The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

Celebrity

Volume IV, Number 1 | winter 2011

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Preamble

Dancing with the Stars

By Lewis H. Lapham

The vanity of princes is an old story; so is the wish for kings and the gazing into the pool of Narcissus.

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Portrait of Orson Welles for Citizen Kane, 1940.

Against Appearances

By Bruce Bawer

Orson Welles became a star not by creating some great work, but by simply scaring the hell out of people.

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Famous adventurers, entertainers, geniuses, and outlaws.

Map

Hall of Famers

Famous adventurers, entertainers, geniuses, and outlaws.

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c. 420 | Syria

Performance Art

Edward Gibbon sizes up Simeon Stylites.More

c. 1979 | Los Angeles

Letter to a Young Fan

Steve Martin thanks you for your interest.More

c. 1680 | Oxfordshire

As False as Common Fame

“There’s not a thing on earth that I can name so foolish and so false as common fame.”More

Charts & Graphs

Paths of Glory

The road to fame and fortune rarely runs straight.

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British historian Edward Gibbon.

American author of fiction, nonfiction and poetry Charles Baxter.

American writer Tad Friend.

Photograph of American writer and professor Paul Collins.

Black and white photograph of political scientist and philosopher Hannah Arendt holding a cigarette.

Sepia colored photo of Oscar Wilde sitting on a rock with a book in his hand

Fame will go by and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experienced, but that’s not where I live.

—Marilyn Monroe, 1962

Missing contributor image silhouette

American actor, screenwriter, and producer Matt Damon.

Arrian & Matt Damon

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