Celebrity & Cultural Impact
As Douglas describes in chapter 2 of Celebrity: A History of Fame, the rise of vaudeville and theater acts “led to the creation of “dramatic paragraphers,” reporters whose beat was to cover entertainment and produce feature stories about show business celebrities. Gradually many reviews of the shows themselves gave way to these enormously popular features, primarily profiles of stars and their lives off stage” (79). These popular features were placed in fan magazines, where readers could learn intimate details about their favorite actors and actresses. Douglas also talks about the shift in marketing tactics used at the start of this celebrity era. Most theatres that Bernhardt performed at would advertise her name greatly in order to bring in more people to watch her.
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Celebrity culture as we know it was born during this time, and Sharon Marcus from Vox considers Bernhardt to be one of the first modern celebrities, as she was a major subject of the press and often engaged with gossip about her life. Marcus writes: “From the 1860s on, [Bernhardt] was a mainstay of the cutting-edge media of her day: the mass press. She paid close attention to her coverage and seized occasions to talk back to journalists. In 1878, she responded to a newspaper’s speculations about her true hair color by commenting, ‘I regret that I cannot prove that I am a natural blonde.’ When she didn’t like how articles presented her, she dashed off testy letters and telegrams telling her side of the story. If editors didn’t print them, she threatened to sue” (Marcus). Bernhardt was a popular figure among fan magazines and early gossip journalists, and her popularity only increased as she engaged with the press. She was a true celebrity on a global scale, which she seemed to be very aware of. The press loved to write about her lavish lifestyle and all the things she indulged in; she would spend her money on ridiculous purchases such as multiple big game cats for her menagerie and how she received embroidered gifts from kings and queens (Skinner, 64). Bernhardt’s constant defying of cultural conventions created even more buzz around her name. She had a child out of wedlock, numerous public affairs, and was considered as a fashion icon (Beyelia). She would ask to be paid in cash and she would commonly return to her house in Paris with a trunk filled with cash (Skinner, 196).
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During her lifetime, Bernhardt gained the nickname “The Divine Sarah” due to her status as one of the first international superstars. Oscar Wilde, a longtime friend of Bernhardt’s, is quoted as the originator of this nickname, as he said the following about her: “Were I a king I would give the half of my kingdom, the half of my sceptre, the half of my crown, to know that divine Sarah, and I would make her known all over the world” (Beyelia).
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In 1880, Bernhardt founded her own traveling company and embarked on multiple world tours (Nagler). She traveled with 45 costume crates for her 15 different productions, and 75 crates for her off-stage clothing. She was an international star who was known for a time as the most famous actress the world has ever known. She embarked on multiple world tours and received ovations all around the globe. During one of her tours within the United States, audiences’ desire to be in her presence was so strong that the Grand Opera House in California had to institute a lottery system among their seasonal subscribers (Beyelia).
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Bernhardt was a master of drama, her famous dying scenes were known throughout the world, as she gave such invigorating performances of her characters dying. She could play both men and women, and she was one of the first actresses to play a male character. Bernhardt played for many different kings and queens, some of which broke royal code to bow to her at the end of her performance. She was known for her “golden voice” on the stage and her masterful marketing and promotion of her likelihood off of the stage (Skinner, 262). In addition to this, she was also a successful theatre owner, as well as an artist--making sculptures and paintings (Skinner, 270).
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All-in-all, Sarah Bernhardt left the world with a lasting legacy. Her career took off in the theater and then transitioned to the big screen, where she became one of the first celebrities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During her lifetime, she was often called one of the greatest actresses and after her death, over 30,000 people attended her funeral, truly showcasing how much of a respected and popular cultural icon she was (Skinner, 333).
“The Divine Sarah”
“An actress whose facial expression and mode of gesture and pose fascinate her audience is the famous Sarah Bernhardt”
The title of this article from the Motion Picture Magazine is a reference to Bernhardt’s nickname, “The Divine Sarah.” Van Loan reviews Bernhardt’s performance in “Jeanne Doré”--which was one of her best-received roles--and includes a short profile on the actress, including a quotation and anecdote. The author writes that Bernhardt is “Greatest of All Actresses” (Van Loan, 45), a common sentiment of the time.
