Consumer laws protect us if we buy something that subsequently falls short of what the advertising promised.
But no laws protect TV viewers watching shows with ‘Celebrity’ in the title that fail to include any genuine celebrities.
Today, all you have to do to become one is stay in a house full of cameras for a month with a bunch of people you’d normally cross the road to avoid.
So, when the death of a genuinely talented performer with decades of experience goes practically un-noticed, that rankles with me, especially as the actor Keith Baxter, who recently died at the age of 90, was born in Wales.
He made a few films, notably Orson Welles’ extraordinary “Chimes At Midnight”. But he was mainly a man of the theatre – successful in the West End and on Broadway.
Yet I’d hazard a guess you’ve probably never heard of him.
Keith was born in Newport (then in Monmouthsire), but when his father was promoted to Pier Master at Barry Docks, the family moved there. Determined to be an actor, he went to London and trained at RADA.
I haven’t the space to recount all his theatrical successes – although a friend of mine who saw Keith playing the dual role of two brothers in the play “Corpse” in 1984 remembers him being ‘brilliant’.
In 1970, Keith starred in the first London run of Anthony Shaffer’s now classic thriller “Sleuth” opposite the great Anthony Quayle.
They got rave reviews, the play had a long London run and they also triumphed on Broadway when it transferred.
During the London run, anyone who was anyone came backstage after the show to congratulate them, including Sir Laurence Olivier.
As he left their dressing room he said “Boys, this play’s a piece of cake” (He used a ruder word than ‘cake’), winked and departed, leaving Keith and Anthony both stunned at his dismissive comment – the play is a demanding two-hander full of devilishly clever twists and brilliantly witty dialogue.
Three years later Olivier happily starred in the film version, in the Anthony Quayle part – opposite Michael Caine in Keith’s part.
There’s no business like it!