Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

In this stunning book, photographer Brian Howell takes us into the world of celebrity impersonators—the faux famous people who make a living at pretending to be someone else. Taken at various impersonator conventions and stage shows throughout North America, the photographs are both startling and poignant—for all of the frivolity and double takes ("Isn't that Paris Hilton?") there is also a sense of the real person beneath the makeup and the artifice. Accompanying the portraits are first-person narratives by many of the subjects, many of whom feel personally close to those they are impersonating, even if they have never met them. In addition, in two essays, cultural critic Norbert Ruebsaat looks at the history of celebrity culture, and Geist magazine editor Stephen Osborne delves into the nature of photographing impersonators. As such, the book investigates the nature of fame in this era of celebrity blogs, stalkerazzi, and reality television—and how our obsession with famous people says as much about us as it does about them.

Subjects include impersonators of:
Bono Mike Myers (as Austin Powers)
George W. Bush Mike Myers (as Dr. Evil)
Hilary Clinton Jack Nicholson Johnny Depp Ozzy Osbourne Paris Hilton Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Elvis Presley Angelina Jolie Anna Nicole Smith Marilyn Manson Donald Trump Liza Minnelli Oprah Winfrey

1120053685
Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

In this stunning book, photographer Brian Howell takes us into the world of celebrity impersonators—the faux famous people who make a living at pretending to be someone else. Taken at various impersonator conventions and stage shows throughout North America, the photographs are both startling and poignant—for all of the frivolity and double takes ("Isn't that Paris Hilton?") there is also a sense of the real person beneath the makeup and the artifice. Accompanying the portraits are first-person narratives by many of the subjects, many of whom feel personally close to those they are impersonating, even if they have never met them. In addition, in two essays, cultural critic Norbert Ruebsaat looks at the history of celebrity culture, and Geist magazine editor Stephen Osborne delves into the nature of photographing impersonators. As such, the book investigates the nature of fame in this era of celebrity blogs, stalkerazzi, and reality television—and how our obsession with famous people says as much about us as it does about them.

Subjects include impersonators of:
Bono Mike Myers (as Austin Powers)
George W. Bush Mike Myers (as Dr. Evil)
Hilary Clinton Jack Nicholson Johnny Depp Ozzy Osbourne Paris Hilton Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Elvis Presley Angelina Jolie Anna Nicole Smith Marilyn Manson Donald Trump Liza Minnelli Oprah Winfrey

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Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame

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Overview

In this stunning book, photographer Brian Howell takes us into the world of celebrity impersonators—the faux famous people who make a living at pretending to be someone else. Taken at various impersonator conventions and stage shows throughout North America, the photographs are both startling and poignant—for all of the frivolity and double takes ("Isn't that Paris Hilton?") there is also a sense of the real person beneath the makeup and the artifice. Accompanying the portraits are first-person narratives by many of the subjects, many of whom feel personally close to those they are impersonating, even if they have never met them. In addition, in two essays, cultural critic Norbert Ruebsaat looks at the history of celebrity culture, and Geist magazine editor Stephen Osborne delves into the nature of photographing impersonators. As such, the book investigates the nature of fame in this era of celebrity blogs, stalkerazzi, and reality television—and how our obsession with famous people says as much about us as it does about them.

Subjects include impersonators of:
Bono Mike Myers (as Austin Powers)
George W. Bush Mike Myers (as Dr. Evil)
Hilary Clinton Jack Nicholson Johnny Depp Ozzy Osbourne Paris Hilton Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Elvis Presley Angelina Jolie Anna Nicole Smith Marilyn Manson Donald Trump Liza Minnelli Oprah Winfrey


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781551522289
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press, Limited
Publication date: 11/01/2007
Pages: 196
Product dimensions: 8.00(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Brian Howell is a photographer whose work has been exhibited extensively in Canada, the U.S. and recently in Italy; his first book, One Ring Circus, was about small town wrestling circuits. He lives in Delta, BC Canada. Norbert Ruebsaat is a poet and a communications professor at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC Canada). Stephen Osborne is the publisher of Geist, an award-winning cultural magazine in Canada, and the co-founder of Arsenal Pulp Press.

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