Stardom has never looked so scary.
Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's violent death is a chilling reminder of the dark side of celebrity.The designer, alone and unprotected, was gunned down at point-blank range outside his Miami Beach villa after returning from an early morning trip to a nearby cafe to buy some magazines.
"Fame brings a young man to the front door with a gun," says Dr. Park Dietz, an FBI forensic psychiatrist and founder of Threat Assessment Group, a security consulting firm in Newport Beach, Calif.
In the wake of Versace's death, the switchboards of many security firms in New York, Miami and Los Angeles that cater to celebrities lit up with requests for information.
"I'm getting a lot of calls. People are a little leery," says Joseph T. Mullen. His New York-based security firm issued a joint advisory to 47 clients with another company, Unitel, after Versace's slaying.
The message? Be cautious.
"Versace disliked security. He didn't like having someone standing over him," said Markus Ebner, a spokesman for the designer. "He thought security isolated him from the people."
That belief may have left him vulnerable.
Versace rarely had bodyguards as he regularly strolled South Beach. There were security cameras at his villa, but he reportedly had them turned off.
"Always be aware of your surroundings. That's the best thing that you can do," says officer Alex Vargas of the Los Angeles Police Department's Threat Management Unit, an anti-stalking group.
"The fact is that the average celebrity is not going to be gunned down," said Jack Levin, director of the Program of the Study of Violence at Northeastern University in Boston. "But reading about Versace may bring them pause."
Mark J. Lerner, president of Epic Security, a private guard service in New York, concurs. "It's rare, but it only takes a few wacky guys who want to change the world."
John Lennon was shot by a deranged fan in front of his Central Park West apartment. In Los Angeles, actress Rebecca Schaeffer was killed when she answered the front door. A stalker had hired a private detective to locate her home address.
Actress Theresa Saldana and tennis star Monica Seles survived savage stabbings by stalkers. Two years ago, Tejano star Selena was murdered by her former fan club president at a Texas motel.
"All celebrities are going to receive the attention of those who want something irrational," Dietz says. "What they need to be is alert to risks that are different from that of everyone else."
Dietz, who has testified and consulted in many high-profile cases, including the stalking of Schaeffer, Michael Jackson and Cher, says "celebrity stalking is certainly on the rise."
He says there are 200,000 stalkers in the United States, with celebrities comprising a whopping 17 percent of their intended victims.
Madonna, Michael J. Fox, David Letterman and designer Todd Oldham have all been terrorized for extended periods.
While most celebrities are well protected at public gatherings, some reject an entourage during off-times - precisely when they are most vulnerable.
Levin advises his celebrity clients to rely more on bodyguards and less on cameras.
"Nowadays, there's an emphasis on electronics over personnel. People are in love with the gadgets," he says.
"But cameras don't stop a murder. They televise it."