I believe the "Hollywood accent" that is in debate at the moment is actually what is called "Standard Speech". It is still taught to many theatrical students enrolled in comprehensive training programs. Performers were trained in this speech pattern so that an audience attending a professional play would hear speech that was even and fluid on the ear, and thus easily understood. Admittedly, some performers may have been pushing past this and over the top into a British sound. Obviously, techniques originally conceived for the stage don't always work as well in film. But since much early film was heavily influenced by the stage, and since many early successful film stars had stage backgrounds, it's conceivable that their accents came with them until the trend changed. Regarding the comment that actors at one time were expected to have cultured and educated backgrounds, I must point out that historically, the very opposite has been the rule. Characters may have been written as upper class, but traditionally most performers have been anything but. Historically, you would be hard pressed to find a man or woman from a "respectable" background prancing about on a stage or in front of a flickering camera. This was greatly discouraged. I recall reading about a time when actors were not allowed a burial plot on hallowed ground. However, people of extremely poor backgrounds were often capable of achieving the highest success creating characters that reflected cultured, monied backgrounds. Who could imagine Cary Grant any other way? Yet he was born poor in England and joined the circus. He freely admitted that he invented and gradually grew into that cool, suave, debonair guy we all know and love on the screen. I know there are exceptions, Grace Kelly being a notable one, but from what I have learned about theatrical and cinematic history, this has been the general rule. Jenny J ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]