Category Archives: Classic Hollywood

Series: Photographs of Hollywood’s Cinema Stars

Classic Hollywood #12 – Lili Damita

Leave a reply

Lili Damita in Fighting Caravans 1931

The beautiful Liliane Marie Madeleine Carré also known as Lili Damita poses for Eugene Robert Richee, one of Hollywood’s great glamor photographers.

Lili was in the process of filming Fighting Caravans, a Western based upon a Zane Grey book, co-starring Gary Cooper.

Born in France in either 1901 or  1904 (sources are unclear), Lili was briefly married to director Michael Curtiz (Casablaca,  The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mildred Pierce, etc. ) from 1925-1926.

Lili announced her engagement on May 1, 1929 to the Crown Prince of Germany, Louis Ferdinand, who was only 21 at the time. They would be married, Lili declared “when he makes a success.” The marriage never took place.

Lili is best known today not for her movies, but for her marriage in 1935 to a then virtually unknown Errol Flynn. Lili was several years older than Errol and their marriage would be complicated, contentious and filled with wild love-making and even wilder fights. As Lili said in a 1939 interview:

“Being married to Flynn is exactly like living on top of a volcano. I like that. A volcano which does erupt. Constantly – yes, but daily! We are always just arriving or just leaving. Flynn and I. As the term is generally understood, Flynn is not a ‘good husband’ at all. But he is an exciting person to live with. And that makes him, for me, a very good husband. Because I like to live dangerously, unpeacefully.”

While Lili’s movie carrer ended in 1937, Errol’s career skyrocketed and the hedonistic Flynn was indulging just too much for Lili’s taste. After many separations and reconciliations, Lili sued for divorce on November 7, 1941.

Their only child, Sean Flynn born May 31, 1941, tried acting, became a photographer, and was captured in Cambodia in 1970 by communist guerillas. Lili spent the remaining years of her life having investigators search for her missing son. He was never seen again.

Lili married Eskimo Pie executive Allen R. Loomis in 1962. That marriage ended in divorce in 1983.

Lili Damita died in Palm Beach, FL on March 21, 1994 from complications of Alzheimers.

Classic Hollywood #11 – The Teenage Brigitte Bardot

Leave a reply

Before Bardot Was A Sex Symbol (circa 1951)

Yes we know Brigitte Bardot is not a Hollywood fixture. She made almost all of her films in Europe but transcended borders as an international sex symbol of the 1950’s and 1960’s. So we can feature her here under the Classic Hollywood moniker. In this photo a very young Bardot wears a quasi ballet top with fishnet stocking ensemble.

Bardot had several years of dance training as a child Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #10 – Gary Cooper & Babe Ruth

Leave a reply

Babe Ruth Shows Gary Cooper The Finer Points of Gripping A Baseball Bat

In the 1942 film The Pride of The Yankees which tells the life story of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth took his role of playing himself very seriously.  He also wanted to make sure Gary Cooper got it right as well.

Babe shows Cooper where the trademark should be when holding a bat so it won’t shatter should he make contact. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #9 – James Cagney & Brother William Cagney With Their Wives

3 Replies

The Cagney’s Arrive At The Academy Awards Ceremony March 12, 1938

From left to right are: William Cagney, producer and manager, Boots Mallory (William’s wife),  Frances (“Bill”) Cagney (James’ wife) and James Cagney, actor extraodinaire.

In 1938 the Cagney family had no nominations for any awards, and that is an unlikely reason for the dour looks on everyone’s faces. Maybe they had a fight on the way over to the ceremony.  We’ll never know, but they certainly don’t look happy.

The following year James Cagney would be nominated for a best actor award for Angels With Dirty Faces. He lost to Spencer Tracy in Boys Town.

James Cagney would win a best actor Oscar in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Below, a great speech by James Cagney accepting the lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute in 1974.

Classic Hollywood #8 – Marilyn Monroe & Edward R. Murrow

Leave a reply

Marilyn Monroe and Edward R. Murrow Share a Smoke, April 1, 1955

The caption for this press photo is:

News Commentator Edward R. Murrow holds a match to the cigarette Marilyn Monroe extends to her puckered lips, during discussions at the Ambassador Hotel in New York regarding the luscious actress’  forthcoming appearance on Murrow’s “Person To Person” television show.  Scheduled for April 8th, the TV show will be the second one Miss Monroe has ever done.

Here is interview that aired live April 8, 1955

http://youtu.be/NBGIL7-ah1U

Classic Hollywood #7

1 Reply

Fred Allen, Mary Martin and Jack Benny – 1940

I believe Jack Benny was one of the funniest comedians of all time. Benny could elicit more laughs with a look, gesture or single utterance than other comedians could with an entire monologue.  He became a star in vaudeville and was one of the few entertainers who made the transition to radio, film and eventually television successfully. Although Jack Benny has been dead for over 37 years, he is still fondly remembered by millions of fans.

Radio comedian Fred Allen is almost completely forgotten today. His sharp, acerbic wit Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #6 – Harpo Marx & At Home With His Children

Leave a reply

Harpo With His Children, 1954

Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers married the beautiful actress Susan Fleming in 1936. She promptly retired from acting and from all accounts they had a terrific marriage until Harpo’s death in 1964.

Unable to have children, Harpo and Susan adopted four children, three of whom are seen here. From left to right Alex, Jimmy & Minnie.

Upon reflection, years later in interviews, the children concurred Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #4 – Theda Bara

1 Reply

The Vamp in a Classic Role

“The Vampire,” Theodosia Goodman otherwise known to the world as Theda Bara in her 1918 starring role The Forbidden Path with (I believe) Hugh Thompson, her co-star.

Theda Bara was one of the first sex symbols of the screen. Her name was supposedly an anagram of “Arab Death.”  (that is completely fabricated along with many other “facts” of her life.)  Bara became a star in 1915 as a “vampire” (not the blood sucking kind – a notorious woman who drives men wild with desire using her wiles and charm and wreaks havoc in their lives) in A Fool There Was. She cemented immortality in 1917 with her portrayal of the title role in Cleopatra.  Bara was pretty much typecast as the vampire (later shortened to “vamp”) and her film career stalled by the end of 1919. She appeared in only three films in the 1920’s and never made any sound films, retiring in 1926. She died in Los Angeles in 1955 at the age of 69.

While some today would not necessarily consider Bara a beauty, there is definitely something very appealing about her. A naturalness that comes through. In a lot of ways she represents more real women of that age and much more than her modern Hollywood contemporaries of Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson representing today’s woman.

Bara’s  heavier legs and abdomen are shown in her movies and photos. Would modern lead actresses be permitted to display extra poundage in our hyper-perfect-looks media without being skewered a la Oprah or Kirstie Alley?

Some photos of Bara when she was at the height of her career: