When Smiling for the Camera Goes Wrong

Oct. 24, 2005 — -- If you're one of Tom DeLay's detractors -- or even if you just love celebrity mug shots -- you're no doubt disappointed by the picture of the former Senate majority leader released after his booking on money laundering and conspiracy charges.

DeLay's mug shot was atypical. He wasn't frowning. He didn't sport the greasy wild hair look like Nick Nolte after his DUI arrest in 2002. He didn't look dazed and obviously uncomfortable like Hugh Grant following his bust for a lewd act with a prostitute in 1995. DeLay wasn't holding a vital statistics sign and there were not even booking numbers under his smiling face.

Mug shot connoisseurs were not even treated to a profile shot of the embattled congressman, leading some to ask, "What gives?"

"It was so unsatisfying," said Andrew Goldberg, managing editor of "The Smoking Gun," which is famous for posting celebrity mug shots on its Web site. "We've received so many complaints from people about the shot. He's smiling. He's even wearing his political party pin on his jacket. There's no height chart. ... It looks like something his party would send out on one of his political campaigns. If someone hadn't told me differently, I wouldn't have thought that this was a mug shot."

Celebrity mug shots long have been a source of entertainment.

From mug shots of Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra to Bill Gates and Michael Jackson, celebrity watchers love seeing the rich and famous -- and sometimes infamous -- caught on camera, not showing their best side. Mug shots humble celebrities and make them appear vulnerable.

"It's something that's not handed out by PR (public relations) people," Goldberg explained. "There are no makeup people involved and you catch celebrities not at their best moment."

But sometimes celebrities can prepare for their moments of shame. Eminem was given a chance to surrender on a gun charge in 2000 and appeared for his mug shot in a suit and tie. DeLay had weeks to prepare his strategy for his mug shot. Celebrities, Goldberg pointed out, have the most embarrassing, and candid mug shots during more spontaneous arrests.