HONORARY TITLES BESTOWED ON FILM STARS

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DOWN MEMORY LANE






Here in Tamil Nadu we are accustomed to seeing film stars decorated with honorary titles, like ‘Puratchi Nadigar’, ‘Latchiya Nadigar’, ‘Kaadhal Mannan’, ‘Nadigar Thilakam’ etc. Not all these titles were justifiable. They were bestowed on these actors in a gesture of gratitude for some hours of entertainment.

Many of us didn’t know that such titles were given as a mark of respect in Hollywood too. In my younger days a theatre in Madurai used to show old Hollywood films. From these we came to know that some Hollywood actors and actresses had such honorifics.

John Barrymore was known as ‘The Great Profile’. He had classic features and the cameramen made the best use of his looks. Barrymore was also known as ‘The Great Lover’. The Barrymore family had made quite an impact on stage and screen. John’s brother, Lionel, and his sister, Ethel, played stagey characters even on screen. They were not as popular as John. John made a great name for himself in Hollywood. He talked about his fame in tongue-in-cheek statements like, “I like to be introduced as America’s foremost actor. It saves the necessity of further effort.”

He and Greta Garbo (arguably the greatest star ever) made a great pair in films like ‘Grand Hotel’ (l932). He came to be known also as ‘he Greatest Lover of the Screen’. During the peak of his career he became an alcoholic and had to take intensive treatment. His health quickly deteriorated, and he passed away in 1942 at the age of 60.

The ‘It’ girl

Some actresses too had honorary titles. Clara Bow with her big-eyed look and her sexy jiggle shook up cinema audiences everywhere. She was jolly and vivacious with a zest for life — a new emancipated woman. Her side glances and inviting looks seemed to end in a message: “Come and get me”. She was as vulgar as the age she lived in. An eminent literary lady, Elinor Glyn, discovered in Clara bow the epitome of ‘It’. Among her numerous definitions of ‘It’ was this: “A strange magnetism which attracts both sexes....there must be a physical attraction, but beauty is unnecessary”. Clara Bow became the ‘It’ Girl. And a film of hers was named ‘It’. It was a hit, and all young girls started imitating Clara Bow’s make-up and mannerisms. But after that Bow’s career went on a downslide and she faded away. A film historian said: “Hollywood owes much to personalities like Clara Bow, who helped to create the glamour it has never entirely lost. She passed away at the age of sixty in 1965.”

The ‘Oomph’ girl

Ann Sheridan was not a great actress, but was good in making wisecracks, and verbally overwhelming tough heroes like James Cagney and Zachary Scott. Warner Brothers christened her ‘The Oomph Girl’, and the name stuck. From then on writers were thinking up films that had scope for her rich contralto singing voice and her sex appeal (Oomph). Oomph is supposed to be the sound our breath makes when her sex appeal hits us hard. She had a moderately successful career until her death at 52.

Clark Gable who came to be known as ‘The King of Hollywood ‘ after his performance in ‘Gone With the Wind’ had a squarish face with huge ears. As Howard Hughes said, “Clark Gable’s ears make him look like a taxi cab with the doors open”. Despite the ears he became a heartthrob and the top star of Hollywood. Gable didn’t attach much importance to his own stardom. He was once seen removing his false teeth and washing them under a tap in a park. When people stopped to gape at him, he said with an exaggerated lisp “Look, America’s thweetheart.” But in spite of these antics his titles, ‘America’s Sweetheart’ and ‘The King of Hollywood’ stuck to him and he was considered the epitome of male charm.

Whatever the merits of these titles may be, there is no doubt that these stars were great entertainers.




J.VASANTHAN


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