|
|
|
|
Madame Tussauds
|
| |
|
| |
Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m719877",this)' onMouseout='hide("m719877")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Marie_Tussaud">Marie Tussaud (1761–1850) was born Marie Grosholtz in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling. In 1765, Curtius made a waxwork of Marie-Jeanne du Barry, Louis XV's mistress. A cast of that mould is the oldest work currently on display.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Madame Tussauds' Start a new discussion about 'Madame Tussauds' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
History
Marie Tussaud (1761–1850) was born Marie Grosholtz in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling. In 1765, Curtius made a waxwork of Marie-Jeanne du Barry, Louis XV's mistress. A cast of that mould is the oldest work currently on display. The first exhibition of Curtius' waxworks was shown in 1770, and attracted a large audience. The exhibition moved to the Palais Royal in Paris in 1776. He opened a second location on Boulevard du Temple in 1782, the "Caverne des Grands Voleurs", a precursor to the later Chamber of Horrors.
Tussaud created her first wax figure, of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modelled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution she modelled many prominent victims. In her memoirs she claims that she would search through corpses to find the decapitated heads of executed citizens, from which she would make death masks. Following the doctor’s death in 1794, she inherited his vast collection of wax-models and spent the next thirty-three years travelling around Europe. Her marriage to Francois Tussaud in 1795 lent a new name to the show – Madame Tussauds. In 1802, she went to London. As a result of the Franco-English war, she was unable to return to France, so she travelled throughout Great Britain and Ireland exhibiting her collection. For a time, it was displayed at the Lyceum Theatre. From 1831 she took a series of short leases on the "Baker Street Bazaar" (on the west side of Baker Street between Dorset Street and King Street). This becames Tussaud's first permanent home in 1836.
By 1835 Marie had settled down in Baker Street, London, and opened a museum. One of the main attractions of her museum was the Chamber of Horrors. This part of the exhibition included victims of the French Revolution and newly created figures of murderers and other criminals. The name is often credited to a contributor to Punch in 1845, but Marie appears to have originated it herself, using it in advertising as early as 1843.
Other famous people were added to the exhibition, including Horatio Nelson, and Sir Walter Scott. Some of the sculptures done by Marie Tussaud herself still exist. The gallery originally contained some 400 different figures, but fire damage in 1925, coupled with German bombs in 1941, has rendered most of these older models defunct. Fortunately, the casts themselves have survived – and you can see these in the museum’s history exhibit. The oldest figure on display is that of Madame du Barry. Her nickname was the “Sleeping Beauty”, and certainly lives up to the billing. Other ancient faces from the time of Tussaud include Robespierre, George III and Benjamin Franklin.In 1842, she made a self portrait which is now on display at the entrance of her museum. She died in her sleep on 15 April 1850.
By 1883 the restricted space and rising cost of the Baker Street site prompted her grandson (Joseph Randall) to commission the building at its current location on Marylebone Road. The new exhibition galleries were opened on 14 July 1884 and were a great success. However, the building costs, falling so soon after buying out his cousin Louisa's half share in the business in 1881, meant the business was under-funded. A limited company was formed in 1888 to attract fresh capital but had to be dissolved after disagreements between the family shareholders, and in February 1889 Tussaud's was sold to a group of businessmen lead by Edwin Josiah Poyser. Edward White, an artist dismissed by the new owners to save money, allegedly sent a parcel bomb to John Theodore Tussaud in June 1889 in revenge.
In 1925 a fire destroyed many of the figures, but the moulds survived, allowing the historical waxworks to be remade.
Madame Tussaud's wax museum has now grown to become a major tourist attraction in London, incorporating (until recently) the London Planetarium in its west wing. It has expanded with branches in Amsterdam, Berlin, Las Vegas, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Washington, D.C., with an additional location scheduled to open in Hollywood in 2009. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and famous murderers. Known as "Madame Tussauds" museums (no apostrophe), they are owned by a leisure company called Merlin Entertainments, following the acquisition of The Tussauds Group in May 2007.
In July 2008, Madame Tussauds' Berlin branch became embroiled in controversy when a 41 year old German man brushed past two guards and decapitated a wax figure depicting Adolf Hitler. This was believed to be an act of protest against showing the ruthless dictator alongside sports heroes, movie stars, and other historical figures. However, the statue has since been repaired and the perpetrator has admitted he attacked the statue to win a bet. The original model of Hitler, unveiled in Madame Tussauds London in April 1933 was frequently vandalised and a replacement in 1936 had to be carefully guarded.
