Today I was watching Family Feud (stay-at-home moms get to do stuff like that). The following question came up:

“Who is the most famous person living today?”

I immediately answered Michael Jackson and Madonna, and maybe Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts, or even Harrison Ford, who FameTracker cites as the sun in the solar system of fame.

But the only entertainment personality who actually made the list was Michael Jackson, and he was the last entry, at number 5. The top four answers (which the people playing actually did come up with) were: George W. Bush, The Pope, Bill Clinton, and Saddam Hussein. Even after Bill Clinton was revealed, tipping me off that there were possibly people to consider who aren’t famous for their pretty faces or cool wardrobes, I couldn’t think of anyone who could possibly be considered more famous than Jim Carrey.

That made me think that my whole idea of what makes a person famous is way out of whack. I think it comes from having a subscription to Entertainment Weekly and Chart magazines, instead of one to Time or MacLeans. Back when I was still writing for Sidekick, I used to have two sets of friends that I used as fame-barometers. One set knew the major stars in Hollywood — your Matt Damons, say, or your Drew Barrymores — but didn’t know much about character actors. I used them to determine who was and wasn’t too famous for the Hey, Who Is That Guy? column. Another set, who will definitely remain nameless for their own protection, loved movies but never, ever paid attention to the stars. They had Tom Hanks and Arnold Schwarzenegger down cold, but often when I talked movies with them, they’d say stuff like, “Who is Renee Zellweger again?” and “Which one is Ben, and which one is Matt?” and “We’ve made an exciting new find for your Hey, Who Is That Guy column — a little known gal called Reese Witherspoon!”

At the time I felt I was all superior to both these couples, totally in touch with the galaxy of stars out there. But now I realise that I’m just a big ol’ geek, and other people care about stuff that has actual meaning, like say, politics or religion. I guess it’s true that your average person on the other side of the world has a more likely chance of knowing who George W. Bush is than Nicole Kidman.

I definitely blame Entertainment Weekly. Not that I’ll be giving up my subscription anytime soon.