The proof that fame is much longer than the fifteen minutes assigned by Andy Warhol, is the fact that 69 year old Dawn Wells, of Gilligan's Island fame, is on the front of CNN and a host of other news web pages for her recent marijuana bust.
A quick glance at her IMDB page shows that her work after Gilligan's Island is mostly playing Mary Ann in dream sequences on other sitcoms.
My first caveat will be that we mere mortals, or civilians, who do not work in show biz, don't know anything about show biz. This is despite an entire industry of media designed to get us hooked on show biz. But I was curious about something so I did some research. Ellen Degeneres' famous coming out in Time Magazine was in April, 1997, and the Emmy-award winning Puppy Episode of her sitcom, Ellen, was broadcast in May 1997.
Ellen premiered on March 29, 1994 as a mid-season replacement and was led in by the hit Roseanne. Ellen didn't garner enough air time to earn a place in the top 30 for ratings for 1993-4 (Roseanne, its lead-in was #4 that year). In 1994-5, Ellen was #13, Roseanne was #9 (this is important because it means a significant amount of people were switching stations between the two shows). 1995-6, Ellen fell out of the top 30 shows when it moved to a lead time-slot. In 1996-7, despite the hoopla of coming out, the show was #29 with its lead-in Drew Carey at #18. Finally, 1997-8, Ellen fell out of the top 30 again, with Drew Carey's lead-in moving up to #15. [All numbers from Brooks & Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network & Cable TV Shows, 1946-present, (2003)]. Ellen was canceled during the summer of 1998. Stuart Miller wrote an article in Variety, "Moveable Famine Bites into Ellen: in April/May 1997, in which he notes that the press suggested the coming out as a ratings ploy, since clearly, the show was failing before the Puppy Episode. Miller points to the network shuffling the show from time slot to time slot. The show was never nominated for outstanding comedy for the Emmys. Ellen herself received four nominations as lead actress, losing all four. The show garned only 10 nominations, winning only two: writing in 1997 and editing. [Figures from the Internet Movie Database.] So, what does this all mean?
We can't know for sure that Ellen's coming out was not a ratings ploy. We can't know for sure the show was canceled because of her coming out or because (a) the ratings were already down; (b) it wasn't a very good sitcom to begin with. It consistently lost viewers from two lead-ins with higher ratings. So was she courageous for coming out while still on television (as opposed to Rosie O'Donnell, who came out in a book released after her talk show ended)? We don't know. All I know is that my friend G. and I came out more than ten years before Ellen (and 15 before Rosie) and although we weren't going to lose a truckload of money, we could've have lost our relationships with family and friends--no small matter (neither of us did).
I don't see a need to choose between Ellen and Rosie, they are both extraordinarily talented and courageous. I'm a fan of both.
Everytime there is a mega-hit on TV, the unimaginative people in Hollywood (isn't that a paradox?) scramble to put out similar shows to cash in on what they perceive the viewers want. The Cosby Show spawned a decade of family sitcoms. Survivor led the reality show deluge. And the Sopranos gave us the anti-hero drama. Sometimes other hits are made from the formula, such as 24 or The Shield. But you know some Hollywood meeting happened when someone said, "Who's the most unsympathetic person we can make an anti-hero?" "More unsympathetic than Tony Soprano? A murdering mobster?" "Yes." The answer, of course, is Dexter.
Dexter is a serial killer albeit one who only kills those that "deserve" to die. In the hands of a lesser actor and lesser writers, this show would be terrible. But that's not the case. Michael C. Hall, who impressed me in Six Feet Under, is superb and the writing of the first season was terrific. You really do root and watch on the edge of your seat, this guy you know in your heart you cannot root for. Season Two is under way. The writers and Michael C. Hall are not disappointing me again. By the way, it's the only show I watch.
