Sunday Rerun: It All Depends

When you consider the work of actress Lisa Rinna, star of great cinematic triumphs such as Captive Rage and Night Sins, you recognize her position as a great chronicler of Hollwood history.

She's been married to Harry Hamlin for almost 20 years, a veritable lifetime by Hollywood standards, and we know Harry from the celebrated films You Lucky Dog and Shoot Or Be Shot, which I believe was the life story of Richard "Dick" Cheney.

Sid's final picture

Sid Vicious is listed as the bass player for the Sex Pistols, although he did not know how to play the bass. Sid, born John Simon Ritchie, had joined the original punk band because he hung with the same crowd as singer/leader Johnny Rotten (ne John Lydon) but he did not know how to play a bass guitar any more than you or I do (unless you are Paul McCartney.) So, Sid (who was named for Rotten's parakeet) conveniently came down with hepatitis as the band prepared to record their great "Never Mind The Bollocks" album.  Later he left the band to move to New York and devote himself full time to using heroin, and killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen at a fleabag hotel.  Upon his bailout from jail, he celebrated by overdosing on heroin supplied by his mother, and died.  

His was not a life to be celebrated. The poor bloke did not quite catch on that show business is half show and half business, and took his punk act to a stupid conclusion.  While he lived, he was fond of attracting attention to himself by wearing clothing with Nazi swastikas, and safety pins in his cheeks.

So this is what they do now

So, Harry and Lisa, with time off from their busy schedule of making commercials for adult diapers, cast about for a legendary couple from a famous movie to portray this Halloween.  Rose and Jack from Titanic?  Scarlett and Rhett from Gone With The Wind? Latika and Jamal from Slumdog Millionaire? No.  They chose to go as Sid and Nancy from Sid And Nancy. 

Harry thought it best to sport a swastika T-shirt on Friday night.

Monday's apology on Instagram read like every celebrity apology you've ever scoffed at: 

"If I hurt you we were being authentic to the characters of Sid and Nancy for our Halloween costumes. It hurt and angered many of you and we are deeply sorry for that. That was never our intention. We did not mean to offend. With love, Lisa and Harry."

Of course, you have to wonder if Harry, faced with career oblivion at age 64, might have thought this was a clever way to get publicity, by traipsing about with the symbol that meant death for six million people. 

And then you realize that it's career decisions such as this that will keep him in the cast of diaper commercials and movies named Quarantine forever.