Mary Pickford was born Gladys Smith in 1892. Pickford was the most famous film star in the world for two decades and dubbed “America’s Sweetheart.” Continue reading
Love or a Hollywood beard? Beard is the old term for a man covering his preference for male companionship by being seen with or escorting women in public.
Deanna Durbin Charms In Preview
Hollywood, Calif. – Deanna Durbin previewed her new picture at the Panteges Theater in Hollywood, last night before an enthusiastic crowd which witnessed her picture “Three Smart Girls Grow Up” by Universal.
Photo shows (left to right) Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power and Annabella arriving at the Theater. Photo: Acme 3/17/39
In 1938 Tyrone Power placed second in receiving fan mail, right behind Shirley Temple. Power was a major film star form the late 1930s until his death on November 15, 1958 at age 44 from a massive heart attack. Power reportedly smoked three packs of cigarettes a day.
Biographer Hector Arce in his book The Secret Life of Tyrone Power (William Morrow) 1979, claimed Power was bisexual.
A newspaper article by Lucie Neville in 1938 asked a bevy of Hollywood actor-bachelors why they were not married. Among those Neville queried were James Stewart, Edgar Bergen and Tyrone Power. When read today, the responses Neville received are almost comical for the reasons the actors gave for averting matrimony. Continue reading
This is one of those bizarro publicity shots put out by the movie studios to get your attention. It got ours. The caption says: Continue reading
Our film still has no explanation and no id’s on anyone in the photograph except star Monty Banks and the film Atta Boy.
Born Mario Bianchi in Cesena, Italy on July 15, 1897, comedian Monty Banks was a popular comedian of the teens and 1920s. When Banks emigrated around 1914 he did not realize there were two America’s and ended up in Buenos Aires, Argentina!
Banks soon made it to the United States and started in films as a stunt man. He later became a gag man and a cutter. Eventually he worked his way up to starring in two reel comedies (ten to fifteen minute short films).
In 1926 Banks made his first long feature (65 minutes) for Pathe, Atta Boy. How different was it to get a part in a major film 95 years ago? The diminutive five foot five Banks announced through the newspapers that he was casting for a leading lady. The qualifications? Continue reading
New York – Marilyn Monroe arrived at the Astor Theatre for the film premiere of “The Rose Tattoo” wearing white fur over a dark gown. The premiere was for the benefit of Actors’ Studio, a non-profit for actors, directors and playwrights. photo: Tribune, December 2, 1955
Look at the different expressions on everyone as Marilyn arrives. Continue reading
This promotional photograph of Gloria Swanson was taken by Fox photographer Otto Dyar. The descriptive text on the rear of the photo is somewhat vapid, describing Gloria’s outfit. Swanson only made one film for Fox in the 1930s, Music In The Air (1934) with co-star John Boles.
Here is the text from the photo:
Short and sophisticated is this two-tone cocktail costume worn by Gloria Swanson and designed and created by Rene Hubert, international stylist, head of Fox film wardrobe. The form fitting skirt is of black velvet. The blouse and muff are of black tafetta with white chenille and gold thread stripes. The hat, also designed by M. Hubert, is an adaptation from the Cambodian wand was created in black velvet and features a rhinestone ornament. Note the zipper in the muff- – when opened it reveals a purse and vanity. credit: Fox Film – Otto Dyar
After appearing in Music In The Air, Continue reading
Los Angeles – February 11, 1957: Jayne Mansfield Hit As Cigarette Girl
Jayne Mansfield sells customer David Rosslaw a pack of cigarettes during charity banquet here last night and apparently, judging from expressions of unidentified spectators, was a success in her temporary role. About a dozen girls including Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marie Wilson, roamed the floor for about ten minutes during the evening but giving no change as profits went to local charity. Hundreds, including many Hollywood celebrities attended. photo: AP wirephoto
The news slug does not identify the charity Jayne was collecting for. Continue reading
More Deadly Than The Male!
Carole Lombard, blonde screen star, killed two kinds of birds with one gun in this skeet shooting match against Fred MacMurray and writer Claude Binyou while on location with Paramount’s “True Confession” company at Lake Arrowhead. Not only did Carole blast the clay pigeons with unerring accuracy. She also bagged two masculine egos, thoroughly puncturing the pretensions of MacMurray (waiting to shoot) and Binyou (operating the trap) to superior marksmanship. photo: Tom Evans for Paramount 1937
Among the many things that drew Clark Gable to Carole Lombard was that she was one of the guys. Lombard was also a favorite among studio stagehands and technicians.
In Gable & Lombard & Powell & Harlow, 1975 (Dell) by Joe Morella and Edward Z. Epstein the following story illustrates the sort of loyalty that made Lombard so appealing. Continue reading
In the mid-90s actor Leslie Nielsen was doing publicity for a comedic book “Bad Golf My Way.” The radio stations who set up interviews with Nielsen expected the star of “Airplane” and “Police Squad / The Naked Gun” to be as witty as the man who was in those movies.
While Leslie Nielsen had a sense of humor he was not a funny man. The public seems to forget that writers write those funny lines for actors to say.
Nielsen did his best, doing four hours of back to back interviews with FM stations across the country. But the radio hosts mostly got a reality check. Just because you’re a comedic actor does not translate into being a funny guest.
On the other hand Bob Uecker was a professional baseball catcher for six seasons in the 1960s who had a career .200 batting average. While Uecker was by his own estimate not a particularly good ballplayer, he was very funny. Uecker parlayed his natural sense of humor into a fifty year career as a baseball announcer and talk show guest, and he is still going strong, The 87-year-old Uecker remains the radio voice of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Here is Uecker’s seventh appearance on The Tonight Show, September 23, 1971.
What makes this clip rare is that for the first 10 years that Carson hosted The Tonight Show from New York, almost every tape was subsequently erased. Continue reading
No news caption is attached to explain this 1943 publicity photograph of bandleader Benny Goodman “singing” and crooner Frank Sinatra “playing” the clarinet. Continue reading
