As one of the older people in the Leader office, I sometimes casually refer to a once famous person who the younger employees maybe never heard of or only know vaguely in a historical sense.
Then again, the whippersnappers drop names that I don’t recognize or have no idea why the person mentioned has gained fame.
A reference of mine that comes to mind is Newt Gingrich. I should not expect those under, say, 45 to remember that this was the House speaker who butted heads with President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. But during his day, he was regularly interviewed on national news broadcasts.
How about Jimmy Hoffa? You would hear his name in the news here and there in the early 1970s. He was more or less known by the public as a national labor leader. Then, he disappeared in 1975 and for years what happened to him remained a topic of speculation, including the long-standing rumor he’d been murdered and buried in an end zone of Giants Stadium. This theory was refuted around 2010 when they tore down the stadium and found no bodies, let alone Hoffa’s.
The younger set may know something of Hoffa because of movies like “The Irishman” from 2019 or “Hoffa” from 1992. But, there are no guarantees they’ve heard of the man.
For a few years in the 1980s, Geraldine Ferraro was a politician regularly in the spotlight. She ran for vice president on the ticket with presidential candidate Walter Mondale in 1984. Ronald Reagan won reelection that year in a landslide, but Ferraro continued to be in the public eye for quite a while.
I recall that her hairstyle gained a certain amount of attention and even my grandmother considered getting a “Geri” cut.
For as noted as Ferraro was in her day, I rarely hear her mentioned in any circles anymore and, certainly, my young coworkers have little reason to recognize her name.
Here’s another blast from the past: Michael Winslow. He’s the comedic actor known for being a human sound effects machine. I don’t know that he was ever a household name, but he was widely recognizable in the 1980s as the guy in the “Police Academy” films who made all the funny noises using his voice alone.
If you mention Michael Winslow, you have to explain his exceptional vocal talents. Even then, the younger crowd is not necessarily going to know who you are talking about.
Another name from 40 or 50 years ago is Charo. I remember comics in the '70s questioning why this woman was considered a celebrity, but there she was on “Hollywood Squares.” You’d see her appear on other game shows, as well as on “The Tonight Show” or “The Love Boat.” The point is, if you were around during that era, you likely were familiar with Charo.
Bring her up now, though, and unless the person you are speaking with watched television back then, they are not likely to know of the performer whose catchphrase was “cuchi-cuchi.”
A couple of other names of celebrities from long ago that come to mind are Perry Como and Andy Williams, singers popular from before my time who showed up every December to host TV Christmas specials. Whether you watched their shows or not, if you were around in the 1960s or 1970s, you likely were aware these performers existed.
Music is a great divider between the generations.
While the Leader staffers decades younger than me may not relate if I speak of Como or Williams, they lose me if they talk about performers like Sabrina Carpenter.
In asking for help from the younger staffers as to currently popular musicians, they mentioned names they found on a list from Spotify. This, again, sets us apart. While I have heard of Spotify, it is not part of my life. I understand people pull tunes from Spotify. I just don’t know how it works.
If I listen to music, it’s coming from a radio, a CD player or the TV.
According to the young reporters, some currently popular music stars are Benson Boone, Olivia Rodrigo, Geese, Role Model, Sombr and Noah Kahan. While I have heard of Rodrigo, I do not know her songs. As to the rest, I don’t even know what they look like.
As a sports fan, I am much better at keeping up with current famous athletes. For instance, the NBA Finals just started as I write this, and Victor Wembanyama has been all over the TV pregame shows and newspaper sports pages. If you don’t know of him, he is 7-foot-4, can handle the ball and is pretty good at shooting three-pointers. They’ve nicknamed him “The Alien.”
That said, I realize I do not keep up with my sports teams as I did in the past. I remain a devoted St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan and have enjoyed following the exploits of players like Jordan Walker, J.J. Wetherholt and Masyn Winn this season. But, there are times a Cardinal roster move pops up on social media and I don’t recognize the guy brought up to the majors or the guy sent down to the minors.
Now, there are famous folks who span the generations.
Everybody has heard of Mick Jagger. He is not only a music superstar, but has been performing with The Rolling Stones all along since the 1960s. The band is supposed to release a new album in July. Incredible.
Another celebrity I would think most people recognize is Clint Eastwood. He was recently in the news when he announced he was retiring… at age 96. The last film he directed, “Juror #2,” came out in 2024. I guess he was only 94 then.
I would think you could throw Cher into this category of celebrities known by multiple generations. She became a star in the '60s and still draws interest. Just yesterday, I heard several of the young women in our office talking about Cher’s much-younger boyfriend. Well, good for her.
Some noted people, like Elvis or Prince, remain popular long after their time on Earth has passed.
I just find it interesting that some famous people are products of their times and are no longer widely remembered, while the fame of others continues long after they are gone.