Strolled through the supermarket over the weekend, and felt bad for actor Patrick Swayze and actress Kirstie Alley.
The 56-year-old Swayze, the movie star best known for his work in “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost,” is battling pancreatic cancer — one of the toughest ones out there.
Alley’s woes are not as serious. The former “Cheers” star has been trying to lose weight for years, and seemingly accomplished her goal in 2006 when she showed off a new look — minus 75 pounds — on Oprah Winfrey’s syndicated television show.
Both are back in the news. An almost skeletal Swayze is on the cover of the National Inquirer this week, with “Lung Removal Surgery” in big yellow words accompanying the photo. A larger version of the 58-year-old Alley is on the People cover with an equally yellow column that screams “Yes, I gained 83 pounds!”
Farrah Fawcett, once the glamorous star of 1970s gimmick show “Charlie’s Angels,” is also inside People this week. And recent newspaper stories have been counting down the days until her demise from cancer. Particularly grim was boyfriend Ryan O’Neal’s statements that a bedridden Farrah has lost her famous blonde hair. He’s got it all back home.
I felt lousy for all three. I don’t want to sound like a preacher, but I’ve never understood why human hardship attracts the curious. Sex and murder have always been hooks to big stories, I don’t know when misery made the list. Why would an inquiring photog snap a photo of Swayze, who is clearly not in the best of health? The man has cancer, they rush it onto the cover. Can’t you just leave the guy alone?
Yes, yes, — people in the public eye get closer looks than anyone else. But everyone deserves some privacy. These bad photos and extended death watches seem more ghoulish than anything else, but the Inquirer has carved out a profitable business by searching for people on the way out. I remember shots they used of Dean Martin and Katharine Hepburn, when both those celebrities were fading.
The same sad headlines are describing Farrah, but it seems like a different kind of case. While Swayze has told the press all along that he feels fine and is still fighting the pancreatic disease, he seems to want his privacy. The 62-year-old Fawcett shot video footage of her trials, and the pictures and words will be part of a documentary film that will be shown Friday on NBC.
Will it raise awareness about her cancer? Probably, and that could be a good thing. But I think I’ll watch a tribute program to the actress instead.
I wonder if Alley is looking for publicity. She didn’t have to talk to anyone about her weight issues, but doing so put her on the cover of a national magazine. Anyway, now everyone knows Kirstie is fat again.
The news vampires can read all about it. I can live without the details.
