Tag Marilyn Monroe

In the latest New York Times Review of Books, critic Robert Gottlieb reviews a new biography of Sarah Bernhardt, the turn-of-the-century actress, and makes the assertion that Bernhardt remains “the most famous actress the world has ever known” (via).

I beg to differ.

I would be willing to wager almost any amount of money that were I to go out into the streets and ask people who Sarah Bernhardt is, almost all of them would tell me it is this woman. And that’s not to even remotely suggest that Sandra Bernhard is anywhere near the most famous actress the world has ever known, either (although she seems to think she is); it’s to suggest that the enduring flame of fame has flickered out on dear old Sarah, even with the quaint museum-shop merchandising that Gottlieb points to as her continued salability.

Oh, but you argue that in her time Bernhardt was more famous. Hah! I think it’s readily arguable that, even when you account for scale, the most disposable of contemporary celebrities is vastly more famous, scrutinized as they are to the Nth degree in almost every avenue of their lives by the media and publicized not just to the cultural elites but to every corner of the globe. While history will probably never remember Jessica Simpson, her recognizability is several orders of magnitude greater than Sarah Bernhardt’s could have ever been in her time.

In Mr. Gottlieb’s review, he has a telling quote from Marilyn Monroe:

“Every time I show my teeth on television, I’m appearing before more people than Sarah Bernhardt appeared before in her whole career.” — from “The Seven Year Itch”

While he tries to use this quote to demonstrate that Bernhardt is the “gold standard” (my term, not his), it needs to be pointed out that “The Seven Year Itch” was made 52 years ago, and only about 10 years after Bernhardt’s death, when she was still a recognizable icon of the past. I’d argue that it’s Monroe herself who probably comes the closest to earning the title of “the most famous actress the world has ever known”. Certainly more famous in her own lifetime than Bernhardt was in hers, and she continues to be a bankable celebrity: in this 2002 Forbes report, Monroe is #11 in the top-grossing dead celebrity rankings, and the highest-rated female a full FORTY years after her death.

(My challenge to Mr. Gottlieb shouldn’t be taken too seriously; after all, I recognize that he’s just employing a bit of hyperbole to punch up his very interesting book review. I’m just trying to make a point for the sake of punching up my blog.)

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