Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatrestars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors.
Wallace Reid is an example of a matinée idol. The original caption of this image from Picture-Play Magazine reads: "The only reason why they don’t let Wally play in dress-suit rôles all the time is that the casualties among the ladies would soon empty the picture houses. In fact, we feel that we’re toying with the fan hearts even to print this picture."[1]
Matinée idols often tend to play romantic and dramaticleading or secondary leading roles and are usually known for having good looks. The term can be taken as faintly pejorative in that it suggests the star's popularity came from the afternoon matinée performances, frequented more by women, rather than the "big picture" evenings and, hence, a less discriminating audience. Matinée idols often became the subject of parody during the height of their popularity, an example being Stan Laurel spoofing Rudolph Valentino in his film Mud and Sand.
Now a somewhat old-fashioned term, the phenomenon reached its height from the 1920s to around the 1960s in Hollywood. "Teen idol" is a similar term, which more often refers to youthful musicians rather than film actors. In today's Asia, “idols” pertain to a broader pop culture.
The term differs from "sex symbol", which refers to a star's sexual attractiveness in and outside of film more so than their romantic performances on the screen. However, a sex symbol may also be a matinée idol.
Photoplay named Richard Barthelmess the "idol of every girl in America" in the 1920s.[2] An admirer wrote that "his wonderful black hair and soulful eyes are enough to make any young girl adore him" in 1921.[3]Rudolph Valentino is the epitome of a matinée idol.
1910s–1920s
Matinée idols during this time were commonly referred to simply as "lovers". "Latin lovers", or actors who specialized in characters of Latin American or Romance European descent, became popular in the 1920s after Rudolph Valentino's famous performance as Julio Desnoyers in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Other Latin lovers include Ramon Novarro, Antonio Moreno and Ricardo Cortez, although the latter was actually a Jew named Jacob Krantz who passed as Latin to capitalize on the trope's popularity.[4]
Sessue Hayakawa (first Asian idol to become popular in America)
^ ab"The Shadow Stage". Photoplay. New York: Photoplay Publishing Company. February 1922. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
^ abG. C. (1921). "What the Fans Think" Picture-Play Magazine.
^"The Plot of Today". Motion Picture Magazine. New York: Brewster Publications. March 1924. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
^ abcdefghiSt. Johns, Adela Rogers (April 1924). "What Kind of Men Attract Women Most?". Photoplay. New York: Photoplay Publishing Company. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
^ abcdUnderhill, Hariette (January 1925). "Men I Love". Photoplay. New York: Photoplay Publishing Company. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
^ abcdeSmith, Anges (July 1926). "Have They Got It?". Photoplay. New York: Photoplay Publishing Company. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
^ abcdeChesterfield, Winston (February 16, 2008). "Unmistakable Style of Matinee Idol". Men's Flair. Men's Flair. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
^William J. Mann (1998). Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star. Viking Press. p. 50. ISBN978-0-6708-7155-1.
^Anderson, Mark Lynn (2011). "Black Valentino". Twilight of the Idols. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 127. doi:10.1525/9780520949423. ISBN9780520949423.
^Wagner, Laura. "Robert Taylor: Matinee Idol." 2009-04-12 at the Wayback MachineFilms of the Golden Age. Retrieved: December 2, 2018.
^Barry, Michael Thomas (August 25, 2011). "Van Johnson, Paul Muni". Official Blog of Author and Columnist Michael Thomas Barry. Blogspot. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
^"1940s Matinee Star Guy Madison Dead at 74". Associated Press. February 7, 1996.
