Tuesday, May 1, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Is Fred Thompson a Real Celebrity?
NBC Universal Photo: Virginia Sherwood
In a sign of more-serious plans on his part, or boredom on the part of the political press, I'm not sure which, speculation is building that former Senator / Law & Order star Fred Thompson will enter the Republican 2008 primary race. I'll leave the analysis of Thompson's chances to the pundits, and his stances on the issues until he actually decides he's running for anything, but so far the thing that interests me most about the coverage is lines like this:
Should he choose to run, Mr. Thompson and his supporters would face the challenge of converting his celebrity profile and Senate experience into a bona fide presidential campaign.
You tell me: Is Fred Thompson an actual celebrity? I mean certainly he's known. He's recognized. But is he a bona fide celebrity, as Arnold Schwarzenegger was before he ran for governor of California? In sheer Hollywood terms, he's not even of the level of celebrity that Ronald Reagan held before he became governor of California. Law & Order is a popular show, of course--decreasingly popular, but still--and people have seen his movies, but he doesn't exactly move magazine covers. He's more what Fametracker.com refers to as a "Hey, It's That Guy": an actor recognizable for establishing a niche, in his case, the president / authority figure in TV and movies. [Update: In fact, he was a Hey, It's That Guy.]
Granted, it's a decent niche to have if you're running for president. But I wonder if, in fact, Thompson's strategic strength comes in part from the fact that he's not too famous an actor. Tuned In's Swampland colleague Ana Marie Cox used to use the term "famous for Washington" in her Wonkette days, and that seems to be about what Thompson is. (There is, of course, a corollary: "serious/intellectual for Hollywood.")
Being too much of a celebrity might make him seem less serious, in the eyes of politicians, the press or the public. I'm not sure how well Schwarzenegger or Reagan, for instance, would have done launching into politics in another state. (It's often your Fred Grandy / Sonny Bono level of celebrity who does well in politics, and most of the exceptions, say Clint Eastwood, are in the Golden State.) But Thompson's current level of fame gets him free publicity, at least in part in the form of articles about how much free publicity his fame will get him. There's a question, for instance, of whether his L&O reruns will have to be pulled because of equal-time regulations. Which will leave only about 5,000,000 hours of old Law & Orders to be rerun.
Here concludes my foray into punditry for the day. Coming up on time.com blogs: Jay Carney on why Pam should finally get together with Jim.
4 Comments to “Is Fred Thompson a Real Celebrity?”
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About Tuned In
James Poniewozik writes TIME magazine's Tuned In column, about pop culture and society. Tuned In, the blog version, is about the stuff we used to call "TV," whether it's in your living room, on your computer or -- once the networks figure out the technology and line up the advertisers -- in your dreams themselves. Read more
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Tuesday, May 1, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Hmmmmm, wasn't in conservative pundit Laura Ingraham who wrote a book titled "Shut Up and Sing" about how celebrities should stick to their business and stay out of politics. Funny how her and her ilk wet their pants over any actor or singer who falls on their side of the line.......kind of like, "look, we have one too!" Why is it the celebrities are morons on one side of the fence and freaking geniuses when they are on the other side. Shouldn't they all "shut up and sing"?
That being said, I like Fred.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 8:48 am
From what I read of the "average person's" reaction to FDT on the various blogs is 95% his political record, current political leanings and OK, maybe his ability to communicate. If you eliminate the media writers' obsession with the "celebrity" thing, it would hardly get much mention.
Of course, many of the Dems and the left, do tend to immediately reference his acting career in their comments. Immediately comes across as "defensive posture".......could they sense a formidable foe?
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 10:17 am
Keith, I don't think that's exactly genuine. Certainly Ingraham doesn't talk for "conservatives," - she's just one conservative voice out there, and one many probably disagree with.
I personally have no problem with celebrities stating their political beliefs, or being politically active. I sometimes have problems with their frequent hyperbole (i.e. the "impeach" Bush crowd - for what? Making decisions that were wrong? Then we should have impeached every president in history....impeachment is for treason/criminal acts, not making decisions that in hindsight were incorrect) or the venue they choose to speak in (I'm watching the Academy Awards for the movies/attractive people, not to hear why everything wrong with the world was caused by Republicans).
Furthermore, Thompson was a lawyer/politician BEFORE he became an actor. Slightly different scenario than most celebrities seeking political influence (or even, for that matter, Ronald Reagan).
James, you hit it right on the head though - he's exactly the type of "That Guy" who is "not too famous" enough to be a serious politician. Plus, he has the added gravitas that almost every role he's played has been authority figures/politically connected/lawyers/military men - his on-screen persona has actually "reinforced" his leadership credentials with the voters, in all likelihood.
I like Fred, and will vote for him probably - not because of his on-screen stuff, but because as a Conservative (and please note, I did not say Republican - Bush has hardly been what I would like to think of as Republican with his expansion of government powers to an area I feel is beyond the limits of the Constitution even if the Supreme Court disagrees and extravagant spending...I am thus a Conservative) I think he's the most "conservative" choice in the Republican field.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Loved Bill Mahrer's comments on "Hardball" yesterday in which he was asked about conservatives longing for Thompson to join the GOP candidates, in order to bring some much needed star power.
Bill observed that only in the Republican Party would someone who looks like a basset hound, and drawls at ten words a minute, be seen as charismatic. *L*
Having said all that, it seems anyone who has been on television and can be recognized by three or more people qualifies as a celebrity in America.
On too many reality shows, we've seen people asking others for their autographs, not because they had the slightest idea who they were, but simply because it was ascertained these folks had been on telly. Yikes!