Category Archives: Movies

Groucho Marx And His Third Wife Eden Hartford

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A Marriage Not Made To Last

On July 17, 1954 Groucho Marx married Eden Hartford at Sun Valley, Idaho. It was his third marriage, it was her second. He was 63, she was 24.

This was the beginning.

Groucho and Eden Marx 1954

 

This was the end.

 

Groucho and Eden at Brown Derby

The look on both of their faces in this photo from around 1962 says it all about the state of their marriage after eight years.

Groucho and Eden are dining at the famous Brown Derby restaurant and apparently not enjoying each other’s company. Groucho and Eden displayed similar expressions during the 1960’s anytime they were photographed together.

Even though the love affair was apparently over, the official end wouldn’t come until 1969 after 15 years of marriage when Groucho and Eden were divorced.

Six years after Groucho died, Eden passed away from cancer at the age of 53 on December 15, 1983.

Classic Hollywood #25 – Dolores Costello

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Dolores Costello

Dolores Costello

The beautiful Dolores Costello (1903-1979) was nicknamed “The Goddess of The Silent Screen.”

Dolores’s father, Maurice Costello was a Broadway stage and early silent screen star, and her mother was stage actress Mae Costello. With that parentage, and her natural beauty, Dolores had access to enter motion pictures in New York at the age of six in 1909. After 1915 she took a break from films for the next eight years. She did some modeling and appeared on the stage. Famous illustrator James Montgomery Flagg who had used Dolores as a model described her beauty as the most perfect for his illustrations. Dolores returned to the screen briefly for some bit parts in 1923.

Dolores had a fairy tale rise to stardom after being “discovered” in Chicago in April 1925 by Jack Warner of Warner Bros., who was sitting in the audience watching Dolores in the chorus of George White’s Scandals.  A screen test followed, and she was signed to a motion picture contract.

In just under eight months after her arrival in Hollywood, Dolores appeared in a few supporting roles and then landed a big starring role opposite the legendary John Barrymore in The Sea Beast in 1926.

John Barrymore reportedly said of Dolores, “I have just seen the most beautiful woman in the world. I shall not rest or eat until I have seen her again.”

Barrymore and Costello appeared in a couple of films together and were married in 1928. The couple had two children, John Jr. and Dolores. Their marriage was tumultuous and they divorced in 1935.

Even though she had a lisp, Costello made a successful transition to sound films. Her most notable starring role was as Isabel, the widowed mother in Orson Welles 1942 drama, The Magnificent Ambersons. Her final film appearance was in 1943. Dolores spent the remainder of her life running an avocado ranch in Fallbrook, CA near San Diego.

Posture Queen And The Creation Of The World War II Pin-Up Girl

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Stand Up Straight Please, This Is A Publicity Stunt

Lillian McKevitt

New York, NY – Miss Lillian McKevitt, of Jackson Heights, New York is chosen as “Posture Queen” from among forty beautiful Walter Thornton models who demonstrated exercises to provide good posture in celebration of Good Posture Week (May 4-11), has her posture matched by Mr. Thornton with that of Sgt. Lester Hare of the military police of the Canadian army, who attended the matinee performance on the penthouse terrace of the Mayflower Hotel.  –  April 27, 1942: Acme News Photograph

By whom Lillian McKevitt was chosen Posture Queen is not noted in the news photo caption.

The interesting story here is about the modeling agency Lillian came from, The Walter Thornton Modeling Agency which began its business in 1931.

A June 27, 1948 Associated Press article describes how Walter Thornton created the World War II “Pin-Up Girl.”  Strangely this is based only on Walter Thornton’s assertion.

The story goes, “while in the service, Thornton pinned his girlfriend’s picture to the canvas wall of his tent. The pin put a hole in the tent and the Sergeant put Thornton on K.P. (Kitchen Punishment duty).  The new soldiers however lived in lush barracks and could pin up pictures of pretty girls without punching a hole in the wall. So one day in 1940, Thornton dug out about 5,000 photos of girls from his modeling agency and sent them to Fort Dix, NJ. The idea was a winner and the World War II pin-up girl was born.”

Allegedly.

Thornton also put on a hair-pulling match in 1940 at Palisades Amusement Park which we previously profiled here.

Time Magazine noted in 1954, “He (Thornton) also has shown a talent for getting publicity for Walter Thornton.” Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #24 – W.C. Fields In Color

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W.C. Fields In A Rare Color Photograph Circa 1940

WC Fields color

W.C. Fields or Bill Fields to his friends, was one of the most talented comedians of the first half of the 20th century. He began his show business career in vaudeville as a juggler and worked his way up to top billing in the Ziegfeld Follies for a ten year stretch. From there he went on to become a major film star during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. Today, upon viewing his films, many people do not understand why he was considered funny. But I assure you there is a subtle brilliance in Fields’ portrayals of the henpecked husband, disreputable man and misunderstood misanthrope.

