[pissant]

Lousy list overall, but good to see they had enough sense to include Reagan and the Duke.

Need to ditch a few of these and add George Patton, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ben Franklin.

[Rummyfan]

Number 1

John Fitzgerald Kennedy -- The Kennedy clan is often considered the only Royal family the United States has ever had. What makes it so is not their wealth or political role, but rather the aura of nobility surrounding them. JFK was the embodiment of this. A Navy officer during World War II, he became a congressman in 1947 and a U.S. senator in 1952. Nine years later, he led the Democratic Party to the White House, becoming the 35th American president. His term in office was often dubbed the New Frontier since it was an era of change. He put an end to segregation, established the Peace Corps, and masterminded the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis. Unfortunately, he is often best remembered for his assassination in November 1963. For all his youthful energy and magnetism, he represented the quintessence of America.

Best quote: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

This man certainly has benefited posthumously from overwhelmingly great PR. He gave some good speeches, but other being a great champion of the space program, I can think of no postive accomplishment.

[CougarGA7]

My favorite quote from JFK is "Ich bin ein Berliner"

Apparently there was a doughnut being made in Berlin at the time that was called the Berliner. And since he used the word ein in that sentence he basically said

"I am a doughnut"

[the OlLine Rebel]

Screw that. GEORGE WASHINGTON is the greatest.

Maybe he just doesn't symbolize America TO FOREIGNERS as well - which is what I guess the gist of this thing is.

That said,
"they also need to have had a colossal influence in their field of expertise on the international scene."

What great influence did James Dean ever have? He made a few forgettable movies and then died. Martyr complex.

Marilyn Monroe, many more but mostly known for her alleged sexiness. She had no good movies.

These 2 are THE most over-rated "stars" of the screen, perhaps. And they both have 1 thing in common - they died during their careers, in the same era. I don't get why their faces are the 2 always plastered on sides of buildings, billboards, posters, art, as if they were the top movie stars of all time. BS.

[Cecily]

There are just too many.

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Humphrey Bogart
Clark Gable
Thomas Edison
The Mercury astronauts
FDR
The Wright Brothers
Muddy Waters
Bob Dylan
Henry Ford
Andy Warhol

etc.

[PzLdr]

George Washington, Babe Ruth, Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, and in a different sense, Al Capone and Lucky Luciano

[weegee]

A lot of celebrities.

[PJ-Comix]

Ernest Hemingway-- Born July 21, 1899, Hemingway is considered the greatest American fiction writer of the 20th century.

Sorry. I can't agree with that one. James Jones was a MUCH BETTER writer than Hemmingway. BTW, Hemmingway had a HATRED of James Jones that bordered on the pathological.

[mrs. a]

What? No Rob Zombie?

He lends gravitas to any list...

[Skooz]

The list starts here.

Any lists of "American icons" that does not have the Babe in the top 5 should be torn up and started over.

[freedumb2003]

Kinda favoring the latter 20th century.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Teddy Roosevelt

Good choice.
In my book, TR represents perfectly the America of the first half of the 20th Century.
Bold, brash, intelligent, fearless and a little rough around the edges.

I think for his time, he was the ultimate American icon.

[MaineVoter2002]

Just dont move Sinatra

[pbear8]

The Kennedy clan is often considered the only Royal family the United States has ever had.

Not by people who can read.