Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

What a year poor Selena Gomez is having in terms of unwanted fan interaction. Beyond the annoyance of boyfriend Justin Bieber getting hit with a bogus paternity suit, there's Selena's own problem with an obsessed fan trailing her around for months.

The 19-year-old pop singer/actress testified that she felt "extreme fear" when stalker Thomas Brodnicki threatened to kill her. The judge in the case dropped a felony charge against Brodnicki last month but agreed to extend a temporary restraining order until a Jan. 6 hearing — an order that requires Brodnicki to stay 100 yards away from Selena. Just a football field away doesn't seem all that far.

Shania Twain's admitted stalker, Giovanni Palumbo, was released from prison in mid-November and put on probation. A Toronto judge ordered him not to go within a half-mile of the country singer or her family. That's more like it.

Uma Thurman's long-time stalker was also freed last month after spending a year in jail on a half-million dollars' bail. He acknowledged that he was "very guilty" of trying to contact the star, whom he was initially convicted of stalking in 2008. That case has been transferred to Brooklyn's mental health department.

It is, unfortunately, a big season for celebrity stalker news.

Halle Berry once jokingly said that a star hasn't made it until they've got their own stalker — but she and other stars know all too well that there's nothing funny about fans who cross the line.

A 2003 study conducted by psychologists at the University of Florida and Southern Illinois University concluded that about one-third of Americans suffer from an obsessive-addictive disorder referred to as Celebrity Worship Syndrome. The disorder contains three sub-categories: The first, which afflicts about 20 percent of the population, follows celebrity news for social purposes. The second, around 10 percent of the population, develops an intense relationship with a star, such as the belief that the fan and star have some special bond. The third — and scariest — group, roughly 1 percent of the population, display "borderline pathological" behavior and are willing to hurt themselves or other people in the name of a star.

The most horrific cases of this are well known: John Lennon was shot dead outside his New York apartment in December 1980 by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman. "My Sister Sam" star Rebecca Schaeffer was gunned down in her doorway by a fan. (Legislation to keep the Department of Motor Vehicles from giving out drivers' addresses was passed as a result.)

This week in Washington, D.C., Judge Paul Friedman is holding a multi-day hearing to consider a request by John Hinckley Jr.'s attorneys and the psychiatric hospital where he resides to permit him to stay with his mother for up to 24 days at a time — up from his current 10-day visits.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan and three other men in 1981. He believed that by assassinating the president, he would impress the object of his obsession, Jodie Foster.

Mental health experts and Secret Service agents will testify in the hearing. Agents have revealed that they observed Hinckley going to a bookstore and reading about assassinations and presidents earlier this very year, when Hinckley was supposed to be going to the movies.

Scary stories are legion with unbalanced fans. A woman was arrested for breaking into Brad Pitt's home and sleeping in his bed; police found a book on witchcraft and a foot-long safety pin in her possession. She was sentenced to three years probation and psychological counseling.

Steven Spielberg had a stalker — eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic — who was found outside his home with duct tape, handcuffs and a knife. Purportedly, the stalker was planning to kidnap and rape the filmmaker.

A man was arrested for repeatedly breaking into Madonna's house and threatening to kill her if she didn't marry him. Conan O'Brien was stalked by a deranged fan who sent threatening letters and DVDs to him; he turned out to be a Catholic priest, later defrocked. David Letterman stalker Margaret Ray broke into his home several times and stole his car. She committed suicide in 1998.

Britney Spears, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Avril Lavigne, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett, David Spade, Katie Holmes, Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Love Hewitt are just a few of the show business names who have fended off stalkers.

"The fear of having some nutter knowing where I live and where my family lives is just horrible," said Keira Knightley when she was pursued by an obsessed fan to her parents' house in London.

It's little wonder so many stars surround themselves with security devices such as electronically controlled gates and fences, motion-sensor floodlights, tripwire alarms and round-the-clock bodyguards. The expense is enormous. Some celebrities spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to shield themselves from the threat, and even then, it might not be enough. Ben Stiller once admitted that he never replies to or even reads fan mail for fear of attracting stalkers. Rapper Eminem bought a $5 million mansion in 2004 and then stayed away from it, reportedly because he came to believe it wasn't secure enough.

Apparently, all the money and fame in the world often can't buy you peace of mind.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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