AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars
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Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars is a list of the top 50 stars of American cinema. They were presented by 50 stars of today, adding up to the total of 100 stars. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 16, 1999 and revealed on a CBS special hosted by Shirley Temple Black.
According to the AFI's rules, the stars on the list had to have made their film debuts in or before 1950 or have died prior to the creation of the list, which is why actors such as Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Clint Eastwood, and Paul Newman did not qualify as nominees, having made their debut a little after 1950. The list is thus heavily weighted toward actors of classical Hollywood cinema, and many more recent stars are not included. Of the 50 stars listed below, only Kirk Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren are still alive, as of 2009. At the time that the list was compiled, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck and Katharine Hepburn were also living. James Dean and Grace Kelly are the only actors in the list whose career started after 1950.
26 individual stars won a competitive acting Academy Award and another 16 received at least a nomination. Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin won competitively in different categories. Welles won in writing for Citizen Kane and Chaplin won for composing the music in Limelight. 11 Stars were given a Special, Honorary or Lifetime Achievement Award, including the nomination-less Buster Keaton, Edward G. Robinson (posthumously), and Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers. Two actresses received an Academy Juvenile Award: Shirley Temple and Judy Garland.
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100 Movies – (1998) |
[edit] The list
The list of stars was presented by 50 current actors:
Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Jacqueline Bisset, Ernest Borgnine, James Caan, Jim Carrey, Chevy Chase, Cher, Kevin Costner, Billy Crystal, Claire Danes, Geena Davis, Laura Dern, Matt Dillon, Richard Dreyfuss, Clint Eastwood, Mia Farrow, Bridget Fonda, Peter Fonda, Morgan Freeman, Teri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Woody Harrelson, Richard Harris, Goldie Hawn, Gregory Hines, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Michael Keaton, Martin Landau, Jessica Lange, Shirley MacLaine, Marsha Mason, Marlee Matlin, Mike Myers, Edward Norton, Edward James Olmos, Miss Piggy, Lynn Redgrave, Julia Roberts, Gena Rowlands, Kevin Spacey, Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Sharon Stone, Barbra Streisand, Billy Bob Thornton, Lily Tomlin, Emily Watson, and James Woods.
[edit] Trivia
- Lillian Gish has the longest film career of any male or female star - 75 years.
- Laurence Olivier has the longest career span of any male legend - 59 years.
- The list includes four living female legends: Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren.
- The list includes two living male legends: Kirk Douglas and Sidney Poitier.
- Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier and Sophia Loren all had screen debuts in 1950. Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman, Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood made their screen debuts afrer 1950 and therefore didn't qualify as legends.
- Ten screen legends also made five duos: Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Clark Gable/Carole Lombard. The Marx Brothers are the only legendary team on the list.
- Thirteen legends made the transition from silent movies to sound films: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Barbara Stanwyck, Lillian Gish, Carole Lombard, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton and Edward G. Robinson.
- Thirteen legends were born outside America: Audrey Hepburn in Belgium, Elizabeth Taylor in England, Ingrid Bergman in Sweden, Greta Garbo in Sweden, Marlene Dietrich - Germany, Claudette Colbert - France, Vivian Leigh - India, Sophia Loren - Italy, Mary Pickford - Canada, Cary Grant - England, Charlie Chaplin - England, Laurence Olivier - England and Edward G. Robinson - Romania
- Eight legends were born in New York: Barbara Stanwyck, Mae West, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Burt Lancaster and the Marx Brothers.
- Tales of Manhattan features the largest number of legends: Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth and Edward G. Robinson. Slippery Pearls (or Stolen Jools), a 20-minute short film made to benefit a sanitarium for tuberculosis, includes five legends: Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Buster Keaton and Edward G. Robinson.
