Starstruck
Subtitle: celebrity performers and the American public
By: Jib Fowles.
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Washington
Language: eng
Number of pages: 284
Subjects: Motion picture actors and actresses -- Public opinion; Entertainers -- Public opinion; Athletes -- Public opinion; Fame -- Public opinion; Public opinion -- United States; Popular culture -- United States
Description: "In Starstruck, Jib Fowles examines the singular occupation of being an American celebrity, defines the traits of a star, and captures the role of stardom in national life." "Fowles surveys the lives and careers of 100 performers chosen from the ranks of Hollywood films, sports, the comedy circuit, and popular music. Fowles's cast includes some of the best-known names of this century: actors from John Barrymore to Rock Hudson, Theda Bara to Ingrid Bergman; sports legends such as Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson; comedians Groucho Marx, John Belushi, and Lucille Ball; and musical stars from Glenn Miller to Liberace, Nat "King" Cole to Jimi Hendrix--all whose careers have been completed." "Starstruck compares these celebrities' identities, their origins, how they succeeded, and the patterns of their rise and fall. Fowles considers the cultural and technological transformations that have encouraged the growth of stardom in this century. Focusing on society's relationship to its stars, he describes the characteristics of "Star Village," a community limited, Fowles argues, to about 100 stars of various types. Though the residents of Star Village may change, these prototypes persist, and new ones are added only as the culture at large defines an unresolved need." "Well illustrated with photographic portraits, Starstruck illuminates a little-researched twentieth-century American phenomenon and an ever-growing feature of contemporary culture."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-278) and index.