In a world where the 'thoughts' (expressed opinions) of actors and musicians are the staple of the mass media; it comes to mind that there has perhaps never been an actor or musician who was wise.
Of course nobody-at-all in the public arena is wise nowadays; but there are plenty of examples of wise representatives of most professions from the past. But of actors and musicians?...
There were and are a few intelligent As & Ms, but that intelligence always seems misplaced, foolish, actively-wicked... un-wise.
Indeed, such is the low average level, that when a reasonably smart person is among actors (e.g. like some directors) or among musicians (like some conductors, or composers) the performers express absolute astonishment at their brilliance, and accord them vastly exaggerated reputations.
And when an actor or musical performer is intelligent-merely; they are accorded a reputation for astonishing wisdom, creativity - even genius; even though they are merely spouting mainstream platitudes and secondhand conventional wisdom.
Maybe David Garrick, in the 18th century, was a tolerably wise actor - but he was a lot more than a actor. Glenn Gould was certainly a worthwhile thinker - but again he was much more than a performer. Pure performers?... I can't think of any.
When we are daily force-fed with the news and views of actors and musicians, in multi-page interviews; when biographies of performers take up yards of shelving in the new and secondhand bookshops, it comes to mind to ask - what is really going-on here?
