Link Wray played Danelectros and I've never heard anyone say HE had no self-respect! Jimmy Page played one too, although the instruments they both played were the masonite models.
The 1444 is a solid body (right?) so maybe they had a different reputation. Today, it's pretty common to see people playing Danos and Silvertones because they are perfect for garage rock.
These were later and solidbody, they did not have a good reputation, and AFAIK they were only available with the Silvertone brand. Not to be confused with the masonite Danos.
You're also looking at it through today's lenses. A number of famous players played the masonite Danelectros, mostly earlier in their careers and mostly for a short time before moving to something else. Even so, the masonite Danos were not well thought of back then. We value the tone now, at least many of us do, but it wasn't so back then.