One of the more popular, yet apocryphal stories about Fields, was that he had hundreds of bank accounts spread across the country, many under ridiculous pseudonyms such as Otis Criblecoblis; Mahatma Kane Jeeves; Aristotle Hoop; Ludovic Fishpond; Figley E. Whitesides and so on. After Fields died in 1946, his mistress Carlotta Monti claimed that there was over $1.3 million in unclaimed funds in banks under the fake names. An assistant hired to solve the dilemma of Fields estate found only 24 accounts all under Fields real name. Continue reading →

Before They Were Famous…

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The 4 Nightingales – “Big Hit Everywhere”

4 Nightingales

This rare trade card from 1908 – 1909 advertises a vaudeville group known as “The Four Nightingales.” Two of them went on to worldwide fame. Can you guess who they are?

Scroll down for the answer.

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A huge clue is “Minnie Marx Manager”

It is The Marx Brothers. From left to right: Milton “Gummo” Marx, Adolph “Harpo” Marx, Julius “Groucho” Marx and Lou Levy.

Gummo Marx Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #22 – Hedy Lamarr & Cecil B. DeMille

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Hedy Lamarr and Cecil B. DeMille On The Set Of “Samson and Delilah”

Hedy Lamarr Cecil B Demille On Set 10 28 1949

The 1949 biblical epic, Samson and Delilah starred the beefy Victor Mature and the beautiful Hedy Lamarr in the title roles. According to legend, when Groucho Marx was asked what he thought of the movie he replied with one of the greatest bon mots ever. Groucho said he “couldn’t enjoy a film where the leading man’s tits were bigger than the leading lady’s.”

The caption on the back of this October 28, 1949 publicity photograph reads:

THERE CAN BE QUIET — This is one of the few serene moments in “Samson and Delilah.’ Hedy Lamarr (left) with Producer- Director Cecil B. DeMille maintain an interested silence  while technicians set up the equipment for the next scene. It is Ms. Lamarr’s first Technicolor picture and also her first under the DeMille banner. In it she enacts one of history’s most exotic and celebrated personalities, the Delilah of the Book of Judges, from which Mr. DeMille has extracted the framework of his big-budget production.  (PLEASE CREDIT SAMSON AND DELILAH)

Classic Hollywood #21 – Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis

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Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis Take A Stroll On The Beach Circa 1938

Carol Hughes Marie Wilson June Travis

Warner Bros. young stars in training, Carol Hughes (1910-1995), Marie Wilson (1916-1972) and June Travis (1914-2008) take a walk on the shore in this studio publicity photograph. Continue reading →

The Pride Of The Yankees – Was The Film Really Reversed?

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Gary Cooper, Lou Gehrig and The Mystery of Reversing The Film

The New York Times published an article on February 9, 2013 based off of research conducted by Tom Shieber that he posted on his web site, that disputes a long held belief about the classic Lou Gehrig film, The Pride of The Yankees (1942).

Gary Cooper Pride Swinging Left Handed

Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig (note the signature on the bat)

It had been reported for many years that the filming of the baseball action scenes were for the most part printed in reverse to accommodate righty Gary Cooper, who could not convincingly portray the left-handed Lou Gehrig.

We reported how the film was reversed in a previous post. But now Shieber has seemingly proven that Cooper did most of the scenes left-handed, without a reversal of the film when it was printed.

Interestingly Gary Cooper himself said in a 1956 Saturday Evening Post print interview that he could not do the action scenes left-handed, and the film had been reversed.

After you read Shieber’s full article, which makes a lot of sense, and watch the film, will you be convinced that Cooper did most of the film left-handed? I am.

Beauties Of The Past – Maude Fealy

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Stage and Silent Star Maude Fealy

Maude Fealy 1861u pc Rotary

A new feature of our web site: photos and short biographies of glamor girls of the past.

These are women that were more than just beautiful, they were talented and were able to cut out successful careers for themselves during an era when men dominated the entertainment industry. Of course with the passage of time, many of these stars have dimmed and are now distant memories. We hope to bring them to light again to a wider audience.

Maude Fealy 1149 pc Davidson

Maude at age 8 with mother Margaret Fealy.

Maude at age 8 with mother Margaret Fealy.

Maude Fealy (born Maude Hawk) in Memphis, Tennessee, started her career at the age of 3 in the legitimate theater with her mother, actress Margaret Fealy. Margaret divorced Maude’s father, James Hawk and then went by her maiden name of Fealy and Maude also adopted her mother’s maiden name.

Fealy’s exact birth date was never clearly established and contemporary reports range from March 4, 1881 to 1886. The Social Security Death Index lists her birthday as March 3, 1882

Maude Fealy 3093C pc Philco Maude Fealy 3107D pc philco 1906

Fealy hit the big time just before the turn of the century when theatre impresario Augustin Daly discovered her playing Juliet and signed her to a five year contract. Daly died in 1899, effectively canceling the contract and Fealy was then courted by all the major playwrights to appear in their productions. Fealy quickly became a star in many Broadway and London productions. Among the many plays she appeared in were: Quo Vadis, Sherlock Holmes, The Professor’s Love Story, Heart’s Courageous, The Truth Tellers and On the Quiet. She cemented her reputation as a fine actress by playing the female lead in several of the first British actor ever knighted, Sir Henry Irving’s plays including, Becket, The Lyons Mail, Waterloo and Louis XI.  Continue reading →