Matinee idol refers to a male movie star admired for their looks rather than acting ability, popular from the 1930s to 1960s. Some argue for a revival of the term. Examples include Clark Gable and Rock Hudson. The term can carry pejorative implications, but some matinee idols were also good actors. The term is associated with screaming fans and frenzied flattery. It is still used to describe people with careers based on looks rather than talent in various fields.
A matinee idol is a movie star who is greatly admired by her fans. This term is used exclusively for male actors and prevailed from the 1930s to the 1960s. Many matinee idols continue to be admired, thanks to their classic good looks and, at times, surprisingly good acting skills. While this term is no longer widely used, some people have pushed for a revival of the classic term, arguing that it is a very apt description for some movie stars.
Matinees are, of course, afternoon shows and tend to be less expensive than evening shows. The term “matinee idol” carries some pejorative implications, as it suggests that the actor is targeting the less cultured afternoon crowd, along with teenagers, who may not be able to afford nightly performances. When an actor is referred to as a matinee idol, it means that he or she has been selected on the basis of looks, rather than ability, and the term is sometimes applied derisively to good-looking actors with no talent in the modern era. This is somewhat unfair, as some matinee idols were also very good actors.
Some famous examples of matinee idols include Clark Gable, Rock Hudson, Gary Cooper, Paul Newman and Rudolph Valentino. All of these stars had massive followings during their acting days, commanding legions of fans who were quite manic at times. Many of these fans were teenagers, which may explain why the term “teen idol” has supplanted “matinee idol” to describe actors of this class. In any case, despite being associated with low-budget productions, a matinee idol makes a lot of money for his studio, thanks to fans who will insist on seeing every movie he’s in.
Notorious is the frenzied flattery that has accompanied appearances by some of the most famous matinee idols in history. Footage of movie premieres featuring some of these stars depict lines of screaming fans jostling to get closer to the theater and the subject of their adoration, and these fans bought countless magazines, posters and other promotional materials with their favorite stars on them.
This cinematic slang term might seem a bit old-fashioned, especially since matinees are no longer a given in many regions of the world. Still, it’s a pretty good way to describe people with careers based more on looks than talent, and you might hear it applied in fields other than filmmaking. some musicians, for example, are dismissed as matinee idols, serving teenage audiences in the hopes of selling numerous records.
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