not as demonstrative as Taylor, and I certainly can’t sing. But if I dared to dance, my moves would be similar to his, unfortunately. I’m rooting for Taylor. I think he’ll advance, but he doesn’t have the looks to win, like Ace.

10. B. Vince Gill. Another singer with a similar face. He’s younger…I’m 46. Maybe the person who said that needed their eyes checked. I must be on drugs.

9. George Will. Comes off as completely boring, like me. I communicate like George, using language others don’t quite understand. I figured out he loves baseball, as I do. I keep score of Little League games (so I won’t holler so much). People think I’m smart, because I went to Tech, don’t say much, and when I do, they don’t understand. Could be something other than smarts, right?

8. Bob Costas. Unlike me, a pretty boy who spends hours and hours reading, doing background in preparation for his work. Wish I had the time. He too has made career decisions based on what he loves. My general perception of celebrities/athletes with this single-minded vision, who give up/block out everything else in pursuit of their goals, is both admiration for the hard work and determination they have to obtain their goals, and pity for the things they have neglected, ignored, and put aside…often times God, family, and other significant relationships. Jealous? A little.

7. Greg Maddux. Used his abilities and mind to do the extraordinary…win 300 games, and at least 15 wins a year for 16 years (right?). I’ll never make a hall of fame, but I’d like to think I’ve done a lot with my limited abilities. Maybe I’m really like Forrest Gump!

6. A. Tom Selleck. An actor getting up in age. Way more good-looking than me. I admire the way he doesn’t seem to take himself seriously. Seems to acknowledge and take time for his fans, though I’m not certain. I would hope I would be that way.

6. B. Will Ferrell. Similar body and face typeto me. Never a fan of his on SNL. Now he gets the movie roles that Steve Martin and Bill Murray used to take, the bumbling idiot. New School to their Old School. But he is funny. My kids liked him in Elf, and I admit that Old School made me laugh.

5. George Plimpton. Me on a much grander scale. I like to write, and I like to do interesting athletic things that others don’t make the effort to do. I run in road races, attended the Cubs fantasy baseball camp, and sign up for T-shirt design contests. I carried the Olympic Torch three times (twice in 1996 and also in 2002), and I make an effort to see the Torch Relay whenever it comes to town (1984, 1996, 2002, 2004). My daughter wasn’t thrilled when she became the ‘student weather correspondent’ on our favorite radio station, which I signed her up for.

4. Alan Alda/Hawkeye Pierce. Like Hawkeye, I envisioned myself as someone who liked to have fun, but who would stand up for what was right, who would go out of his way to help a friend. We used to wear a Hawaiian shirt when we watched MASH at Tech in the early 80’s. I still have that shirt today. Alda also played Plimpton in ‘Paper Lion’.

3. Steve Martin. Funniest ever. But so much more. Writes novels, short stories, plays the banjo. So creative. Letterman’s guests show up and chat. Martin shows up with bits and videos to entertain. Like the photo on my blog…Martin impersonating Micheal Jackson, holding his baby over the rail. Interesting how he sought out the classic roles on the Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Willie Wonka. Much older and more handsome than me.

In the height of Martin’s wild and crazy days, my ‘friends’ got me to enter a Steve Martin look-alike contest at an Atlanta mall. Scores entered. The only reason I didn’t back out was because I got to perform third. The first two contestants recited Martin’s routines…not very original. So when it was my turn, I did what Martin would’ve done…acted like it was some other kind of contest. I acted like Steve doing impressions of other celebrities. The crowd didn’t get it, but I made the celebrity judges laugh. In 1980 I performed ‘King Tut’ on roller skates, for a crowd of a thousand Southern Baptists, complete with backup band and dancing girls…dressed in togas.

2. David Letterman. Kinda goofy, not the greatest people person. That’s me. I still enjoy writing comedy bits for special occasions, and the Top Ten list is an easy tool.

1. Bill Murray. My Nurse Ratchet. Like Martin, much more funny than me. Not the best looking guy, but handsome in his own way. Loves baseball and golf. You’ve always got to watch out for him, no telling what he’ll do. Nothing funnier than doing something completely unexpected. Like the time I dumped my orange Slurpee on my head…I knew the situation. When the football team ran onto the field before the game, I always wanted to trip.

Now you know me…that guy out on his own planet. Sorry to be so full of myself…hope this was entertaining in some way. Now let’s get back to March Madness, and spring training.