Beauty and the Passage of Time

I've often wondered if fame is a double edge sword when so many celebrities
seem to fall by the wayside rather prematurely. Yet it is something that many still chase.
And yes it may bring wealth, but at a price, the price being the lack of privacy and anonymity.
Some of course fare well but many succumb to addiction and general over indulgence.
And there does seem to be that natural curiosity to see who fares well and
manages to hold on to their looks for as long as possible.
But then we all know that in the end Mother Nature has the last laugh.
Perhaps beauty is but a fleeting moment and we do after all only get one life. So the
best thing is to make the most of it.

Here we have a little gallery of some famous people that fared well and perhaps 
a few that didn't.

First up we have that 1960's 70's underground icon and member of the
Andy Warhol factory clan, Joe Dallesandro.
I've been watching a few video interviews with Joe recently and he seems to
be very honest in his interviews, preferring to as he says, tell things like they were
without embellishing his colourful past as so many do.

At 15 Joe was sent to a Juvenile Correction Centre for a School misdemeanour.
But somehow he managed to escape from the Institution and high tailed
it down to Mexico, returning to California earning money by posing nude for
people like Bob Mizer and Physique Pictorial Magazine.
And Joe openly now admits that those pictures we still see, like the one above,
were taken when he was still only 15 years old.
And then just a few years after that Joe was discovered by Andy Warhol.
 

Below: Joe puts on a little dance show in Andy Warhol's
1968 alternative Western 'Lonesome Cowboys.'

Above left:  Joe in 1968.                        Right image:  Joe now 70 years old.

If there was ever an artist entertainer that had it all, the looks and adulation,
but threw it all away, then it was surely American 70's teen idol Leif Garrett.
Having first been introduced to drugs at only 14, then a lifetime addiction soon
set in.
In 2010 he was yet again arrested for drug possession in a fairly high profile
media story,
if only for the fact that once his arrest picture was shown to the world's media,
it actually exposed Leif Garrett's physical decline (left image below).

Born in November 1961 he's soon to turn 58,

DAVID CASSIDY -  FORMER TEEN POP IDOL
APRIL 1950 - NOV 2017

Above and below: Noah Hathaway, star of the 1984 film The Neverending Story.
A film that seemingly brought him a lot of attention.
So were shorts really that short and tight back then in the early 1980's?
Noah's fly zip below looks like it's about to burst open at any time.

Below right: Noah in a more recent picture. He's now 47.

ABOVE: RYUICHI SAKAMOTO (LEFT) WHO STUNNED US WITH HIS SHEER BEAUTY ON SCREEN IN THE FILM MERRY CHRISTMAS MISTER LAWRENCE IN 1983. AT THE TIME HE WAS AGED 31.
HE'S NOW A WORLD RENOWNED MUSIC COMPOSER.

ABOVE RIGHT: RYUICHI, NOW 67 YEARS OLD.

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent was a spectacular looking actor during the
1970's and 80's, even becoming at one time the most highly paid actor on tv.
Yet somehow he never hit the top to become the leading actor and often
played second fiddle to the likes of Charles Bronson, Rock Hudson
and Burt Reynolds.
And around 1973/74 he became a bit of a teen idol after his appearance
in the Disney film 'The Worlds Greatest Athlete' a film where Jan-Michael wore
very little clothing, donning a loin cloth.
Apparently he didn't really revel in all the attention that the film brought him.
And soon after that he appeared in a film called 'Buster and Billie' where he broke
an old Hollywood taboo by going full frontal nude.

I particularly liked him in the 1972 film 'The Mechanic' directed by
Michael Winner and also starring leading man Charles Bronson.
But if there was ever an actor that succumbed to addiction and had some
truly bad luck moments in his life, then it was Jan-Michael.
Sadly he passed away earlier this year at the age of 74 just after saying
that he did at least still have all his hair, joking that Burt Reynolds left
him his toupee to him in his will.

Above: Jan-Michael Vincent in 'The World's Greates Athlete'  (1973).

Above left: Former top Brit 80's pop star Adam Ant, now aged 64.

Above right: The amazingly ever youthful and talented Pharrell Williams, now aged 46 yrs old.

Above left:  18 year old Christopher Atkins looking his very best
in his first film role 'The Blue Lagoon' made in 1980.

Above right: Christopher, now 58 years old.

Above: Rock N'Roll legend Little Richard now 86, recently
took to the media to denounce gays saying that same-sex
was unnatural. An odd statement considering that he officially
Came Out as gay in 1995.
Even as far back as 1980 he called homosexuals sick. He also
recently claimed that he is no longer gay, so clearly some
kind of biological miracle has taken place. And so I imagine
that by regularly denouncing the gay community it makes him
feel more comfortable within his Church and religious community
and of wanting to be more excepted by them.
It's strange that even at 86 he only has to don one of his stage
nylon hair wigs, something he's worn throughout his whole
career, and all of a sudden he becomes the familiar Little
Richard that we recognize.

Luke Halpin was the star and main center of attention in the 1960's tv series Flipper.
And looking at some of these pictures it's easy to see why he had such
a huge worldwide following.
Now aged 72, Luke recently beat throat cancer but is sadly now battling
with Alzheimers.
One can only hope that Luke and his family will somehow benefit with
the news that the makers of the show have finally decided to release the
third and final series of Flipper here in the U.K, with some fans waiting almost 10
years for it's release.
I've seen one or two of those final episodes and Luke certainly looks more
mature as well as spectacular in that final series.

The very best Luke appreciation online site can be found at......
THE LUKE HALPIN GALLERY

Below left: Luke on the set of Flipper.

Right: a more recent image of Luke Halpin now 72.

Swedish actor Bjorn Andresen first came to the world's attention when
he played a 14 year old boy in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film 'Death in Venice.'
After his appearance in the film he was often dubbed the world's most
beautiful looking boy, a title that he despised so much as it brought him a
lot of unwanted attention.
It's believed that because of this this he has downplayed his looks for the rest
of his adult life, preferring these days to go around in public looking like
some aged Robinson Crusoe (right picture below).

Interestingly the Director of 'Death in Venice'  Visconti, had many problems
in securing financial backing for his film from some of the top moguls
in Hollywood. They were not happy about a story of an old man chasing
around after a young boy, and saw it as a bit of a taboo.
Yet they were quite happy to back Visconti if he were to give the leading
role to a young under aged female lolita.

It was only a few years ago that Bjorn was incensed by feminist activist
Germaine Greer for using his image on the cover of her book 'The Boy.'
His image on that book cover seemed to open up old wounds for the
Swedish actor. That image of Bjorn emerging from the sea was captured
by English photographer David Bailey who even gave Greer full permission
to use it, to Bjorn Andresen's consternation.
And although Bjorn has featured in several other movies he is currently
quite an active musician.

Born in January 1955 Bjorn is actually still only 64 despite his
efforts to look even older. And in the bottom right image below he
was still only aged 60.