'' named
Richard Barthelmess the "idol of every girl in America" in the 1920s. An admirer wrote that "his wonderful black hair and soulful eyes are enough to make any young girl adore him" in 1921. is the epitome of a matinée idol.
1910s–1920s Matinée idols during these time were commonly referred to simply as "lovers". "
Latin lovers", or actors who specialized in characters of
Latin American or Romance European descent, became popular in the 1920s after Rudolph Valentino's famous performance as Julio Desnoyers in
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Other Latin lovers include
Ramon Novarro,
Antonio Moreno and
Ricardo Cortez, although the latter was actually a Jew named Jacob Krantz who
passed as Latin to capitalize on the trope's popularity. •
Sessue Hayakawa (first Asian idol to become popular in America) •
Antonio Moreno •
Wallace Reid •
Richard Dix •
Douglas Fairbanks •
Rudolph Valentino •
Lorenzo Tucker 1930s •
Errol Flynn •
Robert Taylor •
Tyrone Power 1940s •
Van Johnson •
Guy Madison 1950s •
Dirk Bogarde Sports • During the November 15, 2009,
Sunday Night Football game between the
New England Patriots and the
Indianapolis Colts,
Bob Costas used the term to describe New England Patriots' superstar quarterback
Tom Brady. The Colts went on to win by a score of 35–34. ==References==