Fame in the 20th Century

James takes a look at some of the people who emerged from all walks of life during this period to become key international figures. Among those featured in this first programme are Elvis Presley , Madonna, the Princess of Wales, Charlie Chaplin , Lawrence of Arabia, Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino.

1927-33: James takes a look at some of the people who emerged from all walks of life during this period to become key international figures. Among those featured are Fred Astaire , Noel Coward , Coco Chanel, Louis Armstrong , the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Mahatma Gandhi , Pablo Picasso , George Gershwin and Charles Lindbergh.

1933-40: James takes a look at some of the people who emerged from all walks of life during this period to become key international figures. Including Adolf Hitler , Benito Mussolini , Franklin D Roosevelt , Shirley Temple, Gary Cooper , Johnny Weissmuller , Bing Crosby , James Stewart and King Edward VIII.

He traces the change in the public's perception of fame brought about by the rise of the communications industry and the manipulations of the media. 1940-52: James takes a look at some of the people who emerged from all walks of life during this period to become key international figures. Among those featured: Winston Churchill , Frank Sinatra , Humphrey Bogart , Rita Hayworth , Noel Coward , Clark Gable , Field Marshal Montgomery, Glenn Miller and General MacArthur.

1951-59: Among those who hit the headlines during this period and are featured tonight: Marilyn Monroe , Elvis Presley , Lucille Ball , Liberace, Hugh Hefner , Joseph McCarthy , Marion Brando , Pablo Picasso and Grace Kelly.

1960-69: Among the key figures featured are: John F Kennedy , Richard Burton , Elizabeth Taylor , Marilyn Monroe , Cassius Clay , Martin Luther King , the Beatles, Paul Newman , the Rolling Stones, Neil Armstrong , Peter Sellers and Charles Manson.

Tonight's episode covers the 1970s. Among those featured are: Clint Eastwood , Robert De Niro , Richard Nixon , John McEnroe , Howard Hughes , Elvis Presley , Idi Amin , the Osmonds, Abba and Pele.

Last programme in the series in which Clive James examines the nature of 20th-century fame using archive material. Tonight's episode spans the 80s to the present. Among those featured: the Princess of Wales, Michael Jackson , Ronald Reagan , Margaret Thatcher , Sylvester Stallone , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Mikhail Gorbachev , General Norman Schwarzkopf.