The legendary British rock band The Beatles has won out over Mickey Mouse and Marilyn Monroe to be declared the "Icons of the Century" in a survey conducted by the show business newspaper Variety.
The publication listed 100 entertainers from all branches of show business, then polled entertainment industry professionals and the public on who they considered to be the most influential entertainers of the past 100 years. The list included cartoon characters and animals.
Among the criteria for selection were a performer's commercial, creative, political and social impact. Voters also got to consider whether the image of an entertainer's face ever made it onto a T-shirt.
Results of the survey by Variety - celebrating its 100th anniversary - show that the "Fab Four" made the biggest impact on the entertainment industry.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.