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For 1933 film see Matinee Idol film For the 1928 film see The Matinee Idol For the boxer nicknamed Matinee Idol see Bobby Czyz Matinee idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors Wallace Reid is an example of a matinee idol The original caption of this image from Picture Play Magazine reads The only reason why they don t let Wally play in dress suit roles all the time is that the casualties among the ladies would soon empty the picture houses In fact we feel that we re toying with the fan hearts even to print this picture 1 Matinee idols often tend to play romantic and dramatic leading or secondary leading roles and are usually known for having good looks The term can be taken as faintly pejorative in that it suggests the star s popularity came from the afternoon matinee performances frequented more by women rather than the big picture evenings and hence a less discriminating audience Matinee idols often became the subject of parody during the height of their popularity an example being Stan Laurel spoofing Rudolph Valentino in his film Mud and Sand Now a somewhat old fashioned term the phenomenon reached its height from the 1920s to around the 1960s in Hollywood Teen idol is a similar term which more often refers to youthful musicians rather than film actors In today s Asia idols pertain to a broader pop culture The term differs from sex symbol which refers to a star s sexual attractiveness in and outside of film more so than their romantic performances on the screen However a sex symbol may also be a matinee idol In Eugene O Neill s autobiographical play Long Day s Journey into Night there is a speech where the character of the mother describes how as a convent educated schoolgirl she became enamored with the dashing matinee idol modeled after O Neill s popular father Contents 1 Famous matinee idols 1 1 1910s 1920s 1 2 1930s 1 3 1940s 1 4 1950s 1 5 Sports 2 References 3 BibliographyFamous matinee idols nbsp Photoplay named Richard Barthelmess the idol of every girl in America in the 1920s 2 An admirer wrote that his wonderful black hair and soulful eyes are enough to make any young girl adore him in 1921 3 nbsp Rudolph Valentino is the epitome of a matinee idol 1910s 1920s Matinee idols during this time were commonly referred to simply as lovers Latin lovers or actors who specialized in characters of Latin American or Romance European descent became popular in the 1920s after Rudolph Valentino s famous performance as Julio Desnoyers in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1921 Other Latin lovers include Ramon Novarro Antonio Moreno and Ricardo Cortez although the latter was actually a Jew named Jacob Krantz who passed as Latin to capitalize on the trope s popularity 4 Sessue Hayakawa first Asian idol to become popular in America Antonio Moreno 5 Wallace Reid 5 Richard Barthelmess 5 2 3 Thomas Meighan 5 6 Richard Dix 5 7 Douglas Fairbanks 5 Ramon Novarro 5 7 8 Rudolph Valentino 5 8 9 6 Ivor Novello 8 9 Reginald Denny 5 Adolphe Menjou 7 John Gilbert 7 Ronald Colman 7 Ricardo Cortez 6 Charles de Rochefort 6 William Haines 10 Lorenzo Tucker 11 1930s Errol Flynn 9 Lew Ayres 12 Robert Taylor 13 1940s Van Johnson 14 Guy Madison 15 1950s Dirk Bogarde 9 Akkineni Nageswara Rao 9 Sports During the November 15 2009 Sunday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts Bob Costas used the term to describe New England Patriots superstar quarterback Tom Brady The Colts went on to win by a score of 35 34 16 References 1918 Favorite Picture Players Picture Play Magazine a b The Shadow Stage Photoplay New York Photoplay Publishing Company February 1922 Retrieved September 3 2015 a b G C 1921 What the Fans Think Picture Play Magazine The Plot of Today Motion Picture Magazine New York Brewster Publications March 1924 Retrieved September 5 2015 a b c d e f g h i St Johns Adela Rogers April 1924 What Kind of Men Attract Women Most Photoplay New York Photoplay Publishing Company Retrieved September 3 2015 a b c d Underhill Hariette January 1925 Men I Love Photoplay New York Photoplay Publishing Company Retrieved September 4 2015 a b c d e Smith Anges July 1926 Have They Got It Photoplay New York Photoplay Publishing Company Retrieved September 3 2015 a b c Williams p 12 15 a b c d e Chesterfield Winston February 16 2008 Unmistakable Style of Matinee Idol Men s Flair Men s Flair Retrieved September 3 2015 William J Mann 1998 Wisecracker The Life and Times of William Haines Hollywood s First Openly Gay Star Viking Press p 50 ISBN 978 0 6708 7155 1 Anderson Mark Lynn 2011 Black Valentino Twilight of the Idols Oakland California University of California Press p 127 doi 10 1525 9780520949423 ISBN 9780520949423 Newsweek Incorporated 1968 Wagner Laura Robert Taylor Matinee Idol Archived 2009 04 12 at the Wayback Machine Films of the Golden Age Retrieved December 2 2018 Barry Michael Thomas August 25 2011 Van Johnson Paul Muni Official Blog of Author and Columnist Michael Thomas Barry Blogspot Retrieved September 3 2015 1940s Matinee Star Guy Madison Dead at 74 Associated Press February 7 1996 Colts com Archived 2009 11 19 at the Wayback Machine BibliographyWilliams Michael Ivor Novello Screen Idol BFI 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matinee idol amp oldid 1206751439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
