The reason I liked Robin Leach, who has passed away at the age of 76 after having suffered a stroke last November, is because on his famous show that he hosted, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, he had total contempt for them. All the episodes featured one celebrity or other ultrarich person and showed how utterly obscene his or her lifestyle really was. It was a popular show back during the Reagan years, when greed was considered good. Leach mostly kept his opinions to himself on the show, but it was elsewhere he was clearly contemptuous of the people he covered.
The show was one of the iconic shows of the degenerate 1980s, like the fictional television prime time soaps like Dallas and Dynasty, when the rich were worshipped and ultimately catered to by our elected officials, while the masses started getting screwed over with ruinous trade agreements, gutting of unions, and the outsourcing of millions of jobs. In many cases, devastation suffered by millions helped bankroll the lifestyles of these parasites Leach showed on his program.
Watching that show was like looking at a train wreck. You know you shouldn't be watching it, but you can't help but look at it.
Leach was a print journalist, or rather, tabloid journalist, before he turned to television in the 1980s. He died in Las Vegas. He loved the city more than anyplace in the world. In a way, the city was the perfect fit.
link
His big break came in 1984 with the debut of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” a program he created with legendary television producer Al Masini. The syndicated show, which ran from 1984 to 1995, focused on celebrities’ lavish homes and favorite destinations. Many cultural observers point to “Lifestyles” as a turning point that opened the door for other celebrity-centric reality shows, including “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
“I had done a lot of show business reporting in Britain and it was an area of journalism that I thoroughly enjoyed covering,” he said. “The foibles of famous people, their need for applause … that they would be willing in a sense to put their life or careers on the line every time they did a show or played a concert or made a film or performed in a play. … There were always stories to be found with those people.”
“The more eye-popping and outrageous, the better,” Leach told Askmen.com, describing the “Lifestyles” approach. “We wanted to make your mouth drop. That was the main effect. One picture was worth a thousand words, so if you had more pictures, the less you would have to say.”
Here is a vintage episode, which I hope stays up:
By the way, I think I missed Khashoggi's death last year. He was 81. It should tell you how much I pay attention to the filthy rich. Here is a not-flattering obituary.
And Adnan Khashoggi helped sell enough of these weapons to become one of the world’s wealthiest men: a fortune once estimated at £2.4 billion, friendships with Saudi and Hollywood royalties, homes all over the world, a superyacht later sold to Donald Trump, a personal bodyguard nicknamed Mr Kill.
He started young, helped by the contacts that come from having a father who was the court doctor to King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia.
Aged 21, about a year after enrolling at Chico State College, California, he earned a commission of $150,000 dollars for assisting in a deal to sell $3 million of trucks to Egypt.
He never returned to finish his college degree.
Adnan didn't need it.
Anyway, rest in peace, Robin.
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