celebrities = depressed?

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You know how a lot of celebrities are closet sufferers of depression? Like Marilyn Monroe and Roseanne and...um...that guy from 60 Minutes? Yeah, so what's up with that?

Can you name other celebrities who suffer from depression or less common mental illnesses? What kind of personality becomes famous? What kind wants to? Share your thoughts and your trivia. I never get to watch A&E and Entertainment Weekly doesn't really get into that stuff.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2000

Answers

Um, let's see Patty Duke was manic depressive (aka bipolar). Who else? And which guy from 60 Minutes?

I'm really interested in psychology and mental illness and read about it lots, especially memoirs. Most I've read though are about "ordinary" people. Oh, I just thought of a really obvious one: Kurt Cobain. Trent Reznor, too. Probably Morrissey. I think most of my favorite musicians are definitely unbalanced, which is why they appeal to me so much.

I seem to remember reading about an actress from the 50's or something named Fanny Farmer who ended up lobotomized, but I don't remember the details.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2000


The guy whose first name is Hugh. I can't remember if his last name is Dowling or Downing or what.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Hugh Downing is (was?) Barbara Walters' sidekick on 20/20. I've often thought about the correlation between the artistic nature and mental illness. It kinda makes sense that being artistic=being intense=manic depression. Especially if you go through productive/popular periods and then have a dry spell. Also, some people have trouble handling the intrusiveness of fame. Hmmm, a problem I'll never have. (Fame, that is. Depression has visited me despite my anonymity.)

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Oh, yeah. 20/20. Can you tell I hardly watch TV?

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Hugh Downs.

Roseanne always swears up and down that funny people are the most fucked up, especially comedians. I know a lot of funny people, and I'd like to think that they're not all secretly suicidal or whatever.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000



Jonathan Winters, Jerry Lewis (who cares, probably drug related anyway), Hugh Downs, Jack Paar (original Tonight Show host before Carson), Ed Sullivan. I heard somewhere that most comedians suffer from depression. Don't forget "I want to be alone" Gretta Garbo.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Jill, I looked up the actress you were talking about in your post, and her name was actually Frances Farmer. I got the horrid details of her life in institutions here. It was pretty grim, and most of her problems seem to have been brought on by the barbaric practices of the time.



-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Reading this thread where everyone is trying to get different names correct is making me snarf! It's like a discussion with my mom (isn't that Betty Middler? you mean Bette Modler?)

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Sweet fucking christ. I just read the account of Frances Farmer's experiences and I wonder what the hell they were thinking. I cannot believe that anyone could possibly think that these horrid practices could be of help to anyone. That poor woman.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Wow, thanks Wendy; how cool of you to find that and post it. Lisa, you made me snarf!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000


A good friend of mine works in PR in Los Angeles. He claims that 90% of celebrities are on mood altering drugs of some kind; be it cocaine or Prozac. He also says that comedians are the most mentally ill and secretly sad of all.

We see our friend on E! a lot. He's always leading his clients into or out of premires, parties, award shows, etc. It looks like a fun job but you could not pay me enough to put up with the petty, stupid shit he has to deal with everyday. However, it does make for fun gossip sessions.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000


Gosh, Wendy, I just figured out that the article on Frances Farmer comes to us courtesy of L. Ron Hubbard and his scientologizing brethren. No offense, but I think they're a bit cultish. They sure do have a lot of celebrity adherents, though.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Wasn't it Mike Wallace not Hugh Downs that was depressed? Is Hugh's name throwing everyone off?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

That could very well be the case, LD. (Hey! Like LD from Square Pegs! Or was that LT?)

However, I feel pretty sure that it was Hugh because I never watch 20/20, 60 Min, or any other show like that, so I can't imagine myself mixing up Mike Wallace and Hugh Downs. If it had been Mike Wallace I saw on TV talking about his depression, I would have mixed him up with another Mike in news instead.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000


Ha! I thought everyone was relating depression to Hugh because I get depressed seeing him and Baba on 2020 (I hate that show!)

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000


I just found this on Mike Wallace.

http://www.undoingdepression.com/news02.html

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000


 I'm depressed but the idea of losing all my privacy 
and autonomy being famous makes me break out in hypothetical hives. 
Show me the money, but don't write me stalkergrams and don't take my 
picture with my eyes all squinted up. Fortune is great, but Fame 
bites...whatever happens in my life, let me be able to run to the 
Wal*Mart without a matching designer ensemble at 2AM if I need to. 


-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Who's Mike Wallace?

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2001

Mike Wallace has been on 60 minutes for about the past 100 years!!! He's an icon in the news arena. I saw him about 2 years ago when I was at the David Letterman show and he was still goin' strong.

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2001

Let us not forget about Ray Whats-his-name from Family Feud who killed himself a few years back. I'm pretty sure he qualifies, if we're still making lists.

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2001

Here is an active list of living persons with depression and manic depression on the web: http://www.frii.com/~parrot/living.html

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2001

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