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“States Rights Now Selling”
Further showcasing Bernhardt’s popularity and world-wide acclaim is this advertisement from the Moving Picture World magazine, which states “no celebrity in the history of the stage has been nearly as widely advertised. Every one of every tongue knows her” in reference to Sarah Bernhardt.
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“VOODOO on the Set”
“Lose your rabbit’s foot and Sarah Bernhardt would have had you flung out into the night.”
This article from a 1934 edition of the Movie Mirror magazine discusses superstitions that various famous actors and actresses have. This line exemplifies the celebrity culture that was born in the early 20th century and still remains today. In the second chapter of Celebrity: A History of Fame, the authors describe how the rise in theater occurred in tandem with the rise of the “penny press,” where gossip about theater stars was published, garnering public attention for the shows being put on and creating early celebrity culture (Douglas and McDonnell,103). The scandalizing nature of this article is reminiscent of 2010s tabloids like the Daily Mail, which have clickbait titles that promise insider gossip about a celebrity’s life.
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Mysterious Ways of the Beauty Glutton
“There is no vanity like the pitiful vanity of the aging beauty. Sarah Bernhardt has it. Even her own maid has never seen her try to take a step on her artificial limb. She is carried in a sedan chair everywhere.”
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This quote and clipping above are from an article titled “Mysterious Ways of the Beauty Glutton” from a Sept 1922–Feb 1923 archive of the Screenland magazine. The article is focused on all of the extreme lengths that famous actresses take to maintain their beauty. The author chronicles the tedious routines of multiple different public figures, and makes a comment on Bernhardt's prosthetic leg. At age 71, Bernhardt had her right leg amputated above the knee and continued to perform on stage in a wheelchair and then with a prosthetic (Johnson). This clipping is yet another example of Bernhardt’s star power; even through the later years of her life, the public was fascinated by her and she was being referenced in popular magazines.
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“Royal Chefs of Hollywood”
“Madame Sarah Bernhardt was an actress who never bothered about weight. Her art seemed to place her far above mere physical appearance”
“Madame Sarah Bernhardt, after the banquet, asked permission to see and greet those responsible for the wonderful feast… Sarah who, from a throne of flowers, gave liberally handfuls of coins from a basket filled with Turkish gold.”
This article from the Movie Mirror magazine provides an insight into the types of stories that would be written about celebrities in fan magazines. This article is about the celebrity chefs that served Hollywood’s elite and features testimony from Bernhardt’s former chef. Bernhardt was known for her lavish lifestyle but also for her generosity--which is shown through her handsomely tipping the dining staff at an event. The quotation about her weight and physical appearance is indicative of the ways that womens’ bodies were (and still are) topics of conversation.
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Ingram’s Milkweed Cream
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“Sarah Bernhardt began its use twenty years ago -- today she is proclaimed ‘young at seventy-one.”
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Bernhardt’s testimony was used in an advertisement for an anti-aging Milkweed Cream. Here, she is exemplifying the post-World War One idea of celebrities as idols of consumption. Readers of this magazine, who were probably young women, were told that if they used Ingram’s cream, they too could look just like their favorite actress.
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Bernhardt's Courage
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“Sarah Bernhardt has overcome greater physical handicaps than any other living actress. In simply overcoming great age — she is now nearly eighty — she was considered a real heroine, but when she persisted in staying on the stage after her leg had been amputated, the world unanimously gave her the platinum medal for real courage. She took the role of a French soldier boy, who had lost a leg in the war. She has refused, however, to walk with an artificial limb, although she wears one. Even her personal maid has never seen her take a step. She cannot bear to look awkward.”
This quote about Bernhardt was published in Screenland magazine mere months before her death in 1923 and demonstrates how strong her legacy was, even when she was alive. The author mentions her strength and determination throughout her career and also makes a snide remark about her prosthetic limb. After her leg was amputated, Bernhardt was known to not walk on her prosthetic, but instead either use a wheelchair or be carried by assistants.
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