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.

"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.

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Food & Wine

Humphrey Bogart

1 of 9 Getty Images/Gene Lester

1945

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

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Elvis Presely

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.

Goldie Hawn

3 of 9 Getty Images//Joseph Klipple

1964

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

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Farah Fawcett

4 of 9 Bauer-Griffin

1973

Actress Farrah Fawcett, c. 1973.

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Muhammad Ali

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.

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Samuel L. Jackson

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.

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Helen Mirren

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.

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Mariah Carey

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

2014

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

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The World is Your Burger

9 of 9 Courtesy of Phaidon

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

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