Whether they were giving musical shows or appearing in plays at the town’s top theatres, shooting a film or even switching on Blackpool Illuminations, they brought some Hollywood glamour to Britain’s top tourist resort.
Here are some very big names – and one or two of them may comes as a surprise!
1. Hollywood comes to Blackpool
Glamourous American star Jayne Mansfield, who was a huge hit in the comedy musical film The Girl Can't Help It in 1956, came to Blackpool just three years later to switch on the Illuminations in 1959, and followed this up with another appearance in the town not long afterwards. Tragically, the blond bombshell, who made quite a stir in the town, died in a road accident in New Orleans in 1967, aged just 34. Photo: Third party
2. Hollywood comes to Blackpool
Frank Sinatra, often nicknamed Old Blue Eyes, is now a legend but his Hollywood film and music career was beginning to fade when he made on his final appearance at Blackpool Opera House in July 1953. Little did his audience know that Frank's career was about to be spectacularly revived with the hit film, From Here to Eternity, which was released just weeks later in August. Frank was still a big draw in Blackpool, nevertheless, giving two concerts in 1950 and two more at the venue three years later. Frank quipped that he could be Mayor of Blackpool! Photo: BEG
3. Hollywood comes to Blackpool
Judy Garland came to Blackpool Opera House in 1951 as part of a major tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite having been a huge star in the 1940s with a string of hit film including Meet Me in St Louis and Easter Parade, her film career was in trouble by 1950 after her personal problems started to affect her reliability. Despite suffering with nerves, the British and Irish tour proved such a success, it helped revive her career. Photo: BEG
4. Hollywood comes to Blackpoo
Australian-born Cate Blanchett is Hollywood royalty and was recently nominated for a Best Actress Oscar after a powerful performance in the film psychological drama, Tár. Yet Cate was filming in Blackpool last year after becoming obsessed with a down-to-earth documentary about hairdressing. Three Salons At The Seaside, a 1994 fly-on-the-wall documentary about day-to-day life in hair salons in Blackpool called Tricia’s, Vanity Box and Mary’s Way - has a cult following and Cate was in the resort to film her own tribute mocumentary, with actress Harriet Walter (pictured right, with Cate) Photo: Third party
5. Hollywood comes to Blackpool
Back in 2015, Hollywood megastar Samuel L Jackson - the second highest-grossing actor of all time with a string of massive film hits - was in Blackpool as part of Tim Burton's film Mrs Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. The star seemed to enjoy being on the Fylde coast and visited Lytham and Fleetwood while he was over here, Photo: Third party
6. Hollywood comes to Blackpool
Another Hollywood megastar, film actor and record artist Will Smith, was in Blackpool in 2017 when he wowed a 20,000-strong crowd at the Tower Festival Headland with some of his biggest hits. The Bad Boys, Collatoral Damage, i-Robot and I Am Legend actor Will told the crowd: "Blackpool, you're all on fire tonight." Photo: BEG