What does "can't get arrested in this town" mean?
A phrase I've heard on various comedy programs regarding famous people is "[he or she] can't get arrested in this town." It often seems to be in reference to the person no longer being famous, however I've asked native English speakers and they claim it's the opposite, that the person is so famous they cannot get arrested.
Further searching online I've found very few places which define it, Collins Dictionary defines it as:
(informal) (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful ⇒ he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States
This makes no sense, as why would it be difficult for a non-famous person to get arrested? Seemingly popular perception is celebrities are more likely to get away with crimes, rather than actually be arrested.
An example of usage I know if is in the television series 30 Rock, but I've heard it other places:
Jenna: Thank you, but I am a selfless person who can't get arrested in this town!
So, what does it mean and why does it mean it? If it does mean they are no longer famous, what's the logic behind someone being so unfamous they cannot get arrested? If that's case it's rather strange that the phrase is so unclear that native English speakers don't seem even get the meaning.
The struggle to make it in entertainment is a struggle to be noticed. This hyperbolic complaint is that even committing a crime wouldn't be enough to get one noticed.
It's not about no longer being famous. Famous or not, it's about commanding attention.
Read some of the nonsense people get up to in the tabloids and you'll find many people coming very close to getting themselves arrested just to command any kind of attention.
When talent finally is recognized the recognition can be localized. Meaning the performer has to go through the whole promotional struggle again when they go somewhere else. Thus "in this town".
can't get arrested
(informal) (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful ⇒ he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States
Collins Dictionary
The sad truth is there are many talented people you've never heard of because talent alone isn't what makes people famous. What's behind the complaint is a frustration with this fact.
Failure to command any sort of attention anywhere can leave you homeless. You can see this expression used this way in song here. It's lyrics include:
I can't get arrested in this town
Lord I'm restless and running around
I've been rejected and kicked around
I'm being tested when I'm downGot my mind on gravity
Another ride on another highway
Still my feet are on the ground
I can't get arrested in this townI'm walkin' for miles as the sun fades away
Talkin' with t' strangers I meet along the way
Everybody got somethin' to say, alright
But nobody really looks me in the eyeWell, maybe I expected more from my sisters and brothers
Like, maybe we'd be hangin' on to one another
They all turn their heads when I look back
C'mon and cut me some slack! Cut me somethin!Corus
Now I'm standing on the sidewalk with my bag in my hand
I've been in the wrong place when it all hit the fan
Now there's a cold wind blowing down these avenuesYou'll tell me there's nothing that you can do
Well, maybe I expected more from my brothers and sisters
Take a look around you man, take a look around you mister
Too many walking around with a hole in their heart these days
We keep walking away, we keep walkingCorus
-- John Carpino
As a supplement to Candied Orange's very useful answer, I offer these instances of the term. From Nancy Steinbeck, The Other Side of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck (2001):
When asked about his father's attitude toward the Monterey Peninsula, John [Steinbeck, Junior] said, "He wasn't the town's [Salinas's] favorite son. They didn't like him. His works were not well received. People were outraged that his characters were loosely based on real people. He'd be confused and amused by the homage now being paid to him. There was a long time when he couldn't even get arrested in this town. Even after winning the Nobel and the Pulitzer, many local people refused to acknowledge him as an important writer. Now he's an institution.
From Todd Snider, I Never met a Story I Didn't Like (2014):
One of us said, "We can't even get arrested in this town," which is an old showbiz expression meaning, "I am not popular here."
The expression may be old in show business, but the earliest Google Books matches for the phrase are from 1986. From The Washingtonian, volume 21 (1986):
He couldn't get arrested in this town, as he likes to say. But then, in 1980, he started movie reviews. Arch-at-Large was born. [page 135]
...
"But to get to be known, you have to have a reason to be out there, and you have to have a place where people can find you—where they know you'll always be. I know that. How well I know that. Ah ha ha ha HA! For the first six years here, I didn't have a role, and I couldn't get arrested in this town. [page 182]
And from Douglas Cohen, No Way to Treat a Lady: Based Upon the Novel by William Goldman (1986):
ALEXANDRA. How dare you compare yourself to me! HOW DARE YOU! I am famous because of my work on the legitimate stage. But you ... you practice murder and pretend it's art.
KIT. It is art! THE TIMES calls me a "master of disguises."
ALEXANDRA. Poor Christopher. Whether you're a successful killer or an unsuccessful actor, you still can't get arrested in this town!
(Her light laughter reverberates in KIT's head as she disappears.)
The point of the expression is to indicate that the person is such a nobody or such a pariah that even something that anybody can do (like getting arrested) is beyond them because it would involve someone else's acknowledging their existence and humanity. An expression sometimes used to similar effect in indicating a person's unpopularity is, "He [or she] couldn't be elected dog catcher"—an implied insult because dog catching is a very low-prestige municipal job.
The phrase is an old (U.S.?) show business term that refers to someone whose career has hit a dry spell and they can't get a break. Things are going so bad for them that they can't even get arrested. Think about it, how ineffectual would a person have to be that they couldn't do something (e.g. throw a brick through a random window) that would get them noticed by the police?
To be plain, the Collins citation is correct in my experience and that of others apparently. It's a commonplace expression among comedians, whom I'm sure coined the phrase. However, I've heard it used by non-celebrities to mean, "I'm getting nowhere here. No one recognizes me or cares what I do." It implies a need to move on and find a more appreciative community."
Some news sources (The Daily Beast, St. Petersburg Times) have used "can't get arrested" literally to refer to criminals or purported criminals, who seem to escape arrest no matter what.