The arris Poll
THE HARRIS POLL #62 Wednesday, December 10,1997
CI-INT EASTWOOD TOPS THIS YEAR'S LIST OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MOVIE STARS
Mel Gibson, #1 last year, drops to #2.
by Humphrey Taylor
Clint Eastwood, who topped the list of most popular movie star in 1993 and
1994, has recaptured the top spot in the annual Harris Poll rankings. Mel Gibson, who was number one in the 1996 survey, has slipped back to number two.
These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,010 adults surveyed between November 19 and 23.
Other notable results of the survey include:
Tom Cruise, in fifth position last year, is now in third place.
John Wayne, who died in 1979, but somehow managed to top the list in 1995, and took second place last year, drops to fourth place.
Harrison Ford, who was not in the top ten last year, moves up to number five.
In addition to Harrison Ford, Richard Gere (#7) and Sean Connery (#7)make it into this year's list although they were not in it last year. They are tied with Arnold Schwarzenegger (#7).
Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. 111 Fifth Avenue NYC (212) 539-9600 Steven Segal, Tom Hanks, Sylvester Stallone and Paul Newman who were in the top ten list last year, drop out of it this year.
As in previous years, all of the top ten are men. The first female star on the list is Demi Moore at n~~mber22.
Mel Gibson, in second place overall, is number one among people under 25, with men, and with white and Hispanic Americans.
Clint Eastwood owes his number one slot, in part, to his strong showing among men. He is in second place among women.
Denzel Washington, in tenth place overall, is number one among African- Americans.
Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman and CEO of Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. TABLE 1
FAVORITE MOVIE STAR
"Who is your favorite movie star?"
Clint Eastwood Mel Gibson Tom Cruise John Wayne Harrison Ford Kevin Costner Arnold Schwarzenegger Richard Gere Sean Connery Denzel Washington
*~otintop 10.
DROPPED OUT OF TOP 10 IN 1997 (VERSUS 19961
Steven Segal, Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Sylvester Stallone
HIGHEST RANKED WOMAN
Demi Moore (#22)
FAVORITE STARS IN VARIOUS GROUPS
Among: People aged 18-24: Mel Gibson People aged 65 and over: Clint Eastwood
Women: Mel Gibson Men: Clint Eastwood
Whites: Mel Gibson African-Americans: Denzel Washington Hispanics: Mel Gibson Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between d November 19 to 23, among a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults. Figures for a.ge, sex, race, education and number of adults in household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screerring (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.