Clooney is Cool...

Perhaps cosmetic surgery is a big reason for it, as well as simply a lessening of the aging stigma as people take care of themselves more, but it seems that matinee idols like Clooney and others before him - Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood come to mind - are more comfortable working well into middle-age than they used to be. If I'm not mistaken, guys like Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart retreated into retirement or semi-retirement as their looks started to fade, at least partly to preserve their screen legacy as leading men. They didn't want to be Willie Mays falling down in the Shea Stadium outfield. For whatever reason, though, the culture has begun to recognize a certain dignity in middle and old age.

 

Bet he hit that.

 

If Clooney's looks ever start to fade, I'll let you know. The man gets better looking every year.

 

Yes. That happens naturally, you know.

 

Interesting. JR tells me the same thing.

 

I think it was either Steve McQueen or James Dean.

 

I think he is actually way better looking now than he was in the 80s.

 

But nobody looked good in the '80s.

I know that that's a slight exaggeration, but only slight. The looks from that decade are so of their time, and so dated today, that everyone looks kind of silly now. Same with a lot of the '90s and certainly the '70s. One reason that guys like Sinatra, Grant and Bogart retain their cachet as style icons is because they presented themselves in a way that was timeless. After a two or three decade detour, it seems like we're kind of back to that. Hopefully for good.

 

I think Cruise, Kilmer, Depp and Rob Lowe all looked better then than now.
Esp. Kilmer! Holy shit he looks bad now.

Clooney has most-def. gotten better looking with age. He's become classically good-looking, in the vein of Grant. You have a point about the out-dated styles. Once Clooney lost the trendy styles he became much more attractive.


Bogart, can never be considered good looking. How that dude became a leading man?

I am a straight man.

 

Anyhoo, I think Clooney is for real as far as being more down to earth than the vast majority of stars. A 15-year sample of his public behavior tells me that. He always had the looks; the restyling of the hair, and the gaining of some weight, made the difference.