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Lurking behind the red carpets, swanky homes and star-studded parties is a seedier side of celebrity filled with jealousy, competition, greed and murder.
We are all familiar with the celebrities who adorn the red carpets at movie premieres, gala events and special screenings but behind the facade of smiling faces and wealthy lifestyles, there exists a sleazy and at times deadly aspect that not many people are familiar with. For those who succeed in the industry, whether it be acting, singing or dancing, there are literally thousands, if not more, broken dreams that litter the pavements of Hollywood. In the series premiere of “Fame Kills,” we are introduced to Debbie Flores-Narvaez, a young and beautiful up-and-coming dancer from Maryland who moved to Las Vegas to follow her dream of becoming a dancer.
Her love of music and dancing was evident throughout her life, from teenager and into her twenties and thirties. She moved from Puerto Rico to Baltimore, Maryland when she was a child and quickly learned English. With very little in the way of opportunities for dancers in Baltimore, after graduating high school, she decided to obtain a degree so she could find a good job and earned a Bachelor’s in International Business and a Master’s Degree in Finance. While working at a law firm, although the pay was good, her dream of becoming a dancer never subsided and eventually she packed everything up and moved out to Las Vegas by herself.
After getting to meet other dancers and musicians in the area, Debbie’s career began to slowly take off and eventually her life seemed to be on the fast-track to stardom as she landed a solo act in the renowned and celebrated burlesque show “Fantasy,” at the Luxor but on the eve of her big performance, she never showed up for rehearsals and when the big day came and went, family and friends began to worry, initially blaming exhaustion for her no-show. Throughout the episode, friends who worked with her said that unlike actors, who are projected onto a movie screen, dancers are in the same auditorium with the audience and are prone to stalkers.
After several days, authorities turned their interest to Debbie’s boyfriend, a Cirque du Soleil performer named Jason Griffith. Initially very helpful with police in their investigation, he was not considered a suspect but after they received a tip from an anonymous caller, they happened upon a chilling discovery, one that would, ironically, shadow Debbie’s favorite TV show at that time, “Dexter.” “Fame Kills” is a series that shines a spotlight on those who almost made it and there appears to be more interest about stories of failure, affliction and murder than those of success and happiness.
The overall quality of the show is top-notch and the actors who recreate what happened to their real-life counterparts, do a great job with the material they have. Throughout the episode, we hear first-hand accounts from family and friends explaining what kind of a person Debbie was and we even see real-life footage of Jason Griffith in police custody, calmly admitting that he did nothing wrong when the evidence was overwhelming and he had been turned in by a fellow acquaintance. In today’s world, we don’t need to see monsters on the big screen, for all we know, our next-door neighbor could be a real-life “Dexter.”
But that is human nature. While it’s great to read about people who left their hometown and moved to the bright lights of Vegas, Broadway or Hollywood and made it big, we all harbor morbid curiosity and so watching a program about the disappearance and eventual horrific murder of a beautiful starlet, appeals to our senses. In many ways, it’s like watching the ending of a movie where you know the hero or heroine is going to die but you still hope they will survive. And that, I think, is what is important, possessing optimism and expectation even in the most calamitous situations. As Lord Byron once stated, “What is fame? The advantage of being known by people of whom you yourself know nothing, and for whom you care as little.”
Series Premiere Saturday, Sept. 26th at 8 ET/PT on the Reelz Channel
