Matinée idol

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For the 1933 film, see Matinee Idol (film).
For the boxer nicknamed "Matinee Idol", see Bobby Czyz


The term almost exclusively refers to male actors. Invariably the adulation was fixated on the actor's looks rather than performance. It differs from "sex symbol" (and is also faintly derogatory) in that it suggests the star's popularity came from the afternoon matinée performances rather than the "big picture" evenings and, hence, a less discriminating audience.

During the 1920s, three actors Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Ivor Novello were considered leading Matinée idols.[1]

Now a somewhat old-fashioned term, the phenomenon reached its height during the period from the 1930s to around the 1960s, a period extending from the beginning of the "talkies" to the development of pop culture. As a concept, it was supplanted by the more music-led term, "teen idol".

Television and film[edit]

The Matinee Idol is also the title of a 1928 Frank Capra film,[2] a 1933 UK film, as well as countless articles and biographies concerning film and theatre actors.[3]



  1. ^ Williams p.12-15
  2. ^ Matinee Idol,
  3. ^ Idol Worship: A Shameless Celebration of Male Beauty in the Movies by Michael Ferguson (2003)
  4. ^


  • Williams, Michael. Ivor Novello: Screen Idol. BFI, 2003.

External links[edit]