When the callers were told they had reached a college student at the University of California-Los Angeles, they refused to believe it. "Baby girl, how are you?" a man purred in a foreign accent.
"Why are you doing this?" one woman asked. "This is so rude.
" Little did Barlow - or her callers - know that she had inherited the phone number of one of the nation's most ubiquitous and sought-after young celebrities: Paris Hilton. At first, the junior communications major thought the random references to "Paris" were some kind of nickname. "I didn't make the connection," Barlow said of the initial calls.
But by the time Hilton was sentenced to jail in June for violating probation, there was no avoiding it. It all began on St. Valentine's Day during a night out in West Hollywood with friends, Barlow said.
She was carrying her black Motorola Razr in her back pocket and accidentally dropped it in a toilet. The next day she went to a telephone store to replace her cell. When she got the new phone, her wireless carrier insisted that Barlow be assigned a new number with a 310 area code, from Los Angeles, rather than a 415 prefix, a carry-over from her years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"I was bummed," the San Francisco native said. "It's part of your identity." As it turned out, Barlow had inherited a recycled phone number that still was very much part of Hilton's identity.
Service carriers say it is common for them to hold numbers for users an average of six months before reassigning them. In theory, the wait allows people to inform family, friends and business associates about the change. But Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumer's Action Network, says the turnaround time for recycled numbers is closer to three months - or as little as one month.
That means many people may not get the message in time. But what if the old number belongs to a VIP or celebrity? Lansing, Mich.
, high school student Katie Kamar found that out this year when she randomly inherited a phone number that formerly belonged to Michigan Gov. Calls for the governor came in during the wee hours. At their peak, there were about a half-dozen a day from callers ranging from business owners to the Fraternal Order of Police.
New York City resident Laura Maxwell still gets calls for entertainer Chris Rock on the cell number she got three years ago from Verizon. Maxwell, who included the story on her personal Web site and in a forthcoming book, says she fielded calls from movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, directors Spike Lee and Peter Farrelly, and Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld and Damon Wayans. After reading her story, a half-dozen people contacted her with similar experiences, although they said none was "as exciting as getting Chris Rock's number.
" Rather than an annoyance, Maxwell said Rock's old number had been a boon. "How could you not be entertained by getting the phone number of an A-list Hollywood celebrity?" Maxwell said.
Barlow agreed that it was amusing to inherit such a phone number. The Los Angeles Times came across Barlow when a reporter dialed a number that several sources had said was Hilton's mobile line. The first flurry of calls and text messages came within days of Hilton's Feb.
17 birthday, just after Barlow got her new phone. "Oh my God," a caller said, indicative of most. "Where's the party?
" One weekend, Barlow answered a call and was lectured by an unidentified woman who took umbrage when asked if she was calling from Florida. "I'm so insulted. You must be on drugs?
" the woman said before calling back five times to lecture Barlow on how "tacky" people were from the Sunshine State. Another time, she had a half-hour conversation with an aspiring rap artist who, after learning he was not talking with Hilton, still invited Barlow to a party. More often than not, however, the conversations were brief and polite.
Then came the day that Hilton went to court for violating probation after pleading no contest to an alcohol-related reckless-driving charge. Barlow was at her internship at a production company in the Los Angeles area May 4 when Hilton was sentenced to jail. In short order, calls and texts that previously inquired about parties and nightclubs were replaced by dozens expressing condolences.
"People were scared for her," Barlow said. The phone traffic trailed off when Hilton entered jail, even during her brief release to home detention for "medical reasons." But with Hilton now free again, a new crop of communiques is flooding Barlow's phone.
There was Hilton's former bodyguard, who sent his love. A girlfriend called to commiserate and lend support. Barlow told her she had received good wishes from dozens of people.
"It's disgusting how they treated you in there, but once again you have showed the world that you can do anything," one wrote. Said another: "I'm so proud of you." "I hope you're enjoying Maui," one of the messages read Wednesday.
Barlow resisted the temptation to pose as the heiress to get herself and friends on the guest list of exclusive parties. But she did message supporters "thanks so much," believing Hilton would appreciate it. Barlow plans to keep the number, she says, because it's been more amusement than hassle.
"It was really out of convenience," she said. "I didn't want to switch again." Return to Top The Pioneer Press is pleased to let readers post comments about an article at the end of the article.
Please increase the credibility of your post by including your full name and city when commenting. Please note: It may take several minutes before your comment appears. When the callers were told they had reached a college student at the University of California-Los Angeles, they refused to believe it.
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