WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was an advertising campaign by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS), a loose association of newspaper columnists, publicity and press agents and other employees from the media sector.
history
Between 1922 and 1934, WAMPAS regularly selected 13 young artists who, in its opinion, would most likely have the potential to become stars. The selection was not limited to actresses, but also included women from better society (so-called debutantes), choir girls, dancers, mannequins and winners of beauty contests.
The selection of the WAMPAS Baby Stars itself was accompanied by numerous outside influences. The big film studios tried to get their own starlets shortlisted. The official announcement of the candidates was a social event and was framed by a lot of publicity, especially in the 1920s. Well-known society columnists such as Louella Parsons and Walter Winchell hosted the national radio show, also known as The Frolic .
Many of the actresses failed to prevail, but some winners like Clara Bow , Joan Crawford , Mary Astor , Fay Wray , Joan Blondell , Gloria Stuart and Ginger Rogers managed to establish themselves successfully in the film industry. On August 1, 2018, Mary Carlisle, the last living representative of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, died.