ABSTRACT
Many a time and oft, a gnarled actor has been heard bemoaning the changes in the industry with this familiar phrase: 'It is not what it used to be'. A long period of more stable acting during the first half of the twentieth century was interrupted by the introduction of silent pictures and then, even more worrying for a stage actor, talking pictures. Then animation took over, when producers realized that they could save even more money by not using actors at all. With the star system and the demand for celebrity in theatre, there is now a situation where sports stars, weather announcers, and even ex-politicians appear in variety shows. Before long, however, the stars of the theatre, film, and television realized that there was even more money to be made in commercials, and they abandoned their pride regarding being featured in advertising products and became stars through these very products.
