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Basic Black by Arthur Black Putting the 'fan' in 'fanatic' Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face. John Updike You know Agnetha? Agnetha Faltskog, the blue-eyed Nordic blonde? blonde? Not ringing a bell for you, eh? Well, if you've been around the block, you certainly knew her once, although you probably probably wouldn't recognize her today. She's 55 years old now. Been living by herself on a remote island in the Baltic Sea for the past 20-odd years. To tell you the truth Agnetha's gone a little bit weird. Afraid of airplanes. Can't stand crowds. Avoids open spaces. Doesn't like to be around electronic equipment. Which is a switch for Agnetha. Back in the 70's she was perpetually surrounded by thousands of people, not to mention television cameras, tape recorders and microphones. microphones. She flew around the world several times a year, first class. Agnetha Faltskog was the Dancing Queen - the statuesque blonde in the Swedish pop group Abba. She helped them sell 350 million records worldwide. worldwide. And it damn near killed her. Agnetha developed celebrity phobia. She began to have nightmares about her fans turning violent and aggressive. "I had visions that [fans] grabbed hold of me," she says, "that I was being suffocated by the sheer weight of people." Which wasn't so far from the truth. Agnetha remembers adoring fans at concerts surging around her like a stormy sea, reaching, clutching, pawing. "Sometimes when we were finally back in the car, we would burst into tears from the sheer terror of it. It shapes your whole personality." personality." Or warps it. Celebrity is a strange and willful beast. Some recipients - Paris Hilton, Robin Williams--take to the spotlight like pot plants- in a grow op. Others,- like Agnetha Faltskog and Michael Jackson, wither and writhe like sausages on a hot barbecue. And still others -- a very few - jump out of the way before the celebrity express train runs them over. 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Mr. and Mrs. Webb could have been living in a mansion in Beverley Hills, riding in limos and hob-knobbing with the crème de la Hollywood crème at the Oscars. Back in the early 60's Charles Webb, at the age of 24, found himself an instant -- and famous multi-millionaire. He had just published his first novel, The Gradu-ate. It was about to be made into a blockbuster Hollywood movie and the world was Charlie Webb's oyster. He turned and ran. Forfeited all rights to the book and the movie, gave away two houses -- even unloaded his wedding presents -- and moved with his wife into a trailer park in England. "It (the wealth and the fame) felt phony", Webb says. "It just didn't work for us." Was Charles Webb nuts? No...rather brave, actually. "It wasn't slumming slumming for slumming's sake," says Webb. "It was a need to understand something. And being short of money was part of it." Fame can throw you down some strange corridors. corridors. John Cleese, once the Clown Prince of British comedy, wound up making motivational 4th Line Continued from page 5 Aaron Forward as Paul Wyatt, Anne Coughlan as Mrs. Crump, Caitlin Driscoll as Daisy Ryan and Erin Marian as Maggie Ryan. Joanne Latimer returns to 4th Line as Margaret Ryan, Shelby Marco returns as Caitlin and Robert Winslow, the company's Artistic Director, plays Jack Ryan. That Summer is a stark contrast to the season's highly successful first production, Doctor Bar- nardo's Children. A small, professional cast, an external external director and playwright playwright and the stunning Meadow Stage make for a unique offering. "I had the opportunity to work with David French at Trent University, University, when he came to speak to my Cultural Studies class," says 4th Line Theatre Artistic Director, Rob Winslow. "1 asked him if he had written a play that he thought would work outside. outside. After some thought he suggested That Summer, and here we are, two years later, videos for small businesses. businesses. Cleese met eveiy- body who was anybody in the entertainment business business during his career, but even he could be dazzled in the presence of star power greater than his own. Meeting Queen Elizabeth for the first time, Cleese blurted "I have seen you on stamps." The famous baseball player Babe Ruth was a bit more phlegmatic in the presence of royalty. Upon being presented to King George VI at Buckingham Palace, Ruth nodded amicably and drawled "How ya doin', King?" That's the other thing about celebrity. It can puff up the ego, but it can let the air out of ones' tires even faster - as Aaron Copland, the famous U.S. composer, discovered in a New York bookstore one day. Copland noticed a woman at the cash register register about to pay for a copy of his book What to Listen For in Music as well as a paperback edition edition of Shakespeare's As You Like It. Copland touched her on the arm and asked with a smile, "Would you like me to autograph your book?" The woman looked at Copland blankly and replied, "Which one?" bringing it to the stage. I have great confidence in Kim to do wonderful things with this script, and I am proud to be working with an exceptionally exceptionally talented cast." Winslow will play Jack, a father who brings his teenage girls from Vermont to Southern Ontario for the summer. Tickets to That Summer can be purchased purchased over the phone by calling (705) 932-4445 or toll free at 1-800-814- 0055. Further information information is available online at www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca. The show runs Tuesday to Satur-day, August 18th - September 3rd, with a special Sunday performance performance on September 4th. All shows start at 5:30pm. CORD ROBINSON Local Councillor, Ward 4 Home Phone/Fax: 905-786-2970 Bus. Phone: 905-623-3379, Ext 294 Fax: 905-623-5717 Email M 40 BowmwvMt, ON L1C VI