Food & Wine Food & Wine
A Visual History of Hollywood and the Hamburger
  • Subscribe
  • Video
    • Mad Genius Tips
    • Cooking Videos
    • Ludo Lefebvre Cooking Videos
  • Recipes
    • Meat & Poultry
    • Comfort Food
    • Soups
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Fruits
    • Vegetables
    • Seafood
    • Pasta & Noodle
    • Special Diets
    • Chefs
  • Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails
    • Champagne
    • Coffee
    • Beer
    • Tea
  • Travel
    • Restaurants
    • Wine Regions
  • Holidays
    • Super Bowl
    • Chinese New Year
    • Mardi Gras
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
  • Kitchen & Home
    • Cooking Techniques
    • How To
    • Gift Guides
  • Shop
  • More
    • F&W Classic in Aspen
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • Wine Club
  • News
  • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Mad Genius Tips
    • Cooking Videos
    • Ludo Lefebvre Cooking Videos
  • RECIPES
    • Meat & Poultry
    • Comfort Food
    • Soups
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Fruits
    • Vegetables
    • Seafood
    • Pasta & Noodles
    • Special Diets
    • Chefs
  • DRINKS
    • Wine
    • Cocktails
    • Champagne
    • Coffee
    • Beer
    • Tea
  • TRAVEL
    • Restaurants
    • Wine Regions
    • Local Flavor
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Super Bowl
    • Valentine's Day
    • Oscar Party
    • Mardi Gras
    • St. Patrick's Day
  • NEWS
  • KITCHEN & HOME
    • Cooking Techniques
    • How To
    • Gift Guides
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • Subscribe
    • Events
    • Give a Gift
    • Newsletters
    • Wine Club
  1. Home
  2. Lifestyle
  3. A Visual History of Hollywood and the Hamburger

A Visual History of Hollywood and the Hamburger

"There is something about a hamburger that stirs echoes in all of us,” writes David Michaels, ruminating on the iconic fast food's role in popular culture. The author of The World is Your Hamburger: A Cultural History dedicates a hefty chapter of his well-researched tome to dissecting the unfolding impact of this humble sandwich—one of the weightiest, most recognizable cultural symbols of the last century. One enduring trend in Michaels' research is the glut of hamburger imagery in film and television—where a simple patty on a sesame seed bun can help develop a character, set a scene or establish an underlying metaphor. Burgers are about Americana and opportunity, says Michaels, and the same could be said for Hollywood itself. Celebrity photographers and Hollywood cinematographers have captured shots of America’s favorite stars eating America’s favorite sandwich for as long as there have been celebrity photographers and Hollywood cinematographers. And for good reason—there’s something compelling about seeing a larger-than-life figure eating like the little people. “This, ultimately, is the fate of the hamburger in popular culture,” writes Michaels, “to be ever-present and evocative.” —Hannah Walhout The following is excerpted with permission from The World is Your Hamburger: A Cultural History by David Michaels, Phaidon 2017.

More
Food & Wine
1 of 9 Getty Images/Gene Lester

1945

Actor Humphrey Bogart, at the racetrack in Santa Anita, California, c. 1945.
 

Advertisement
2 of 9 Shutterstock.com/Sipa Press/REX

1955

Singer and film star Elvis Presley, during the BBC documentary The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, c. 1955.

3 of 9 Getty Images//Joseph Klipple

1964

Actress Goldie Hawn, Washington, D.C., 1964.
 

Advertisement
4 of 9 Bauer-Griffin

1973

Actress Farrah Fawcett, c. 1973.

Advertisement
5 of 9 Image courtesy of the Advertising Archives/© Birds Eye

1981

Boxer Muhammad Ali appearing in a UK television advertisement for Birds Eye’s Quarter Pounder, 1981.

Advertisement
6 of 9 Visual Icon/Quentin Tarantino/Miramax Films

1994

Actor Samuel L. Jackson, eating a Big Kahuna burger, in the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, 1994. 

Advertisement
7 of 9 Getty Images//Eric Charbonneau/WireImage for Vanity Fair Magazine

2007

Helen Mirren eating an In-N-Out Cheeseburger at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, 2007.

Advertisement
8 of 9 Getty Images//Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive

2014

Mariah Carey at McDonald's, Times Square, New York City, 2014.

Advertisement
9 of 9 Courtesy of Phaidon

The World is Your Burger: A Cultural History by David Michaels, $39.95 at phaidon.com. 

You May Like

Read More

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Keeping you in the know on all the latest & greatest food and travel news, and other special offers.
Sign up

DELICIOUS DEAL

12 ISSUES FOR JUST $12
Subscribe & Save

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Keeping you in the know on all the latest & greatest food and travel news, and other special offers.
Sign up
Food & Wine
Holidays & Occasions
  • Chinese New Year
  • Super Bowl Recipes
  • Valentine's Day Recipes
  • Oscar Party Food
  • Mardi Gras Recipes
  • Memorial Day Recipes
  • Father's Day Recipes
  • Rosh Hashanah Recipes
  • Halloween Recipes
  • Thanksgiving Recipes
  • Christmas Recipes
Popular Dishes
  • Sandwiches
  • Snacks
  • Bread Recipes
  • Grain Recipes
  • Bean Recipes
  • Quinoa Recipes
  • Chicken Breast Recipes
  • French Recipes
  • Mexican Recipes
Subscribe
  • Subscribe to Food & Wine
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Food & Wine Books
  • Get Food & Wine iPad Edition
  • Get F&W Mobile Apps
Clubs & Events
  • Food & Wine Connoisseur Club
  • Events
  • Best New Chefs
Contact
  • Customer Service
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising
  • Careers
  • Site Map
Meredith Corporation
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Departures
Food & Wine may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. © 2018 Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. All rights reserved.
View Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Your California Privacy Rights. Ad Choices. Users of this site agree to be bound by the Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
foodandwine.com is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. | EU Data Subject Requests
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.