THE HARRIS POLL #43, August 9, 2000

___________________________________________________________

Hope, it seems, springs eternal, and Americans are famous for their optimism. Almost a third of all adults, over sixty million people, believe that they are at least somewhat likely to become famous for at least 15 minutes – which seems improbable to say the least. And 13% (approx. 26 million people) think this is very likely.

This is one of the results of a Harris Poll on the subject of fame conducted among 1,010 adults, surveyed by telephone between July 13^th and 17^th.

When this cross-section of Americans were asked which two famous people they would choose to have dinner with, President Bill Clinton was an easy winner, followed, in this order, by Pope John Paul, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Billy Graham. The second half of the top ten most popular dinner companions are Michael Jordan, Al Gore, George W. Bush, Bill Gates, and Ronald Reagan.

Surprisingly, to me if not to others, many more people chose to dine with politicians (35%) than with movie stars (18%), singers, or musicians (13%), T.V. personalities (10%), or sports stars (9%). Also high on the list were religious leaders (11%).

When asked how they would be likely to use their fame, if they were famous, the overwhelming majority (84%) said they would very likely help people who are less fortunate. Substantial but far smaller numbers said they would be very likely to use it to help make a business, product, service or organization better known (48%), to win promotion or get a better job (37%) or to help make people more aware of their talents, abilities and expertise (35%).

Public relations guru Edward Segal, whose recent book "Getting Your 15 Minutes of Fame, and More" (John Wiley & Sons, 2000) advised individuals how to become famous, said the findings show that "millions of people believe that, sooner or later, they’ll be in the public spotlight. Their optimism may be justified. Thanks to the widespread use of, and access to, the Internet, and the media’s insatiable demand for stories, it’s now easier than ever before for people to achieve the level of public recognition they want for their themselves or their companies, products, services, projects, causes, or expertise."

Base: All Respondents

"It has been said that eventually everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame, that is, be well-known or widely recognized for an accomplishment or activity for a short period of time. How likely do you think this will really happen to you?"

Base: All Adults

"If you were famous, how likely would you be to use your fame (INTERVIEWER NOTE: READ EACH ITEM)…? Would you be very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely?"

Base: All Respondents

"If you could have dinner with two famous living people, what two people would you choose (spontaneous, unprompted replies)?"

Base: All Respondents

"If you could have dinner with two famous living people, what two people would you choose (spontaneous, unprompted replies)?"

In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

____________________________________________________________

12706
Q705, 710A – 710E, 715, 716