Beyonce Knowles: Big ‘Star is Born’ Shoes to Fill

In the original 1937 film “A Star is Born,” Janet Gaynor played the role of Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester, an aspiring actress who achieves great success while the career of her co-star, Frederic March as Norman Maine, goes down the toilet. When the film was remade in 1954, it was adapted into a musical with the legendary Judy Garland as Esther/Vicki, with James Mason in the male lead. In 1976, yet another remake updated the story to make Esther a rock star played by another singer in a league of her own: Barbra Streisand, with “Bobby MGee” songwriter, Kris Kristofferson co-starring.

The stars of both the 1937 and 1954 versions were nominated for best actor and actress Academy Award, although they did not win. The 1976 remake won 5 Golden Globes: best movie, best actor, best actress, best original score, and best original song for “Evergreen,” which became one of Streisand’s top hits, and also won a Grammy and an Oscar. The Judy Garland/James Mason film is still rated one of the top musicals of all time, as well as one of the top 100 classic films of all time. Janet Gaynor didn’t win an Oscar for that particular film, but held the honor of being the first Best Actress Oscar winner ever for her role in Seventh Heaven (1927).

These are some big shoes to fill for Beyonce Knowles.

Beyonce Knowles is one of the most popular female singers today, if not the most popular. Her Grammy nominations and awards alone are a testament to her unprecedented popularity, even while many feel she is overrated. Her incredible photogenic beauty and glamour isn’t overrated though, and her singing talent makes her a natural for the schmaltzy tale with every cliche in the book.