Looking for Unpretentious, Professional, Gregarious Truthteller Celebrities

June 1, 2004 12:33 AM

I'm compiling a list of good, decent, honest men and women who aren't saintly, moralistic or freakish and do their jobs in a professional, hard-hitting and yet fundamentally human and gregarious way. The best example of the kind of person I'm looking for is Tim Russert. [More inside.]

It's difficult to define, though it feels natural. The good person isn't preachy and doesn't set him/herself up as an example. They are tolerant of others' weaknesses and quirks but still criticize them mercilessly.

They get into trouble; don't court admiration; go about their jobs in a workmanlike way and generally let themselves be judged on their performance and accept that many suspect them of being perhaps "too good to be true", just as they often feel they understand and accept those they most criticize.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Apologies for the "fuzziness" of the question...

posted by MiguelCardoso to society & culture (52 comments total)

Interesting question. You don't say, but must realize, that you're looking for these traits among the subset of humans we call "celebrities" -- which makes your task much more difficult than if you're accepting answers like, "my former boss, Mark."

But I'll bite anyway: How about U.S. Sen John McCain.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:43 AM on June 1, 2004

Bob Edwards.
posted by interrobang at 12:47 AM on June 1, 2004

Linus Torvalds.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:39 AM on June 1, 2004

Miguel, Russert is a tool. there's a thousand examples
posted by matteo at 2:14 AM on June 1, 2004

None.
posted by Gyan at 3:51 AM on June 1, 2004

Mister Rogers?
posted by tss at 4:04 AM on June 1, 2004

Jim Lehrer, Former President Jimmy Carter, Lee Friedlander, Andre Previn, Carole King

You can probably slog through some of the Fresh Air with Terry Gross interviews at NPR.org. I know her questions are sometimes asinine, but the answers can be great and insightful.
posted by pieoverdone at 4:42 AM on June 1, 2004

From the film industry I'd nominate Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Jodi Foster.
posted by jazzkat11 at 5:05 AM on June 1, 2004

here's more on Russert--he is a complete tool.

McCain, Jimmy Carter, Walter Cronkite (who's going to be working for MTV)
posted by amberglow at 5:35 AM on June 1, 2004

feynmann was one.
posted by andrew cooke at 5:47 AM on June 1, 2004

This'll be the first time I've ever bee naccused of brown nosing, but...when it's right, it's right.
Matt Haughey.

Also, Tim Berners-Lee.
John Peel.
Charles Kennedy.
Alan Shearer.
Tom Robinson.
posted by dash_slot- at 5:50 AM on June 1, 2004

Oliver Sacks
posted by nikzhowz at 5:57 AM on June 1, 2004

Tim Duncan
posted by vito90 at 6:42 AM on June 1, 2004

Ian McKellen
posted by Pretty_Generic at 7:04 AM on June 1, 2004

Warren Buffett
posted by anathema at 7:06 AM on June 1, 2004

Serene Mckellen? How could I have missed him? - having once had dinner with him, he's my only 'claim to fame'
posted by dash_slot- at 7:13 AM on June 1, 2004

Also, from the world of football, Sven Goran-Erikson, Gary Lineker & David Seaman.
posted by dash_slot- at 7:20 AM on June 1, 2004

Miguel: You going to recruit these people to abandon their jobs and live with you inside an extinct volcano?
posted by bingo at 7:24 AM on June 1, 2004

Alton Brown
posted by bondcliff at 7:29 AM on June 1, 2004

dash_slot- forgot Collina
posted by Pretty_Generic at 7:48 AM on June 1, 2004

Migs, given your criteria, I could make a solid case for Shrub and I can't stand the idiot.

Is Sherry Lewis still alive?
posted by mischief at 7:50 AM on June 1, 2004

We're listing absurdly few women here. Maybe Aung San Suu Kyi?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 7:50 AM on June 1, 2004

I second Mr. Rogers.

All the others are deeply flawed.
posted by Fupped Duck at 7:59 AM on June 1, 2004

From Baseball, Cal Ripken Jr. Now he was a workman.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:22 AM on June 1, 2004

Huell Howser
posted by Guy Smiley at 8:28 AM on June 1, 2004

Sherry Lewis isn't, sadly.

Women: Marian Wright Edelman, Bella Abzug, Betty Furness, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jocelyn Elders, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Rosa Parks, Bette Midler, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Mary Kay, Margaret Atwood, Diahann Carroll, Christiane Amanpour, Dorothy Day, Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton...

and Mark Green, Eliot Spitzer.
posted by amberglow at 9:07 AM on June 1, 2004

Well...Me, of course. Silly man.
posted by dejah420 at 9:22 AM on June 1, 2004

My Dad.

