This is an interesting story. I first saw it in The Mail and then I saw the HuffPost one about how people said he was being job shamed by The Mail and Fox News. Here is yet another example of where I am on the fence. The Mail article wasn't making fun of him but clearly the point of the article was "look how far he has fallen". I get it, most people don't expect to see a guy they know from years on TV to be doing a normal job, even if the TV gig was like 30 years ago. It was a headline worth clicking. Then again, of course there should not be any shame in a grocery job. It's certainly not glamorous but he could be doing a lot worse.
Miscellaneous News Thread
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This is an interesting story. I first saw it in The Mail and then I saw the HuffPost one about how people said he was being job shamed by The Mail and Fox News. Here is yet another example of where I am on the fence. The Mail article wasn't making fun of him but clearly the point of the article was "look how far he has fallen". I get it, most people don't expect to see a guy they know from years on TV to be doing a normal job, even if the TV gig was like 30 years ago. It was a headline worth clicking. Then again, of course there should not be any shame in a grocery job. It's certainly not glamorous but he could be doing a lot worse.
My kid was a bagger in high school, then she stepped-up to the deli, because bagging is at the bottom even for a high-schooler. So yeah, it would be weird to see any able-bodied adult bagging groceries, let alone an actor from the #1 show on television. There's got to be a story behind this.
Any actor, musician, or athlete that had a chance to make a living for a while doing their thing is a success story to me. Most don't get a chance to do it full time like that.
He wasn't the main character on the show or anything. I wouldn't expect him to extremely wealthy. At least he;s doing something.
He wasn't the main character on the show or anything. I wouldn't expect him to extremely wealthy. At least he;s doing something.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
A job is a job. One shouldn't criticize someone for having one.
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Alright, let's cut the feel-good bullcrap, m-kay? The guy has acted as recently as earlier this year. He's had somewhat regular gigs. This is clearly an in-between thing that he's doing. Or maybe he's got money banked, occasionally acts, and does some things to fill his days.
Either way, he's a Yale graduate who made it to the top of the acting world. He's not in the same boat as the rest of us. He teaches an acting class at some university. If he was truly looking for full-time work to support himself and his family, he'd do something else - unless he's all screwed-up from drugs.
How much you wanna bet they're either spouses of people who make a good income, or semi-retirees?
Huh? So you're saying because he works bagging groceries at Trader Joe's and he has a Yale degree he must be all screwed up from drugs? He can't just be working poor?
I'd bet against that. Why would you think adults bagging groceries are married to people with a good income or semi-retirees?
The working poor don't regularly appear in TV and movies, and teach acting.
And the real working poor aren't bagging full-time at $7.50/hr, they're doing something that they can almost live off of. Why didn't Koop and Wolf just get jobs as baggers when they needed work? According to you, that's what people are doing.
Most actors don't make squat. Same for acting teachers. So a lot of actors are working poor.
Also a lot of working poor are bagging groceries. They live off of $7.25/hour (minimum wage in the US).
I don't know that Koop and Wolf didn't get jobs as baggers when they needed work. Did they?
I'm confused by your viewpoint, or what I'm getting of it from your posts. Do you know many poor people?
Jim Parsons was an actor here in Houston before he was cast in "The Big Bang". He worked at Whole Foods, where they don't allow unions and baggers make minimum wage.
I feel it coming...
If he worked there after TBB, you'd have a point. But that's not the case, so your story is meaningless.
The person we're discussing was on the #1 TV show for 5 years, so again, this doesn't apply.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Bit player. Wouldn't have got much. And probably signed when it just started to 5 year minimum level. Nobody knew it was going to be that big at the start.
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OK, so you're assuming Geoffrey Owens was well paid for his 5 years on The Cosby Show.
I don't make that assumption. He was credited in 44 episodes spanning 6 seasons, so about 7 episodes per season. My guess is he made $50k-$60k per year for that work, probably less at first and more toward the end. A decent living at the time but that was 26 years ago. Since then he's had a lot of small roles that probably haven't paid much.
My story's meaning is that actors usually don't make much money and have day jobs doing things like bagging groceries. A few actors become very wealthy, but most struggle to make ends meet.
Oooh sorry, that would be the wrong answer. He did the last 5 years of the show, and he was more than a "bit" player.
Look, all I'm saying is that the guy was once on top, he continues to act, has an Ivy League degree, and has a former Congressman for a father. He has enough experience, education, and connections that he can do other things if needed. It's fine that he's doing this type of work, and it really doesn't affect me one way or another. I just think the situation is being over-dramatized by the media.
Over-dramatized in which way? Too much job shaming? Or too much job-shaming-shaming? I've only seen it talked about here, so I don't know much about what "the media" is doing.
Education and connections won't stop you from being poor. It's waiting out there like a wolf at the door for all of us, especially as we age.
I hate the paparazzi, and I think they're sensationalizing a story without all the facts, so that it seems more interesting than it probably is.