The Trade: Black Is Golden

Black is beautiful, says the Negro slogan. Money is golden, says Hollywood. This year they coincide: Sidney Poitier is the number-one money-making star of 1968, reports the Motion Picture Herald in its 37th annual survey of superstars. After Poitier comes Paul Newman; third is Julie Andrews; fourth is John Wayne—appearing among the Top Ten for a record 19th time. In fifth position is a newcomer, Clint Eastwood, whose made-in-Italy “Dollar” westerns were appropriately named. The sixth is Dean Martin; seventh, Steve McQueen; eighth, Jack Lemmon; ninth, Lee Marvin; and tenth, Elizabeth Taylor. There is no room at the top for slippage. Gone from last year’s golden ten are Sean Connery, who dropped from fifth to sixteenth, and Richard Burton, who slipped from ninth to fifteenth.