by , 11:00 AM EST, February 11th, 2003
This just in from our 'We knew he was on something' department, according to a Yahoo! News article: Benjamin Curtis, a.k.a. The Dell Dude, was arrested Monday in New York for the possession of marijuana. The news quickly swept the Internet yesterday, prompting headlines, comments, and jokes ranging from "Dude, you're getting a cell," to "Dude, you're getting a dimebag." From the article:
Dude, yer gettin' busted! The actor who gained fame and a cult following as the slacker "Steven" in commercials for Dell computers was arrested buying a small bag of marijuana, police said.
Benjamin Curtis, a 22-year-old New York University drama student, was arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor drug possession charge. The charge assumes a suspect is not carrying more than a "use amount" ? enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes.
Police said he was arrested Sunday night on the Lower East Side after officers on a drug detail spotted him buying a small bag of marijuana from Omar Mendez, 19. Mendez faces drug sale and possession charges.
[...]
At the arraignment, Criminal Court Judge Ellen Coin advised Curtis that his case will be dismissed, and his record expunged, if he avoids arrest during the next year.
Asked if he understood, Curtis said, "Yes, ma'am."
Check out the full article at Yahoo! News.
We do wonder, however, if Mr. Curtis' fame allowed him to get off without so much as a slap on the wrist. Perhaps the real punishment here is that his career as the Dell Dude has most likely gone up in smoke. Now, Mr. Curtis must be wondering if his attempted purchase was a toke worth taking and Dell must be wondering if Mr. Curtis can represent them in a positive manner, or if he is too much of a bad weed. Only time will tell.
Seriously though, Ben Curtis's Dell-loving character was a huge part of Dell's successful, and massive, push into the consumer market. Before "Stephen," most of Dell's sales came from the business market. Today, Dell trades off the #1 and #2 spot in the consumer space with HP.
While most geeks, especially male geeks, lambasted "Stephen" with a seething hatred usually reserved for objects of jealousy, the reality is that mainstream America, especially moms and young girls, LOVE the character. Dell began to downplay Stephen's use in its commercials last year, and it remains to be seen how this latest development will be handled by the company.