From Bob Hope and Bing Crosby to Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Douglas, golf-loving film stars have frequently visited St Andrews.
These visits are memorialised throughout the town – for example on the walls of bars and restaurants – as St Andrews has developed as a ‘star site’. How have these film stars engaged with, and contributed to, the culture, heritage and economy of the town? This section will examine the interaction between location (St Andrews) and star, from the earliest visits of Douglas Fairbanks to the annual influx each October for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Patricia Roc, Third Most Popular British Star, Visits St Andrews Twice
In 1946, the English actress Patricia Roc visited St Andrews twice to generate publicity for The Brothers (David MacDonald/ U.K. / 1947), a film set in Scotland and targeted at Scottish audiences. These visits constituted unique occurrences in the town’s history of star appearances, helping to identify, associate and position this English actress within Scottish culture. Although not widely remembered today, Patricia Roc was well known in the 1940s for her roles in English historical melodramas like The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss/ U.K. /...
read moreJohn Cleese elected Rector of University of St Andrews
And now for something completely different... John Cleese becomes University Rector
read moreHonorary Degrees and the Star Figure
Throughout its long history the University of St Andrews has established a tradition of awarding honorary degrees to notable scholars, writers, scientists, athletes, and actors and actresses.
read moreSir Sean Connery and Principal Louise Richardson at the New York Stock Exchange
On Thursday 17 May 2012, Sir Sean Connery and Principal Louise Richardson rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
read moreThe Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and St Andrews’s Star Culture
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St Andrews has become the main attraction point for movie stars to St Andrews since the golf tournament became a pro-am in 2001.
read moreBing Crosby competes at St Andrews
Bing Crosby brings the crowds to St Andrews as he faces local amateur, J.K. Wilson in the 1950 British Amateur Golf Tournament.
read moreSean Connery awarded an honorary degree
Sean Connery is made an honorary Doctor of Letters at a ceremony in St Andrews in July 1988.
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