 The American
Film Institute in Los Angeles, California selected the
50 greatest American Film Star Legends (composed
of the top 25 women and top 25 men - defined as actors or a team
of actors with a significant screen presence in American feature-length
films whose screen debut occurred in or before 1950, or whose screen
debut occurred after 1950 but whose death marked a completed body
of work).
Fifty of today's stars paid tribute to the 50 screen
legends (hence, 100 stars) during a 3-hour CBS television broadcast
in June of 1999.
From a
list of 500 nominees (250
in each gender category, as compiled by AFI historians, the following
criteria was used in vote-casting by a jury of film artists (directors,
screenwriters, actors, etc.), critics, historians, executives and
other cultural leaders to select the 25
Greatest Men and 25 Greatest Women Screen Legends of all
time:
Criteria for Star Legends Selection:
 Star
Quality: An actor's charisma and unique personal characteristics
that create a strong on- and off-screen presence which is often
embraced by audiences as a separate, mythic persona.
- Craft: An
actor's ability to embody distinctly different characters through
the use of strong acting techniques and other creative methods.
- Legacy: An
actor's body of work that enriches American film heritage and continues
to inspire artists and audiences today.
- Popularity: An
actor's public following over time.
- Historical
Context: The role of world events, politics, and changing
social mores in shaping, promoting or curtailing a legend's status
and career.
|
and
Ranking)