tax evaders

11 THINGS: TAX EVADERS

Thursday, April 13, 2006

1. Martha Stewart: Claim to fame? "Domestic Diva." Lovable before? Yes, by cooks, gardeners and polite people. Lovable after? Yes, by late night TV hosts.

2. Willie Nelson: Claim to fame? "Always on My Mind" and Farm Aid. Lovable before? Hell, yes! Lovable after? Even more so.

3. Leona Helmsley: Claim to fame? "Queen of Mean." Lovable before? Hell no! Lovable after? Hahahahaha....

4. Richard Pryor: Claim to fame? Comedy (so funny that he set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine in 1980), also made four films with Gene Wilder. Lovable before? Sure thing. Lovable after? Comedy and tragedy go hand in hand, don't they?

5. Chuck Berry: Claim to fame? Rock & roll pioneer, hit songs include "Roll Over Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "School Days," many more. Lovable before? Rock star status = resounding yes. Lovable after? Too influential not to be.

6. Darryl Strawberry: Claim to fame? Baseball star (with the Mets, Dodgers, Giants and Yankees). Lovable before? Primarily by Mets and Yankees fans. Lovable after? Not by ex-wives.

7. Sophia Loren: Claim to fame? Film star to end all film stars. Lovable before? Refined grace = but, of course. Lovable after? Impossible not to.

8. Spiro Agnew: Claim to fame? Dick Nixon's vice president and Vietnam War hatchet man (1969-73). Lovable before? Not a chance. Lovable after? Was Leona Helmsley lovable after?

9. Al Capone: Claim to fame? Gangster to end all gangsters. Lovable before? If you didn't love him, he'd have you killed. Lovable after? Please reread answer to "lovable before" question and then reread it again.

10. Don King: Claim to fame? Boxing promoter/eccentric/exploding hair. Lovable before? Caricatures are always lovable. Lovable after? Caricatures are still lovable.

11. Heidi Fleiss: Claim to fame? We can't be certain, but we think it has something to do with Charlie Sheen. Lovable before? Not really. Lovable after? Kinda. Strangely. Yes.

Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/13/NSGQ3I4PF21.DTL

This article appeared on page H - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle