Famous People Tag

Naomi of Wonderland Creek has tagged me with Famous People Tag, which you know I could never resist.

~ The Rules ~ 

-Put up the 'famous people tag button' and link back to the person who tagged you
-Answer the questions
-Tag the ten last people who commented on your blog (excluding anonymytes or the person who tagged you)

 ~The official questions!~ 

#1 Who's your favourite singer/group? 

Bobby Darin.  Always and forever.  And by that I mean, since I was sixteen and bought a cassette tape of his music just to hear "Mack the Knife" and fell in love with his voice.  His music has accompanied me ever since, and I continue buying more.  Dude sang like 600 songs in his too-short life (he died at 37 following heart surgery), and there are a lot of live versions of them too, and... and he was a superb actor too!  So I also collect his movies.

#2 If your favourite male actor was in the same room as you right now, what would your reaction be? 

Well, I'd probably be really weirded out, because my favorite actor is John Wayne, who has been dead since ten months before I was born.

But seriously, if by some time-machine magic I could meet John Wayne, I would undoubtedly be tongue-tied and shy.  I wouldn't bother trying to say anything cool, because it would come out wrong anyway.  I'd just be like, "Um, hi."

#3 Is there a famous person you used to love but (due to something they have done in their life) you've suddenly changed your mind? 

I try really hard to separate celebrities' lives from their work in my mind.  With one exception (John Landis), I'm generally successful.  Sometimes I get disappointed by roles they take or a lifestyle choice they make, something like that.  But it really doesn't make me quit liking them as a writer or singer or actor.  I tend to go the other way -- look down my nose at an actor or actress and then suddenly discover they can act and then begin to like them immensely.  That's happened to me multiple times, for instance with Rudolph Valentino and Matt Damon and Robert Downey, Jr.  Also, sometimes I'll learn that some celebrity is really genuine and nice in real life, and that makes me like them more.

#4 Name a famous person you like who's name starts with a V. 

Valentino, of course.  Rudolph Valentino.  MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm...

#5 What's one of your favourite red-carpet dresses? 

I don't pay huge attention to the red carpet.  I do remember thinking Hailee Steinfeld looked really cute in this at the Oscars a few years ago.  Makes me think of Audrey Hepburn.

#6 Who's your favourite Royal person? 

Not sure I have one.  So guess I'll go with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret during WWII.

#7 Who's your favourite child actor/tress? 

Hayley Mills?  Or Margaret O'Brien?  Or Christian Bale?  Hmm.   Not sure.

#8 Is there an actor/actress you actually like their private lives of? (Not sure if that last question was properly phrased.) 

Oh yeah.  I love who Hugh Jackman is in real life:  a happily married husband and an adoptive dad.  He's endlessly kind to fans.  He also started a coffee company called Laughing Man that promotes helping poor farmers in underdeveloped countries with fair trade and such.

#9 Do you think that the actors/actresses have improved these last 100 years?

I think acting has changed and evolved, but I don't think actors today are any better at acting than those from days gone by.  Our tastes have changed, the style of acting we're used to now is different from acting in the '60s or the '40s or the '20s.  But improved?  No.

#10 What's the weirdest famous-people name? 

#11 Do you think you look like a famous person? Which one(s)? 

Not really.  I suppose I might look a wee little bit like Julia Stiles.  We both have round faces.  My hair's not blond, though.

#12 Share your favourite famous-person quote. 

"When in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns." -- Raymond Chandler's writing advice

#13 Who's your favourite dancer?

Gene Kelly.  I love how he could convey so many emotions with his dancing, from joy and exuberance to sorrow and love.

#14 Why is your favourite actress your favourite one? When did you decide that she was your favourite? 

I love Maureen O'Hara because she plays so many gutsy characters.  They give as good as they get, and then some, yet still remain womanly and not mannish.  Also, she's stunningly beautiful.  Still!  She's been my favorite since I was a teen.  And she was real-life friends with my favorite actor, John Wayne, which is just groovy.

#15 Have you ever met/seen/been close to a famous person?

Does attending a play that a famous person is acting in count?  If so, then yes!  When I was a teen, I saw Hayley Mills perform in The King and I.  When I was in college, I saw Patrick Stewart perform in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  And about 5 years ago, I saw Jude Law in Hamlet.

EDIT:  I forgot!  I've also met two famous authors!  I got to hear Ray Bradbury do a reading when I was in college, and got my copy of Fahrenheit 451 signed by him.  And then a few years ago, I got to attend a reading and Q&A session with Laurie R. King, my favorite living author (whom I recently interviewed on my other blog), and she signed two books for me!  My copy of The Beekeeper's Apprentice and a copy of the book she was promoting at that time.  I actually managed to ask two intelligent questions during the Q&A (which I'd thought up beforehand), and have a tiny-but-coherent conversation with her while she signed the books.  I asked her to dedicate one of them to the college professor who introduced me to her work, so that gave me something to say :-)

And now, time to tag the last ten people who commented on my blog.  I think that's a unique and fun way to tag people, as otherwise I feel kind of weirdly pressured to find bloggers I think will like the tag, etc.  So I hereby tag:

Charity

Eowyn

Heidi

Joanna

Lynn M.

Maggie

Melody

Reyna

Rissi

Sarah

Play only if you want to :-)  Here are the official questions, to make it easier for you to cut and paste:

#1 Who's your favourite singer/group?
#2 If your favourite male actor was in the same room as you right now, what would your reaction be?
#3 Is there a famous person you used to love but (due to something they have done in their life) you've suddenly changed your mind?
#4 Name a famous person you like who's name starts with a V.
#5 What's one of your favourite red-carpet dresses?
#6 Who's your favourite Royal person?
#7 Who's your favourite child actor/tress
#8 Is there an actor/actress you actually like their private lives of? (Not sure if that last question was properly phrased.)
#9 Do you think that the actors/actresses have improved these last 100 years?
#10 What's the weirdest famous-people name?
#11 Do you think you look like a famous person? Which one(s)?
#12 Share your favourite famous-person quote.
#13 Who's your favourite dancer?
#14 Why is your favourite actress your favourite one? When did you decide that she was your favourite?
#15 Have you ever met/seen/been close to a famous person?