Dude! It's a Dead-End Flirt With Celebrity!

From the Dept. of Whatever Happened To...? comes news of former Dell pitchman Ben Curtis, who -- brace yourself for the shock -- has not been able to support himself solely on his thespian talents. Instead, he's slinging tequila at a New York Tex-Mex joint and refusing to do a dramatic reading of "Dude, you're getting a Dell" even if customers ask him very nicely.

I’ve had tables of young girls who think they recognize me, and when they ask me, I say “yes” and then they don’t believe me and they start arguing and ask me to do the catchphrase and I’ll laugh and say, “It’s been four years, but I’m glad you’re a fan."

Also not appreciated are rowdies who bray the Dell catchphrase to him like tequila-powered donkeys:

They get really drunk, and they’ll start yelling things at me. I either ignore them, or if it’s way out of hand, I go up and say, “I appreciate your support, but my name is Ben.” That usually doesn’t work so I smile and ignore them.

Dell Dude Now Tequila Dude at Tortilla Flats [New York]