Thank an ancient Greek named Thespis for 1920s, 1930s screen idols

Chinese now dictate content of Hollywood movies

Gary Cooper was so handsome that it is said he slept with EVERY! COSTAR (females). In fact, Tallulah Bankhead said she went to Hollywood for one reason — “To fuck that divine Gary Cooper.” She did. “Coop” was one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 1930s-40s. Photo courtesy Pinterest/Tanya Vautour Melanson.

More than 25 centuries ago, a man called Thespis sparked the evolution of theatre in ancient Greece by being the first to stage a drama.

“He augmented the chorus of a dithyramb (choral hymn) with a single actor who worked masks to portray several different characters”, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. It had never been done before.

In respect for his milestone achievement, actors today are still occasionally referred to as Thespians.

And so was born the stage play, allowing for the introduction of the man arguably considered to be the best writer ever in English literature, William Shakespeare (born in April 1564). His plays were staged at the Globe Theatre in London, England.

Jumping to the ‘modern’ era, “The Great Train Robbery” of 1903 was the first narrative film. Silent movies were extremely popular and the first great screen idol was Rudolph Valentino.

Al Jolson in blackface courtesy Museum of Family History.

But in 1927, “The Jazz Singer” featuring Al Jolson in blackface singing “Mammy” opened the door to talkies.

But let’s leap foward to 2018.

Not to be sexist or racist or any other –ist, but what do Robert Di Niro, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Leonard DeCaprio, North American women and the people of China have in common?

Movies — the first four are all fine actors, women (and men) and the huge population of China are moviegoers.

Before there was Marlon Brando in a muscle shirt in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, there was Gary Cooper. Photo courtesy Pinterest/Suzanne Gauthier.

What do they all have that is uncommon? Most American actors these days are wearing outfits, as in Marvel action movies, as such they are not handsome, North American women do not want to be fed a constant diet of these flicks (and neither do the men), but the Chinese love them to death. And there a lot of Chinese in China, so if a movie is big there, North Americans have to watch the same stuff or stay home. Hollywood follows the money with its productions. Computer animated characters populate today’s films. Gone are the handsome males (and females) of earlier decades.

Actress Alice Faye said Tryone Power, a huge star of the 1930s–1940s was the most handsome man she had ever seen and that co-starring with him had a huge reward — “Kissing Ty was like dying and going to Heaven.” Photo courtesy Pinterest/Kacey Lee.

Tyrone Power with Alice Faye.

So, many North American women (and men) are staying home to watch Netflix, Apple and movie channels where they can pick and choose what they want.

The very reason people in the U.S. started to go to the movies decades ago was to enjoy a good yarn and for many in the audience, both men and women, the handsome males.

That’s my take on it, anyway.

Silent film star Rudolph Valentino is considered the original film sex symbol. He became famous playing “The Sheik.”

Rudolph Valentino was the first true Hollywood male sex symbol, with millions of fans (most female) glued to his every move, particularly when he did the Tango — it made him a super star.

When he died in 1926 at the age of 31, his death from peritonitis caused mass hysteria among fans. An estimated 100,000 people crowded the streets outside the funeral home.

Valentino funeral in New York City drew huge crowds as the screen idol had millions of fans. Photo courtesy Pinterest/Melanie Roller.

When Valentino died in 1926 at the age of 31, his death from peritonitis caused mass hysteria among his millions of fans (predominately women). An estimated 100,000 people crowed the streets outside the funeral home.

And then there was Errol Flynn,the impossibly handsome Autralian.

Swashbuckling and notorious womanizer Errol Flynn was probably the most popular film idol of late 1930s, starring in films like “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938) and “Captain Blood” (1935). He was so popular with women that he is the Flynn in the phrase “in like Flynn”, meaning easily achieving a goal or sexual conquest became part of the English language, still in use to this day. Photo courtesy Pinterest/Vadim Torsion.

Courtesy Pinterest/Mike Baranik/bing.com.

The upshot of the action movies produced today is that the population of China, not North America, dictates to studios what to produce.

These are not the swashbuckling films that began in the 1920s where you could actually see the real actors have now evolved into computer animated beings.

And so an era passes, as all do.

As always, claps are appreciated so I can buy food for my dog.