random question...

...culled from old notes in my moleskine.

Why is it that we no longer have pop-culture royalty who are also considered to be of artistic merit? I mean, one could argue that some hollywood names are also excellent actors, but I can't stop wondering why the most revered and the most talented are rarely the same.

Is this just a function of me looking back at all other times? By this I mean to say that it's possible that the people I consider pop-culture royalty of the past were actually just known and talented, and the body of work led to acclaim after the fact.

[The question was originally written about a year ago, while looking at the Andy Warhol exhibit at the AGO.]