Gates of Eden

Click to enlarge to appreciate the nuance

In this photograph swiped from Wikipedia, actor Gates McFadden — bored? tired? hungry? all three? — reminisces for young fans at the Dallas Comic Con in 2006. Best known for playing the redheaded Beverly Crusher on the Jean-Luc Picard edition of Star Trek, the beautiful Ms. McFadden has had an otherwise unexceptional career after starting out as one of Jim Henson’s Muppeteers. 57-years-old at the time this photo was taken, one can only imagine how tedious and/or tortuous these autograph gigs can be — especially for any actor who once saw stardom in their future. How many times can you merrily relate the same tired anecdotes? How often are you asked to discuss other actors? How many fabrications must you perpetuate about revivals that’ll never happen? And when you get back home and look in the mirror, does disillusionment collide with depression, or are you grateful to earn grocery money by reliving the past and scribbling your name a few hundred times?