John
Wayne makes No. 2 in Poll
THE HARRIS POLL
#72, December 6, 2000
While the
Presidential Race remains uncertain, Americans have once again voted
for Harrison Ford as their favorite movie star for the third year
running. Mr. Ford, who portrayed a heroic President in the
action-packed "Air Force One", ranked highest among women
and whites.
John Wayne and Mel
Gibson scored two and three, respectively. That John Wayne should
still hold the second sport twenty-one years after he died in 1979
is surely amazing.
These are the results
of the annual Harris Poll in which a nationwide cross-section of
1,015 adults, surveyed in October, were asked to name their favorite
movie stars. Because this is a survey of a cross-section of all
adults, whether or not they ever go to the movies, these numbers
represent the views of all adults; they are not a cross-section of
moviegoers.
Julia Roberts has
moved up to #4, the highest position ever held by a female star in
the eight years since 1993 that we have asked these questions. Ms.
Roberts leap in our poll coincides with the release this year of
"Erin Brockovich", in which she portrayed a crusader who
manages to succeed in a male dominated society.
The other top ten
stars are now Clint Eastwood (#5), Tom Hanks (#6), Denzel Washington
(#7), Bruce Willis (#7), Arnold Schwarzenegger (#9), Robert DeNiro
(equal #10) and Sean Connery (#10). Interestingly, the average age
of an actor in the top ten is 58, significantly higher than the age
demographic that Hollywood movies are marketed to.
Mel Gibson, while #3
overall, is the favorite star of people 18 to 24, who go to the
movies a lot. John Wayne is still the favorite of people over age
65, defeating 70-somethings Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery. While
John Wayne is tops with men, Denzel Washington is still the favorite
among African-Americans.
Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman of
The Harris Poll.
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