Love, Everyone.
posted by luser at 9:51 AM on June 1, 2004

Zeldman.
Alison Keeling-Smith (my son's physio)
posted by Pericles at 10:17 AM on June 1, 2004

This reminds me of the Jewish tradition of the lamed-vov:

"According to an aggadah in the Babylonian Talmud, in each generation there are exactly 36 righteous men -- Lamed Vav Zaddikim -- who received the Divine Presence and whose righteousness sustains the world. In the folklore of the Kabbalah and later that of Hasidism, the idea of these lamedvavniks, as they were commonly called, assumed great significance. They were believed to be anonymous saints who remained unnoticed by other men because of their humble nature and vocations. However, in times of great peril it was believed that the lamedvavnik dramatically appeared and used his hidden powers to defeat the enemies of Israel. Then, as mysteriously as he came, he returned to his usual obscurity."

I've always loved that tradition.

amberglow: Hillary?? Not saying she hasn't done good things, but reread Miguel's criteria...
posted by languagehat at 10:20 AM on June 1, 2004

Brian Eno?
posted by Blue Stone at 10:57 AM on June 1, 2004

Definitely Mr. Rogers, also Maria and Gordon from Sesame Street. Michel Foucault. William Carlos Williams. Dexter Gordon, who was tremendously flawed, but still fits the criteria. Maybe Jan Tschichold.
posted by luriete at 11:02 AM on June 1, 2004

Tarja Halonen (the President of Finland)
posted by severiina at 11:10 AM on June 1, 2004

Hillary as Senator certainly fits it, i think.
posted by amberglow at 11:48 AM on June 1, 2004

Suzanne Farrell
Donna Haraway
Gwen Ifill
John Stockton
posted by invisible ink at 1:15 PM on June 1, 2004

I've always liked Ann Richards, even though she's probably a little more outspoken than what you're looking for.
posted by stefanie at 1:18 PM on June 1, 2004

I'm gonna agree with some earlier commenters--Russert's a total tool, Migs;P I can't even think about him without seeing a mental picture of MWO's animated GIF of him.

I think Bill Hicks fits your criteria, especially if you look at how he spurned opportunities to cash in and by the end of his life, was using the stage as a way to get people to realize that they're all in this together. I'll throw out one more shallow entertainment name, Joss Whedon. Hard-hitting, works harder than he has to, gregarious, humanistic. Just not an important job...

Buckminster Fuller. Steve Wozniak. Mark Twain. Benjamin Franklin. Elie Wiesel. Paul Allen. Umberto Eco. Eliot Spitzer. Colin Powell before the UN (before as in prior, not in front of). Will Rogers. Teddy Roosevelt. George Orwell. Thurgood Marshall. Lech Walesa. Vaclav Havel. Nelson Mandela. MLK. Gandhi. Thoreau. This list is getting very mundane and lazy, so I shall stop. Wait, if I'm going to criticize Russert I have to name at least one journalist...Seymour Hersh? Robert Young Pelton? That dude who keeps on going to Iraq to post to his blog? I have to say, if I was making a list of good, decent, honest men, a journalist would not be the first name...
posted by jbrjake at 2:12 PM on June 1, 2004

molly ivans
john mccain
eliot spitzer
john paul stevens
norman finkelstein
dave sedaris
james earl jones
sean penn
posted by taumeson at 2:20 PM on June 1, 2004

Migs, you're basically asking us to list heroes (small h) not saints, yes?

Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, Meredith Viera, Jane Pauley, Terry Gross, Ellen Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Karen Templer (proprietor of Readerville.com).

Lots of names above that I'd second.
posted by theora55 at 2:20 PM on June 1, 2004

the Dalai Lama.

and the Calvin and Hobbs guy.
posted by dness2 at 4:45 PM on June 1, 2004

Studs Terkel
posted by Harvey Birdman at 6:33 PM on June 1, 2004

Garry Trudeau.

Stephen Jay Gould.
posted by Wet Spot at 6:33 PM on June 1, 2004

Alan Watts.
posted by 4easypayments at 6:35 PM on June 1, 2004

And William Langewiesche.
posted by Wet Spot at 6:35 PM on June 1, 2004

Russ Feingold.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
posted by calwatch at 6:56 PM on June 1, 2004

Rog,and woz

As a second.
posted by lkc at 7:24 PM on June 1, 2004

Paul Wellstone.
posted by marsha56 at 7:33 PM on June 1, 2004

Berkley Breathed
posted by ColdChef at 7:55 PM on June 1, 2004

Helen Thomas.

Hey, don't you guys know that John McCain has a negroe baby?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 8:42 PM on June 1, 2004

Wow - as I work through all these names, I'm just sure I'm going to become unbearably optimistic. Thanks a lot for a great list! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:27 AM on June 2, 2004

Here's another then. I am terribly fond of Terry Pratchett, because he wears his success with believeable modesty; has made me and many other people very happy; and quietly, subtly, and consistently articulates a humane and redemptive view of small people. I miss Douglas Adams for much the same reasons as well.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 2:13 AM on June 2, 2004

George Saunders
Joe Frank
Gary Trudeau
posted by Dukebloo at 8:01 AM on June 11, 2004