Some of Tussauds wax figures
Sports stars
Musicians
- Amy Winehouse (London)
- Beyoncé (London, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington, Las Vegas)
- Bill Kaulitz (Berlin)
- Bob Marley (London, New York)
- Bob Dylan (New York, Washington)
- Bono (Berlin, Las Vegas)
- Beatles (London, Berlin, New York)
- Britney Spears (Amsterdam, Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Christina Aguilera (London, New York)
- Carrie Underwood (New York)
- David Bowie (Amsterdam, London, New York)
- Diana Ross (Las Vegas, New York, London)
- Cher (New York, Hong Kong, London, Washington)
- Ella Fitzgerald (New York, Washington)
- Elton John (Las Vegas, New York, London, Washington)
- Elvis Presley (Las Vegas, Hong Kong, London, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Engelbert Humperdinck (Las Vegas)
- Frank Sinatra (Las Vegas, New York)
- Freddie Mercury (London, Amsterdam)
- Gloria Estefan (Las Vegas, New York)
- Hamasaki Ayumi (Hong Kong)
- Herbert Grönemeyer (Berlin)
- James Brown (New York, Las Vegas, Amsterdam)
- Jamiroquai (London)
- Janice Vidal (Hong Kong)
- Janis Joplin (New York)
- Jarvis Cocker (London)
- Jessica Simpson (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Jimi Hendrix (New York, Las Vegas, London, Paris)
- Joey Yung (Hong Kong)
- Johann Sebastian Bach (Berlin)
- Johnny Cash (New York)
- Johnny Mathis (Las Vegas, New York)
- Jon Bon Jovi (Las Vegas, New York, Amsterdam)
- Jonas Brothers (New York, Washington)
- Josephine Baker (New York)
- Judy Garland (Las Vegas, New York, London, Washington)
- Justin Hawkins (London)
- Justin Timberlake (London, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Keith Richards (London)
- Kylie Minogue (Hong Kong, London, Amsterdam)
- Kelly Chen (Hong Kong)
- LeAnn Rimes (New York)
- Lenny Kravitz (Las Vegas, New York, Amsterdam)
- Leo Ku (Hong Kong)
- Leon Lai (Hong Kong)
- Leslie Cheung (Hong Kong)
- Liberace (Las Vegas)
- Little Richard (Las Vegas)
- Liza Minnelli (Las Vegas, New York, London)
- Louis Armstrong (Las Vegas, New York)
- Lou Reed (Las Vegas)
- Luciano Pavarotti (Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam)
- Ludwig van Beethoven (Berlin)
- Madonna (Las Vegas, Hong Kong, New York, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Shanghai)
- Mark Knopfler (Amsterdam)
- Marvin Gaye (New York, Washington D.C.)
- Michael Jackson (Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Shanghai)
- Miley Cyrus (London, New York)
- Miriam Yeung (Hong Kong)
- Mick Jagger (Las Vegas, New York)
- Nicholas Tse (Shanghai)
- The Notorious B.I.G. (New York)
- Neil Sedaka (Las Vegas)
- Nina Hagen (Berlin)
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (London)
- Ozzy Osbourne (London, New York)
- Peter Maffay (Berlin)
- Prince (Las Vegas, New York, Amsterdam)
- RuPaul (New York)
- Robbie Williams (London, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Berlin)
- Sammy Davis Jr. (Las Vegas)
- Shakira (New York, Las Vegas, Washington D.C.)
- Shayne Ward (London)
- Stevie Wonder (Las Vegas, New York)
- Spice Girls (London, New York, Amsterdam)
- Teresa Teng (Hong Kong)
- Tiësto (Amsterdam)
- Tim McGraw (Las Vegas)
- Tina Turner (New York, Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam)
- Tom Jones (Las Vegas, London)
- Tony Bennett (Las Vegas, New York)
- Tupac Shakur (Las Vegas, London)
- Twins Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung (Hong Kong)
- Usher (New York)
- Wayne Newton (Las Vegas)
- Yoko Ono (New York)
Actors/actresses
- Audrey Hepburn (London)
- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (London)
- Amitabh Bachchan (London)
- Angelina Jolie (Las Vegas, London, New York, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Barbara Windsor (London)
- Brad Pitt (Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, New York, Amsterdam, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Bruce Lee (New York, Hong Kong)
- Charlie Chaplin (London, New York, Shanghai, Amsterdam)
- Colin Farrell (London, New York)
- Cybill Shepherd (Las Vegas, New York, London)
- Daniel Radcliffe (London, New York)
- Darlene Conley (Las Vegas, Amsterdam)
- David Jason (London)
- Debbie Reynolds (Las Vegas)
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (London, New York, Las Vegas)
- Elvis Presley (Las Vegas, Hong Kong, London, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Elizabeth Taylor (Las Vegas, New York, London, Amsterdam)
- Franka Potente (Berlin)
- George Clooney (Las Vegas, London, Shanghai, New York, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Hildegard Knef (Berlin)
- Gerard Depardieu (Las Vegas, London)
- Humphrey Bogart (Las Vegas, New York)
- Harrison Ford (London, New York)
- Hugh Grant (London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai)
- Jackie Chan (London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong)
- Jennifer Lopez (Las Vegas, London, New York, Washington D.C.)
