Blue eyes could be a sign of frequent red eyes in the morning, as researchers announce their discovery that blue-eyed people have a greater chance than others of being alcoholics. While some people think this is a coincidence, celebrities seem to have a way of backing up the theory.
University of Vermont researchers announced their findings, stating that people of European ancestry who had light-colored eyes were more likely to be alcoholics than those with dark irises. Arvis Sulovari and molecular geneticist Dawei Li led the research, which examined the genetic profiles of 1,263 people diagnosed with one or more psychiatric illnesses, including dependence on alcohol or other drugs.
"This suggests an intriguing possibility — that eye color can be useful in the clinic for alcohol dependence diagnosis," Sulovari said.
A look at the history of some famous people with blue eyes hints there may be a connection between eye color and alcohol after all.
Melanie Griffith was admitted to rehabilitation for alcohol and drugs during the year 2000. Just nine years later, the blue-eyed actress was back for more treatment. When Griffith was checking in for her alcohol problems the first time, Star Wars star Ewan McGregor was quitting alcohol. The man behind Obi-Wan Kenobi (at least the less-wise, more impetuous, pre-Tatooine one) described himself as a "functional alcoholic."
In 2002, Nick Nolte, another famous blue-eyed celebrity, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). He checked into a Connecticut Rehabilitation center soon afterward. The picture taken of the Cape Fear actor wearing a gaudy Hawaiian shirt at that time was widely distributed on the World Wide Web.
Michael J. Fox, a blue-eyed actor famous for his portrayal of Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies, is said to have battled alcohol problems before he developed Parkinson's disease.
Even the world of sports is not immune to this apparent connection between blue eyes and alcohol. Famed Yankee Micky Mantle, who played in 20 All-Star games, needed a liver transplant due to hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer.
Green-eyed classic sex symbol Richard Burton died on August 5, 1984 after decades of battling alcoholism.
Some of these light-eyed celebrities even perished, at least in part, from alcohol consumption.
Author Jack Kerouac, the blue-eyed author who helped ignite the beat generation, was drinking whiskey on the evening of October 20, 1969, when he started vomiting blood. He died the following day from a hemorrhage caused by cirrhosis.
Ryan Dunn died in a 2011 car crash at the age of 34. The Jackass star had a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit at the time of his death.
Although a connection between eye color and alcohol could still be ruled out, a Google search of "Celebrities with drinking problems" sure turns up a lot of people with blue eyes.
The recent study of eye color and alcohol dependence was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics: Neuropsychiatric Genetics (Part B).
