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Cover up

In the old days of Hollywood, whenever a stars complexion wasn’t perfect or those horrible age lines had begun to set in, all that was needed was a little Vaseline or cheese cloth on the lens to diffuse the image. Those days are over. HDTV sees all and it ain't pretty. Phillip Swann, writing for Television Week was one of the first to report on the problem that has makeup artist everywhere scrambling for solutions. No doubt People, Entertainment Weekly, E-TV, etc. will all be doing follow-ups in the future.

What Mr. Swann points out is that some of the beautiful people, most particularly Cameron Diaz, will suffer the harsh truth of those probing HDTV cameras. A long sufferer of bad acne, Ms. Diaz was always able to take cover under the magic of the make-up artist’s brush. But in HDTV, those pockmarks are looking like craters on the moon. The flip side of the problem is that actors with naturally clear skin, will appear more perfect than life.

It was Max Factor who first came up with a make-up formula that could be worn under heavy lighting without reflecting. Prior that, stage actors relied on a shiny concoction known as "Greasepaint”. Max and his family made a fortune off the original movie makeup formula. Now the industry is once again looking for someone to uncover the right cover-up.

Some are using a technique called airbrushing. Yes, the same tool used to make those snappy license plates and T-shirts you find at beach resorts. It works to a point, but isn’t a panacea. Actually, I had the airbrushing thing done on me once while at CNN. I figured my TV days were numbered when they started spraying makeup on me. Little did I know it was probably just a make up artist who was ahead of his time.

I don’t want to single out Ms. Diaz. She is still a talented and beautiful actress who is by no means alone in her complexion flaws. Check out this list from TVPredictions.com of who will look better and who won’t. To mention a few: George Clooney, Charlize Theron, John Travolta and Lucy Liu will all look better in HDTV. Cameron Diaz is joined by (are you ready), Elizabeth Hurley, Demi Moore, Diane Lane, Steve Martin, Ray Liotta, Sandra Bullock and, (no surprise), all of the Rolling Stones will look worse under the HDTV microscope.

My God! I can only imagine what Larry King will look like in HDTV. Scary thought.

Woof

Here's my dog Penny and I from this month's Atlanta Magazine, The "Woof" issue. No, Penny isn't usually this formal around the house. The guys at the magazine thought it would be fun to dress Penny up as Rex the Wonder Dog (bottom clip on this page).

Farrah

My wife Lisa and I attended the New York Fashion Shows a few weeks back. Among other sights, Farrah Fawcett showed up with a new nose. Actually, it might have been one Michael Jackson left in his Plastic Surgeon's office. What the hell did she do to herself? Now if you're like me and want to remember her as she was, the picture below is for you.

Farrarh Fawcett and I when she was the hottest Angel.