Arrested developments
Americans love their famous people. And we love it even more
when they screw up. A little celebrity schadenfreude helps make the day go by, and that’s why we’ve
bookmarked The Smoking Gun’s collection of police mug shots of the rich and
famous — or sometimes just infamous — at www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/index.html.
They’re all here: athletes, actors, musicians, and wannabes
arrested for drug possession or assault and battery or driving under the
influence (sometimes all three). Most of the pics
feature the stars with definitive “oh, shit” looks on their faces. But others
offer more entertaining dividends. To see what Hollywood’s castoffs look like
sans makeup and after a rough night, click on former Baywatch babe YasmineBleeth,
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, or erstwhile kiddie star MacauleyCulkin, caught with unprescribed prescription drugs prior to his recent indie comeback.
Some of the celebs seem unfazed by
their run-ins with the law. Rocker Jack White, pundit Rush Limbaugh, and
disgraced legislator Tom DeLay work the camera,
possibly mistaking the term “mug shot” for “publicity shot.” Others look
downright pitiful, like poor Growing
Pains star Tracey Gold, who clearly needed a hug in September 2004 after
rolling her SUV with her family inside (alas, she was a little drunk at the
time).
The real treasures are the mug shots so juicy they beg to be
posted as your wallpaper. Wynona Judd is a personal favorite, her cockeyed
smile perhaps the result of being busted at twice Tennessee’s legal blood alcohol level. It’s
tough to beat Michael Jackson’s gaunt, over-eyelinered
photo from his 2003 booking on charges of child molestation. But the best have
to be the hair-raising photos of Nick Nolte and James Brown. Want to keep your
kids off drink and drugs? Give ’em one look at these
two hot messes.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2006.
