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WAMPAS Baby Stars

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The "WAMPAS Baby Stars" of 1932. Rear row: Toshia Mori, Boots Mallory, Ruth Hall, Gloria Stuart, Patricia Ellis, Ginger Rogers, Lilian Bond, Evalyn Knapp, Marian Shockley. Front row: Dorothy Wilson, Mary Carlisle, Lona Andre, Eleanor Holm, Dorothy Layton, (June Clyde is not pictured).

The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. The campaign ran from 1922 to 1934.

Overview

The WAMPAS Baby Stars campaign began in 1922. Every year, publicists chose a group of young actresses who were under contract at major studios that they felt were on the threshold of stardom. Awardees were honored at a party called the "WAMPAS Frolic" and were given extensive media coverage. The awards were not given in 1930 and 1933 due to objections from independent film studios.[1] When the campaign was revived in 1934, freelance actresses, along with studio contract players, were included as the chosen "Baby Stars".[2]

The campaign ended after 1935, after which the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers disbanded.[2] In 1956, a group of veteran stars, among them 1932 WAMPAS Baby Star Ginger Rogers, chose a group of young actresses supposed to be known as The Wampas Baby Stars. However, since the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers no longer existed, the idea fizzled. The selection took place nevertheless, and 15 "babies" were chosen: Phyllis Applegate, Roxanne Arlen, Jolene Brand, Donna Cooke, Barbara Huffman (later known as Barbara Eden), Jewell Lain, Barbara Marx, Lita Milan, Norma Nilsson, Ina Poindexter, Violet Rensin, Dawn Richard, and Delfin Thursday.[3]

The last surviving original WAMPAS Baby Star, Mary Carlisle, died at the age of 104 on August 1, 2018.[4]

List

Year Actresses
1922 Marion Aye, Helen Ferguson, Lila Lee, Jacqueline Logan, Louise Lorraine, Bessie Love, Kathryn McGuire, Patsy Ruth Miller, Colleen Moore, Mary Philbin, Pauline Starke, Lois Wilson, Claire Windsor
1923 Eleanor Boardman, Evelyn Brent, Dorothy Devore, Virginia Brown Faire, Betty Francisco, Pauline Garon, Kathleen Key, Laura La Plante, Margaret Leahy, Helen Lynch, Derelys Perdue, Jobyna Ralston, Ethel Shannon
1924 Clara Bow, Elinor Fair, Carmelita Geraghty, Gloria Grey, Ruth Hiatt, Julanne Johnston, Hazel Keener, Dorothy Mackaill, Blanche Mehaffey, Margaret Morris, Marian Nixon, Lucille Ricksen, Alberta Vaughn
1925 Betty Arlen, Violet La Plante, Olive Borden, Anne Cornwall, Ena Gregory, Madeline Hurlock, Natalie Joyce, June Marlowe, Joan Meredith, Evelyn Peirce, Dorothy Revier, Duane Thompson, Lola Todd
1926 Mary Astor, Mary Brian, Joyce Compton, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Marceline Day, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor, Sally Long, Edna Marion, Sally O'Neil, Vera Reynolds, Fay Wray
1927 Patricia Avery, Rita Carewe, Helene Costello, Barbara Kent, Natalie Kingston, Frances Lee, Mary McAllister, Gladys McConnell, Sally Phipps, Sally Rand, Martha Sleeper, Iris Stuart, Adamae Vaughn
1928 Lina Basquette, Flora Bramley, Sue Carol, Ann Christy, June Collyer, Alice Day, Sally Eilers, Audrey Ferris, Dorothy Gulliver, Gwen Lee, Molly O'Day, Ruth Taylor, Lupe Vélez
1929 Jean Arthur, Sally Blane, Betty Boyd, Ethlyne Clair, Doris Dawson, Josephine Dunn, Helen Foster, Doris Hill, Caryl Lincoln, Anita Page, Mona Rico, Helen Twelvetrees, Loretta Young
1930 None
1931 Joan Blondell, Constance Cummings, Frances Dade, Frances Dee, Sidney Fox, Rochelle Hudson, Anita Louise, Joan Marsh, Marian Marsh, Karen Morley, Marion Shilling, Barbara Weeks, Judith Wood
1932 Lona Andre, Lilian Bond, Mary Carlisle, June Clyde, Patricia Ellis, Ruth Hall, Eleanor Holm, Evalyn Knapp, Dorothy Layton, Boots Mallory, Toshia Mori, Ginger Rogers, Marian Shockley, Gloria Stuart, Dorothy Wilson
1933 None
1934 Judith Arlen, Betty Bryson, Jean Carmen, Helen Cohan, Dorothy Drake, Jean Gale, Hazel Hayes, Ann Hovey, Neoma Judge, Lucille Lund, Lu Ann Meredith, Gigi Parrish, Jacqueline Wells, Katherine Williams

References

  1. ^ Vogel, Michelle (2010). Olive Borden: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Joy Girl. McFarland. p. 20. ISBN 0-786-45836-4.
  2. ^ a b Slide, Anthony (2014). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Routledge. p. 231. ISBN 1-135-92554-2.
  3. ^ Chuck Anderson. "1956 lineup". B-westerns.com. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  4. ^ "Mary Carlisle, a perpetual ingenue in dozens of 1930s films, dies at 104". The Los Angeles Times. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

Further reading

  • The Wampas Baby Stars: A Biographical Dictionary, 1922–1934 (ISBN 0-7864-0756-5) includes biographies of every actress selected, including lists of films in which she appeared.
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