Dead celebrities, living icons : tragedy and fame in the age of the multimedia superstar

Title:

Author:

Ebert, John David, 1968- author.

Summary:

Contains essays on fourteen celebrities who have retained their stardom, and in some cases become even more famous, after their deaths, beginning in the 1930s with the death of Howard Hughes, and continuing to the early twenty-first century with Michael Jackson's demise.

Audience:

Adult Follett Library Resources

Contents:

Introduction: Saints in the age of electronic stained glass -- I Birth and rise (the 1930s) -- Howard Hughes, the world's first serial crash artist -- Walt Disney builds the cosmos electric -- II Classics (the 1950s) -- The weird and fantastic tale of the pixellation and disintegration of Elvis Presley -- James Dean's death by carcrash : an analysis -- The strange tale of the wondrous lifeand curious death of Marilyn Monroe -- III Tribes (the 1960s) -- The assassination of John F. Kennedy considered asa case of media warfare -- Andy Warhol's cult of the dead celebrity -- The Beatles, their muse, a car crash, five bullets, and some flowers from the dead -- Jim Morrison awoke one morning transformed -- IV Sunset (the 1980s) -- Ronald Reagan : the celluloid man made flesh -- The passion of Gianni Versace -- Princess Diana's media metamorphoses -- V The myth today (2000s) -- The multiple selves of Heath Ledger -- Michael Jackson's macrosphere : genesis, evolution, disintegration -- Afterword: On the otherworldly nature of electronic culture.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 230 p. ; 25 cm.

Subject Term:

Celebrities -- Death.

Tragedy -- Social aspects -- History -- 20th century.

Tragedy -- Social aspects -- History -- 21st century.

Fame -- Social aspects -- History -- 20th century.

Fame -- Social aspects -- History -- 21st century.

Tabloid newspapers -- Social aspects -- History.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Civilization -- 1945-

United States -- Civilization -- 1918-1945.

Publisher:

Praeger,

Publication Date:

2010

ISBN:

9780313377648

9780313377655

Publication Information:

Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, c2010.

Call Number:

973.9 EBERT

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002334178	Adult Nonfiction	973.9 EBERT	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

This in-depth series of literary portraits studies celebrities who died in famous and tragic ways--ways that still resonate as archetypal death scenarios in present day.

We know their likes and dislikes, admire their talents, envy them for daring to be what we can't or what we won't. When they are snatched from us, we feel a personal loss and an unwillingness to let go. And so we transform these mere human beings into icons whose stars often shine in death even more brilliantly than in life.

Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar explores this phenomenon through a series of essays on 14 men and women who are, arguably, the most famous people of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book covers the epoch of the celebrity beginning in the 1930s with Howard Hughes and Walt Disney and continues to the present day with the life and death of Michael Jackson. Far more than just a collection of biographies, Dead Celebrities, Living Icons documents the philosophical importance and significance of the contemporary cult of the celebrity and analyzes the tragic consequences of a human life lived in the glare of the media spotlight.

Author Notes

John David Ebert is an independent scholar.

John F. Kennedy Considered as a Case of Media WarfareRonald ReaganMichael Jackson's Macrosphere

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Saints in the Age of Electronic Stained Glass	p. xi
I Birth and Rise (The 1930s)	p. 1
1 Howard Hughes, the World's First Serial Crash Artist	p. 3
2 Walt Disney Builds the Cosmos Electric	p. 19
II Classics (The 1950s)	p. 35
3 The Weird and Fantastic Tale of the Pixellation and Disintegration of Elvis Presley	p. 37
4 James Dean's Death by Car Crash: An Analysis	p. 49
5 The Strange Tale of the Wondrous Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe	p. 57
III Tribes (The 1960s)	p. 71
6 The Assassination of	p. 73
7 Andy Warhol's Cult of the Dead Celebrity	p. 83
8 The Beatles, Their Muse, a Car Crash, Five Bullets, and Some Flowers from the Dead	p. 95
9 Jim Morrison Awoke One Morning Transformed	p. 113
IV Sunset (The 1980s)	p. 127
10 The Celluloid Man Made Flesh	p. 131
11 The Passion of Gianni Versace	p. 145
12 Princess Diana's Media Metamorphoses	p. 161
V The Myth Today (The 2000s)	p. 173
13 The Multiple Selves of Heath Ledger	p. 175
14 Genesis, Evolution, Disintegration	p. 189
Afterword; On the Otherworldly Nature of Electronic Culture	p. 207
Notes	p. 211
Index	p. 217

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