jno - I think it's a matter of media - and therefore cultural perception.
In the 1960's, when Harris, Burton, O'Toole et al were 'hell raising', the remnants of the post-war attitudes were still in place. A man who behaved like a 'real man' was to be admired and feted, even though their behaviour was obnoxious and offensive, it was seen as acceptable because of who they were, and the lifestyle they represented.
Fast forward forty years, and times have changed considerably.
Far more people are famous for being famous, rather than for any discerable ability or talent, and their inability to handle fame leads to bad life and career choices, and the newly prurient media casting shame around like confetti.
We get the celebrities - and the press - we deserve, so although Ms Lohan is every bit as much of a 'hell raiser' as the predecessors in her proffession, she is doomed to be labelled as a lush diva, with the remains of her shattered career disapearing behind her at an ever increading rate.
The notion of 'fame' in modern parlance is to be avoided at all costs.
As one wise man comented ' "Fame is like a barbed wire treadmill - you have to know exactly how to run on it, or it will cut you to pieces."