Celebrity looks not always appealing

By: Kaye Fish | Morganton News Herald
Published: January 23, 2009

My mother always said, "beauty is only skin deep ... but ugly goes clear to the bone." My dear mother meant that people who had "ugly actions" were ugly throughout, but I thought she meant that people who were physically ugly were just downright unfortunate.
On the subject of physical beauty, celebrities are under a great deal of scrutiny by society, and we feel it our duty and our right to discuss how they look.
I see it as a trade-off for the money and pampered lifestyles they get to lead. Let's face it. We all get old, even celebrities, and time and gravity are our enemies.
For the average schmo like us, it's hard to accept when our favorite celebrity starts to look like something the cat hocked up.
Elvis got fatter than a tick on a blue tick hound and had a tendency to sweat like a politician in church, yet he still insisted on wearing that most unflattering white jumpsuit.
Some say he still wears it when he is working at his job at Burger King in Kalamazoo, Mich. That's just one of the many places he's been sighted after his so called, "death."
Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, both looked like they could use a good ironing once they reached their 60s, and Elizabeth Taylor, well, we all saw what happened to her.
But the one celebrity I remember as one of the most beautiful creatures to ever grace the silver screen was Mickey Rourke. My favorite Rourke film is a rather naughty little chick flick called, "9 1/2 Weeks." It's not a family film, so don't run out to the Blockbuster and grab a copy and a box of Raisinets, then gather the kiddies around the widescreen for quality family time.
The story is about a young couple, Rourke and Kim Bassinger, who have a relationship that lasts for, well, 9 1/2 weeks. I was mesmerized by Rourke in this film. Not because of the extraordinary demonstration of his skills as a master thespian, but because he was just so good looking. Yes, I am that shallow.
He was arrogant, smooth, drop dead gorgeous, and treated Kim Bassinger (Elizabeth) like dirt. After being his doormat for around 9 1/2 weeks, Bassinger (Elizabeth) musters the courage to walk out of his life. She shuts the door and leaves, and after she walks away, Rourke (John) whispers to the walls in the room, "I love you. Would you please come back ... by the time I count to 50? One..." I melted. My neck got all rubbery and the little hairs on my arms stood straight up. In the next shot, Bassinger is seen walking down the crowded streets of New York sobbing hysterically.
"Go back!" I screamed at her, "Did you not hear him? He's going to change!" And he certainly did change. Twenty-three years have passed since the release of this film, and I recently discovered that 23 years have not been kind to Mickey Rourke.
Oh Mickey, why hast thou forsaken me? Rumor has it that Rourke has managed to redeem himself as an actor but not as a sex symbol. Apparently, he is spellbinding in a film called, "The Wrestler." I am not a film critic, but not only do I not want to watch grown men beat each other's brains out, I don't want to see Mickey the way he is now. A hideous lump of butchered plastic surgery. I'd prefer to remember him the way he was. Mickey, would you please come back ... by the time I count to 50? One...