I've been hearing an awful lot lately about one young woman named Paris Hilton. Spoiled, nubile, rich and apparently terribly self-indulgent.
But I hadn't a clue what she looked like until I saw here last night on E. And I have to tell you, I was totally amazed at how skanky she is. That's a "now" word, yes? Skanky? She's skanky! And her young nubile friends are skanky, too. The girls look like hoes and the guys look gender-confused and bereft of fashion sensibiltities, all wearing their trousers halfway down their buttcheeks.
Now these are the people getting all the paparazzi attention. These are the Barbara Huttons and Brenda Fraziers of today...the debs and their swains with a wild, rebellious edge to them.
And they are so dull, dull, dull.
I suppose if one were in their company, things would be fun, fun, fun.
But reading about their exploits -- and seeing them captured on vido -- YAWN!
All this talk about heartthrobs of the 50s and 60s is what inspired this mini-tirade against today's callow/sallow youthlings.
In my day, there were heartthrobs aplenty, but there were "idols", too. Don Schollander was an idol! A big idol. He won three Olympic gold medals in swimming in one Olympic games. It was another decade before Mark Spitz won seven and pushed Schollander out of the record books. There was James Dean, and Elvis Presley. THOSE were both idols and heartthrobs.
And no one has mentioned Ricky Nelson?? I may have missed it, so please don't be offended anyone if you named Ricky Nelson!!!
Hayley Mills! Annette Funicello! Ann-Margret!
Pat Boone! Tommy Sands!
Tom Tryon! Ty Hardin! Clint Walker!
Patty Duke! Yes! She was a Teen Idol and Heartthrob!
John Smith and Robert Horton in "Laramie"!
There was no short supply of these folks and I could add names galore.