Bygone Days of the One-Name Stars

March 17, 2018

We of a former generation knew many stars by just one name. Some call it the Golden Era of Stars, or the Golden Era of Hollywood. It was a magical period in many of our lives, and it is sad that so many movie-goers today don't even remember the names.

Once there were real stars. They were known by just one name. It might be their first name, or it might be their last name. Whatever, if you heard it, you recognized the person behind the name.

Yes, today there is Madonna, Oprah, and Whoopi, but again, I am talking real stars of the screen that graced the covers of film magazines and marquees and bigger than life screens.

Today, we have a political arena of celebrities that fight for the spotlight with their liberal propaganda. I refer to the day when you only associated the star with stage and screen, not with women's rights, or gun control.

Gable, Garbo, Bette, Bogie, Bacall, Mickey, Astair, Rock, Marilyn, Dean, Dino, Grable, Lana, McQueen, Newman, Liz, Stanwyck, Crawford, Monte, Lancaster, Coop, Veronica, Cary, Brando, Pacino, DeNiro, Garfield, Joel, Dunne, Heston, O'Toole, Peck, Novak, Sinatra, Cagney, Robinson, Raft, Hayworth, Hayward, Myrna, Widmark, Mitchum, Rita, Duke, Ladd, Holden, Kirk, Darnell, Roy, Hopalong, Mix, Gabby, Harlow, Lombard, Natalie, Valentino, Lanza, Hodiak, Elvis, Errol, Tyrone, Chaney, Sheridan, Colbert, Muni, Heflin, Oberon, Audrey, Powell, Sofia, Hepburn, Spencer, Stewart, Clint and Olivier just to name a few.

Where did it all go? I'll tell you where it went; it left with the end of the big studios when corporations began taking control of the studios and men like Louie B. Mayer, Jack Warner, Harry Conn and Daryl F. Zanuck were no longer the men in power with their stables of stars. Some of the names above came after the corporations took over, but it continually declined.

Sad thing is, most of the younger movie-going audience today will probably only recognize two names above...Elvis and Marilyn. Sad, indeed.

Could it ever come back? I seriously doubt it. Some things are meant to be experienced only once in a lifetime.