Who is more famous: Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne

In recent years, Willis and Stallone enjoy a fame of about 10 famons whereas Schwarzenegger’s fame reaches 25 famons (see previous post).

But how do these figures compare to those of other people? In a previous post I compared their fame to those of Seagal and Van Damme.

Now let’s see how these figures compare to those of two of the most popular icons of the golden Hollywood era: Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) was one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was a top actress and still remains a pop culture icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her as the sixth-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Monroe appeared in 26 movies (and 5 uncredited movies). Her best movie is ‘Some Like it Hot’ (IMDB score 8.2), directed by Billy Wilder.

John Wayne

John Wayne (1907 – 1979) is also a popular icon because of his starring roles in Western and war movies. He appeared  in a total of 179 film and television productions. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Wayne as one of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema.

His best movie is the 1962 movie ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ (IMDB score 8.1), directed by John Ford.

Based on the above I hypothesize that Wayne and Monroe reach fame levels much higher than other actors and actresses.

Let’s see if this is true or not.

How famous are Monroe and Wayne?

The use of the Ngram tool shows that Wayne appears in the books in the late 1920s, i.e., right after his first 1926 movie ‘Brown of Harvard’, directed by Jack Conway (based on IMDB).

Similarly, Monroe appears in the books in the late 1940s, i.e., right after her first movie, the 1947 ‘Dangerous Years’, directed by Arthur Pierson.

When Marilyn was alive, i.e., roughly during 1950 – 1965, she enjoyed higher fame than Wayne. After her death, Wayne enjoys higher fame than Marilyn. However, in recent years their fame levels have converged to about 50 famons. This is 5 times higher than those of Willis’ and Stallone’s and 2 times higher than that of Arnold’s.

But is the fame of Monroe and Wayne higher that that of the remaining actors and actresses listed in the American Film Institute compilation of the greatest stars of classic American cinema?

Or, is the fame of Monroe and Wayne higher that that of other recent actors and actresses?

I will handle these questions in my future posts.

Keep in touch.