Why is it that some stars remain in the collective memory and others don't - despite the fact that they were famous in their lifetimes? Look at the woman below. You probably won't recognise her but in her day she was a superstar. You could not invent her story even if you wanted to. And if you did make it up, nobody would believe you. The woman's name is Annette Kellerman.
When she was a child, Annette was obliged to wear steel braces and she started swimming in order to make her legs stronger. She had already broken many swimming records by the time she arrived in London in 1905. She was 18 and made the headlines by attempting to swim the English Channel. Controversially, she wore a man’s-style swimsuit that revealed part of her thighs. More importantly, her actions popularised the one-piece swimsuit - an enduring accomplishment.
Her career really took off when she arrived in the US in 1907 and it was not too long before she became a film star. She caused controversy when she took part in what was probably the cinema's first full-frontal nudity scene. Her exploits were thoroughly entrepreneurial but her attitudes towards physical fitness were well ahead of their time. She believed that the keys to health were diet and exercise. We take this for granted in 2017 but in 1912, these ideas were new. Her merging of underwater swimming and performing were also ahead of their time and helped to develop the sport of synchronised swimming. She died aged 88 in 1975.
My point is, why do some celebrities live on and why are others more or less forgotten? Lillian Gish, Greta Garbo, John Gilbert and Rudolph Valentino are part of our collective memory but others, like our friend above, have disappeared into obscurity. And yet, the lives of these people could form the basis of novels spanning the 20th century. William Boyd has done this wonderfully in his book Sweet Caress.
Another one is Eddie Cantor, who (according to one summary of his life and recorded with some surprise) was a household name until the day of his death, but he was forgotten the day after.
Posted by: Christopher Goddard | 12/01/2017 at 11:41 AM
The name rings a bell but I'll have to google him.
Posted by: Robert John Goddard | 12/01/2017 at 01:35 PM