This is almost certainly a short story by John D. MacDonald (who executed
a few gems of science fiction alongside his great Travis McGee and crime /
melodrama novels). I taught it in a mass comm course a few years ago as an
example of early VR fears a la The Matrix.

Complete reference:

MacDonald, John D. "Spectator Sport." The Great SF Stories 12. Eds. Isaac
Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. New York: Daw, 1984. 19-25.

Take care,
Bob


On Thu, 8 Apr 2004, James Monaco wrote:

> Here's my 1950s Sci-Fi Query.
>
> It's not a film (at least i don't think so), but a short story that has
> stayed with me ever since.
>
> Sometime in the future (maybe as late as 1990). The streets of New
> York. There is little traffic. Grass is growing in the streets. Stuff
> happens. More stuff happens.
>
> The punchline is that by this time everybody makes enough money by the
> time they are thirty to retire, go down in the basement, and plug
> themselves into the TV to live other lives for 50 or a hundred years.
> Once in awhile, they wake up to change the channel. For a couple of
> years you are John Wayne. Then for a few years more you are Jimmy
> Stewart. Then Alan Ladd.
>
> (Actually, I was Alan Ladd, but only for two days. That's another
> story.)
>
> Does anyone have a lead?
>
> If not, can you recommend a list to direct this query to?
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
> James Monaco
> Harbor Electronic Publishing
> 80 East 11th St New York NY 10003
> 212 777 5463   sales: 800 269 6422
>
> http://HEPDigital.com
>
> ----
> Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
> http://www.ScreenSite.org
>
>
>

----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org