Public figures who’ve passed

[Swango1980]

I doubt very much he would have called himself a celebrity, but he was very much an A-Lister in terms of fame and importance.

The fact he wouldn't call himself a celebrity is a big part of what makes him an A-Lister in my opinion. Anybody that likes to go around and call themselves a celebrity is probably more a Z-Lister. Someone who would do anything to become famous, despite having no elite talent at anything in particular.

 

[Imurg]

. Someone who would do anything to become famous, despite having no elite talent at anything in particular.

That, to me, is the ultimate definition of a Celeb......

 

[Orikoru]

Do we need to change the topic name to "Famous or otherwise well-known people who have passed"?

 

[Swango1980]

That, to me, is the ultimate definition of a Celeb......

Sadly, that is because in our modern world social media, influencers, reality TV, has warped our understanding what a celebrity is.

A little bit of Googling, celebrity was first used to mean "fame" around 1600, and first used to describe a famous person in 1849. Therefore, if we go back before these untalented wannabe famous people existed in the media, I'd imagine the likes of Mohammad Ali, Martin Luthur King, Winston Churchill, Marlon Brando, John Lennon, George Best etc were all "celebrites". In my opinion, people like that are the proper celebrities. At least A-List ones anyway, but yes, we also need to include the untalented people that somhow become famous (or infamous), simply as they've gained fame and recognition within a certain section of the public.