She Likes to Watch

I once read an article titled “When good art happens to bad people.”

The premise was this: Behind some of the world’s greatest masterpieces are morally questionable people.

Case in point: Roald Dahl wrote several wonderful children’s books including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda” and “The BFG.” He’s also been accused of racism, sexism and other evils of his era.

Playwright Norman Mailer stabbed his wife.

Beat writer William S. Burroughs shot his.

François Villon, the 15th-century French poet, killed a priest, spent stints in prison for street brawls and was banished from Paris after a church robbery.

And that’s just the writers.

Add artists, musicians and actors to the mix and you’ve got murder (Caravaggio), child abuse (Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford), assault and gang activity (Notorious B.I.G., Tupak Shakur, et al).

Add to the list Roman Polanski, a film director whose scars include a troubled childhood in Nazi-controlled Poland and a murdered, pregnant wife.

Polanski’s 1977 trial on charges that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl — and its bizarre aftermath — are the subject of a new documentary by director Marina Zenovich.

“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” premieres tonight on HBO at 9 a.m. EST. (Part of a series of summer documentaries, it’s slated to air through July 5.)

To me, “Wanted and Desired” poses an interesting question.

What do we do when an artist as talented and highly respected as Polanski commits a reprehensible, inexcusable crime? Should we cross “Chinatown” off the American Film Institute’s “Top 100″ list? Deny him an Oscar for “The Pianist”?

Do we buy R. Kelly albums, knowing about his underage child sex scandal? Or watch Mel Gibson films, considering his anti-Semitic remarks?

What do we do when smart, talented, gifted people do very bad things?

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Movie poster courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

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P.S. After further research I have removed the name of silent film comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle from the list of so-called “Hollywood baddies.”