- Jodie Sweetin (London)
- Johnny Depp (Amsterdam, Washington D.C., London, Berlin)
- John Wayne (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Julia Roberts (Las Vegas, London, New York, Washington D.C.)
- Keira Knightley (London, New York)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Berlin, New York, London)
- Lindsay Lohan (New York)
- Marlene Dietrich (Berlin)
- Marilyn Monroe (Las Vegas, New York, Shanghai, Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong)
- Mel Gibson (Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam)
- Michael Caine (London, New York)
- Miley Cyrus (London, New York)
- Morgan Freeman (London, Las Vegas, New York, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Mr. T (London)
- Nicolas Cage (Las Vegas, London, New York, Amsterdam)
- Nicole Kidman (Berlin, Shanghai, London)
- Orlando Bloom (London, New York)
- Patrick Stewart (Las Vegas, New York, London)
- Pierce Brosnan (London, New York)
- Robin Williams (London, New York)
- Romy Schneider (Berlin)
- Salma Hayek (London, New York)
- Salman Khan (London)
- Samuel L. Jackson (London, New York, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Sean Connery (Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam)
- Shahrukh Khan (London)
- Susan Lucci (New York)
- Sylvester Stallone (Las Vegas, New York, London, Berlin)
- Teri Hatcher (New York)
- The Rock (Las Vegas, New York, London)
- Tom Baker (London)
- Tom Cruise (Shanghai, London)
- Whoopi Goldberg (Las Vegas, New York, London, Washington D.C.)
- Will Smith (London, New York, Washington D.C.)
- Woody Allen (New York)
- Zac Efron (London, Las Vegas)
Others
- Al Roker (New York, Las Vegas)
- Albert Einstein (London, Berlin, New York)
- Alexander Graham Bell (New York)
- Alice Schwarzer (Berlin)
- Anne Frank (Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Ant and Dec (London)
- Amelia Earhart (New York)
- Andy Warhol (London)
- Ben Hana (London)
- Bertolt Brecht (Berlin)
- Billy Graham (New York)
- Blue Man Group (Las Vegas)
- Bugsy Siegel (Las Vegas, New York)
- Buzz Aldrin (Las Vegas, New York)
- Charles Darwin (London)
- Charles Dickens (London)
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (London)
- Davina McCall (London)
- Don King (Las Vegas)
- Dorothy Parker (New York)
- Doutzen Kroes (Amsterdam)
- Elle MacPherson (Amsterdam, Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Ernest Hemingway (New York)
- Günter Grass (Berlin)
- Günther Jauch (Berlin)
- Hawley Harvey Crippen (London)
- Heidi Klum (Berlin)
- Helen Keller (New York)
- Howard Brown (London)
- Hugh Hefner (Las Vegas, New York)
- Ivana Trump (Las Vegas, New York)
- Isaac Newton (London)
- Jack Nemo (New York)
- Jamie Oliver (London)
- Jean-Paul Gaultier (New York)
- Jenna Jameson (Las Vegas, New York)
- Jerry Springer (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Joan Rivers (Las Vegas, New York)
- Joseph Beuys (Berlin)
- Josephine Baker (New York)
- Karl Marx (Berlin)
- Kate Moss (London)
- Klaus Wowereit (Berlin)
- Lance Burton (Las Vegas)
- Larry King (Las Vegas, New York)
- Martin Luther King (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Master Chief (Las Vegas) First video game character in Madame Tussauds
- Matt Lucas and David Walliams in the characters of Lou and Andy (London)
- Marion Barry (Washington, D.C.)
