Author Archives: Hannah K.

Classic Hollywood #178 – Mystery Celebrity – When She Was Young

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Can You Name This Character Actress?

Here are four photographs of a Hollywood contract player, several years before she became a well known MGM feature player in many films during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

She was born on February 24, 1890 as Mary Tomlinson in Acton, Indiana.

Dressed to the nines – circa 1918

Photo via the New York Public Library.  c. 1920s

Photo: Apeda studio possibly from the 1918 play “Yes Or No”

The next photo should give it away.

With actor Billy Bevan in The Wrong Road (1937)

Do you have it yet?

Yes, it’s the star of a dozen Ma and Pa Kettle movies, Marjorie Main.

Usually thought of as plain and matronly, Marjorie was attractive enough Continue reading →

Women’s Corsets, Bras, Underwear, Silk Petticoats And Bodices -1919

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Undergarments For Women From James McCreery & Co. 1919

The two illustrations seen here are excerpts from a full page ad. This advertisement comes from the April 27, 1919 New York Sun daily newspaper. Shown is an array of intimates of the late teens that a fashionable woman would wear beneath their clothes.

The uptown location of James McCreery & Co. at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #175 – Vivien Leigh

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Vivien Leigh Stays In England -1943

Will Remain In Britain For The Duration
Vivien Leigh, who won swift fame as Scarlett of “Gone With The Wind,” plans to return to the American movies, but not until the war is over. Miss Leigh, pictured here in London, and her husband, Laurence Olivier,returned to Britain in January, 1941, during the height of the air blitz. He joined the fleet air arm and she signed for the leading feminine role in “The Doctor’s Dilemma,” by George Bernard Shaw. “Both my husband and I felt that we should return to England,” she said “and we both feel that we should remain here until the war is over.” photo Wide World 3/23/1943

Eight years earlier in May 1935 Leigh debuted in the play The Mask of Virtue at London’s West End. The 21-year-old beauty became famous virtually overnight. Six film companies, three British, three American offered her a film contract. Leigh signed with Alexander Korda for ten pictures in five years for £50,000. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #173 – River Phoenix & Marlee Matlin

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River Phoenix With Marlee Matlin At Ed Debevic’s Restaurant – 1988

River Phoenix and his date Marlee Matlin at Ed Debevic’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills for their first birthday party and a sixth anniversary bash in honor of The Starlight Foundation.  September 22, 1988. Photo: John Paschal Celebrity Photo

A few weeks ago when my daughter and her college age friends were searching for a movie to watch I asked if they had ever seen Stand By Me (1986)? The answer was a resounding no. And when describing the film I asked a silly question: if they had ever heard of River Phoenix? Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #172 – Humphrey Bogart Lauren Bacall & Son Stevie

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Lauren Bacall & Son Stevie Visit Humphrey Bogart On The Set – 1951

Bogy, Baby & Boy
Humphrey Bogart’s wife, Lauren Bacall, known to the public as “Baby”, and their son Stevie, pay Bogart a visit on the set at 20th Century-Fox where he is starring in the newspaper story, “Deadline U.S.A.” Little Stevie takes an active interest in movie production, since he plans to be a movie star like his daddy when he grows up. credit: 20th Century-Fox December 27, 1951

When Humphrey Bogart made Deadline U.S.A. for 20th Century-Fox he was on loan from Warner Bros. to Fox. Maybe that is why the Fox publicity department did not care if they spelled Bogart’s nickname, “Bogey” correctly or not. In September of 1953 Bogart finally ended his long association with Warner Bros. having previously formed his own production company, Santana Productions to make independent productions including six films with Columbia Pictures between 1949 – 1951.

Steohen Humphrey Bogart (born January 6, 1949) did not follow in his father’s footsteps. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #171 – Charlie Chaplin

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Official Portrait Of Charlie Chaplin 1919

Charlie Chaplin photo: United Artists

This 1919 portrait of Charlie Chaplin taken at the height of his success shows that behind the make-up and little mustache was a handsome man.

Chaplin, as one of the co-founders of United Artists in 1919 with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith, had many official publicity photographs taken like the one above and below to promote the founding of the company.

The historic moment taken when the papers of incorporation were signed creating United Artists Corporation on April 17, 1919. Left to right in the foreground are the founders. D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.. In the background are their attorneys, Albert Banzhaf and Dennis O’Brien. photo: United Artists

Continue reading →

The Winner Of The Male Bathing Beauty Contest 1929

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A Different Sort Of Swimsuit Contest – 1929

We tend to think of bathing beauty contests as being ogling-fests for men.

But not always.

Sometimes the ladies would be judging the men.

As the roaring twenties drew to a conclusion, this role reversal contest was held in Venice, California on May 20, 1929.

The news slug reads: Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #169 – Charlie Chaplin & Paulette Goddard

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Charlie Chaplin & Paulette Goddard Attend The Premiere Of Gone With The Wind 1939

Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard At “Gone With The Wind” Premiere
Hollywood, Calif. – The long-awaited Hollywood premiere of “Gone With The Wind” brought out many film celebrities and socialites, among those present were Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard (above). This is one of the very few times in months that Chaplin has been photographed at a premiere. photo: International News 12/28/1939

The news slug here implies that Charlie Chaplin had not been attending movie premieres in 1939. But maybe he just wasn’t photographed at them. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #168 – Carole Lombard In A Candid Photo On Set

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Carole Lombard Laughing Between Scenes Of Fools For Scandal – 1938

Carole Lombard and Fernand Gravet (Gravey) starring in director Mervyn Leroy’s Fools For Scandal (1938) are apparently amused by something during a break in filming. The candid photograph taken by Otto Dyar perfectly displays Lombard’s exuberant personality.

During a war bond drive. Lombard, along with her mother, died tragically in a plane crash on January 16, 1942. She was 33.

Kyle Crichton’s biting memoir of literary. political and celebrity attachments,Total Recoil (1960) Doubleday & Company, gives a brief portrait of Lombard. Continue reading →