Fame and celebrity are not mutually exclusive: they are points on a spectrum. Fame has a long half-life, celebrity a fast turnover. Fame often lives forever, celebrity seeks immortality but often melts in the heat.
Fame inspires 'civilians' to become their heroes and heroines, celebrity motivates the public to replace the targets of their affection. Fame attracts all age groups, celebrity burns hot for some but passes many people by.
Fame holds publicity at arm's length, celebrity welcomes in the paparazzi. Fame celebrates rites of passage freely in public, celebrity sells privacy to Hello! magazine.
Fame trumps celebrity.
Fame shines a spotlight on reaction to events, celebrity seeks to manipulate events. Fame exudes gravitas, celebrity excludes gravity. Fame is international, celebrity can be parochial.
Celebrities can transcend into fame via grace or force of personality: Muhammed Ali, Charlie Chaplin, Grace Kelly, Pablo Picasso, Dame Kelly Holmes.
The famous can transform into true celebrities via scandal: John Profumo, Richard M Nixon, Jeffrey Archer, Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, Roman Polanski, Phil Spector.
A few straddle both worlds: Madonna, Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Geldof, David Beckham, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Some stay famous through the ages, although the shading of their fame may evolve and be refracted by the present day: Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, William Shakespeare, Mozart, Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Karl Marx, Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein, Gandhi.
Some achieve the celebrity of a mayfly on the scale of human history, however uncomfortable the coverage gets: Big Brother contestants, most talent show entrants, Eurovision representatives, most Bright Young Things who show up to parties snapped for the tabloid press.
Some of the famous did not simply seek centre stage for themselves, rather for the companies they run or the causes they represent: HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, Martin Luther King Jr, Bill Gates, Terry Waite and John McCarthy, Nelson Mandela.
For some of the famous, the jury is still deciding: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Barack Obama.
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