- Maya Angelou (New York)
- Michael Herbig (Berlin)
- Monsters (Las Vegas)
- Nancy Travis as the character Sylvia from Three Men and a Baby (London)
- Neil Armstrong (Las Vegas, New York)
- Oprah Winfrey (Las Vegas, London, New York, Amsterdam)
- Pablo Picasso (London, New York, Amsterdam)
- Paris Hilton (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Rachael Ray (New York)
- Rembrandt van Rijn (Amsterdam)
- Robert Schuller (Las Vegas)
- Rosa Parks (New York)
- Sophie Scholl (Berlin)
- Ryan Seacrest (Las Vegas)
- Salvador Dalí (New York, Amsterdam)
- Sharon Osbourne (London, New York)
- Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt (New York) daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, first baby in Madame Tussauds
- Siegfried & Roy (Las Vegas)
- Sigmund Freud (Berlin)
- Simon Cowell (Las Vegas, London, New York)
- Singapore Girl (London)
- Ted Turner (New York)
- Thomas Gottschalk (London, Berlin)
- Vincent Van Gogh (London, Amsterdam)
- Wolfgang Puck (Las Vegas, New York)
- William Shakespeare (London, New York)
- Oscar Wilde (London)
- Kris Aquinoo (Philippines)
- Fritz Dumont (paffer)
World leaders
- Shameer Khan (London, Amsterdam)
- 14th Dalai Lama (New York, London, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Mahatma Gandhi (London, New York, Amsterdam)
- Fidel Castro (London, New York)
- Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler (London, Berlin, Hong Kong)*
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu (London)
- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Benjamin Disraeli (London)
- Benjamin Franklin (Las Vegas, London, New York, Washington D.C.)
- Former President of Russia Boris Yeltsin (London)
- Former President of Russia Vladimir Putin (London)
- Former Prime Minister of Greece Constantine Karamanlis (London)
- Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping (Hong Kong, London, Shanghai)
- Diana, Princess of Wales (London, Las Vegas, New York, Amsterdam, Washington D.C., Hong Kong)
- Former Prime Minister of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos (London)
- Emperor Akihito of Japan (London)
- Former U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York, Washington D.C.)
- Former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Las Vegas, New York, London, Washington D.C.)
- Former President of South Africa Frederik Willem de Klerk(London)
- Former Mongol leader Genghis Khan (London)
- Former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder (London, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl (London, Berlin)
- Former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt (Berlin)
- Former Chancellor of Germany Konrad Adenauer (Berlin)
- Former Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt (Berlin)
- Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi (London)
- Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi (London)
- Former President of France Jacques Chirac (London, Amsterdam)
- Former Chinese premier Jiang Zemin (Hong Kong, London, Shanghai)
- Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard (London)
- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major (London)
- King George III of the United Kingdom (London, Washington D.C.)
- King Henry V of England (London)
- King Henry VIII of England (London, Hong Kong)
- King Richard III of England (London)
- King Hussein of Jordan (London)
- Former Polish labour leader Lech Walesa (London)
- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher (London)
- Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela (London, New York, Washington D.C.)
- Mary, Queen of Scots (London)
- Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev (London, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong)
- President of Libya Muammar al-Gaddafi (London)
- Former President and founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (London, Berlin)
- Napoleon I of France (New York, London)
- Pope John Paul II (New York, London, Amsterdam)
- Pope Benedict XVI (London, Berlin)
- Former U.S. President George Washington (London, Washington D.C., New York)
- Former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (Las Vegas, New York, Washington D.C., London)
- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (New York, Amsterdam, Washington D.C., London, Hong Kong)
- Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (New York, Washington D.C., London)
- Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy (London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Washington D.C., New York)
- Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan (London, Berlin, Washington D.C.)
- U.S. President Barack Obama (London, Washington D.C., Berlin)
- Former U.S. President George W. Bush (London, New York, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Berlin)
- Queen Elizabeth I of England (London)
- Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (London)
- Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (London)
- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (London)
- President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe (London)
- Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein (London, Hong Kong)
- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair (London)
- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill (London, Amsterdam, Berlin)
- Former Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat (New York, London)
- Former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin (London)
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel (London, Berlin)
- Otto von Bismark (Berlin)
- Nicolas Sarkozy (London, Berlin)
' * According to news reports, the Adolf Hitler wax figure was beheaded by one of the first patrons to enter the new Berlin museum on 5 July 2008. The figure was temporarily removed for repairs and will be returned "as quickly as possible".
Madame Tussauds in popular culture
- Madame Tussauds is the focus of Steve Taylor's song 'Meltdown (at Madame Tussauds)' in which the song talks about someone turning up the thermostat (and claims it never did work) and causing the wax figures to melt.
- The Doctor Who episode, "Spearhead from Space", features a scene at Madame Tussauds.
- In 2009 the London Madame Tussaudes will appear in an episode of LivingTV's paranormal programme Most Haunted
Trivia
- In 1894, Tussauds were sued by Alfred John Monson. Monson was tried for and acquitted of the murder of Cecil Hamborough. Tussauds placed a waxwork of Monson near to the Chamber of Horrors. Monson sued for libel and won, although the damages awarded were one farthing.
- Aamir Khan is the only actor who has declined the offer of Madame Tussauds.
See also
Bibliography
External links
|
| |
|
|
