matinee idol

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was about that time that popular magazines began referring to him as “America’s Negro matinee idol” for his work in film and theater.

From Washington Post

There was a stiffness to Mr. Belafonte’s early, untrained movie performances, and he admitted he was self-conscious in matinee idol roles.

From Washington Post

In that potboiler, a film he later disavowed as too tame, he was publicized as the first Black matinee idol for mainstream audiences.

From Washington Post

Described in Look magazine in 1957 as the first Black matinee idol in entertainment history, the tall, trim and smoothly handsome singer amassed an impressive string of early accolades in an era when Black actors were mostly cast as maids, domestic helpers and laborers.

From Los Angeles Times

His movie stardom was short-lived, though, and it was his friendly rival Sidney Poitier, not Mr. Belafonte, who became the first bona fide Black matinee idol.

From New York Times