The Importance of Being Famous:
L&S Alum Maureen Orth Unveils the World of Celebrity
By College Staff, April 19, 2004
L&S graduate Maureen Orth (Political Science '64) will talk about
her latest book, The Importance of Being Famous:
Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex, on Wednesday,
April 28 at 7 p.m. in the North Gate Library on the Berkeley campus.
In 15 years at Vanity Fair, Orth, a special
correspondent, has made headlines with reporting that has charted the
landscapes of fame and power—where the worst crime is anonymity
and citizens strive to stay young, unindicted, and always camera-ready.
She has interviewed superstars and heads of state and has made headline
news with her investigations of murders (Gianni Versace) and scandals
(Michael Jackson).
In
her new book, Orth unveils a devastating and often heartbreaking portrait
of the Era of Celebrity and its very public lives. Once upon a time,
there was only Hollywood. Then, ushering in a new Era of Celebrity came
John F. Kennedy, Watergate, soap-opera-style murders, and media conglomerates
gorging on each new spectacle. Star-gazers and spin-meisters reigned
as infamy became big, big business. Andy Warhol's famous joke ("In
the future, every American will experience fifteen minutes of fame")
seemed prophetic. Now, as the circus grows more ruthless, who can say
where truth lies? Or if it matters?
Her first book, Vulgar Favors (Delacorte,
1999), appeared for three weeks on the New York Times
bestseller list. She has written for Newsweek,
Vogue, New York Woman,
The Washington Post, New
York Times, Rolling Stone, and Esquire.
From 1983 to 1984, she was a network correspondent for NBC News. She
has won the National Magazine Award for her coverage of the arts at
Newsweek. Orth earned her bachelor's degree
in Political Science from the College of Letters& Science at UC
Berkeley and her masters' from the School of Journalism at UCLA.
Co-hosted by UC Berkeley's School of Journalism and the College of
Letters & Science, the talk will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April
28 in the North Gate Library at the School of Journalism on the corner
of Hearst and Euclid. A reception at 6 p.m. will take place in the North
Gate courtyard. Both the reception and talk are free and open to the
public.
