Faded stars

Given that the Oscars was last night, I thought this might be a fitting moment to comment on the transitory nature of fame.  My mother sells old books.  Yesterday I was helping her pack up at the end of a book fair and came across a photo book of the the leading film stars in 1930.  I flipped through the book and realized that I only recognized a single name out of about 35 actors and actresses in total, Gary Cooper.

Now I'm no classic film buff so there is no real surprise that I don't know more of them.  I'm sure that folks knowledgeable in such things would know a lot more.  The thing that intrigued me was that these stars were most certainly household names in 1930 whose lives and antics were followed in newspapers and magazines.  Now their names mean nothing to the uninitiated. 

As with so many of my posts... I'm not sure exactly what my point is other than it intrigued me.   I've never understood many people's interest in the lives of these stars and looking through that book somehow seemed to validate that indifference I guess.