A frozen moment on a sunny winter day in Times Square.
We are looking north from 46th Street to the west side of Broadway. Before looking at the surroundings, check out the tail fins on the passing 1960 Plymouth Savoy automobile heading east.
You may notice the human scale of what Times Square once was. Continue reading
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
This rare postcard view of The Vitagraph Theatre on the east side of Broadway and 44th Street shows the theatre’s marquee with people milling about a horse drawn promotional wagon.
The building opening in 1895 as the Lyric Theatre was part of the Olympia entertainment complex built by Oscar Hammerstein. Continue reading
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
Pin-Up Queen Gets On The Ball
Hollywood, Calif. – Vivacious Betty Grable, a “Mamma” of five months, romps with this frisky poodle as she gets back in the groove on her return to the kleig lights. The famous Grable gams will dance their way through 20th Century-Fox’s Technicolor musical, “Diamond Horseshoe” now in production. photo: Acme 8/19/1944
Gams. Talk about 1940s jargon. I don’t think I’ve recently heard anyone refer to a woman’s legs as gams except in the movies.
Supposedly Grable’s legs were insured for $250,000 dollars by Lloyds of London. It was a publicity stunt, but an effective one at drawing attention. Continue reading
DIAMOND DOINGS
Dee Jay Mattis, dancer on Sing Along With Mitch over NBC-TV, shows manager Ralph Houk of the New York Yankees that in addition to dancing she can also swing a bat. Dee Jay has been named honorary mascot of the team. photo: July 5, 1962, Hazleton-Standard Speaker staff photo / Milburn McCarty Associates Public Relations
Dee Jay (Dorothy Jeanne) Mattis of Union, NJ main claim to fame is being the first wife of actor James Caan. The two married In Halifax, NC on July 8, 1961 when Dee Jay was 19.
Mattis quit Mitch Miller’s show in 1963 to join her husband in California as his acting career was getting busy with roles in television series such as Route 66, The Untouchables, Wide Country and Dr. Kildare to name a few.
The pair had a daughter Tara Alisa in 1964. Caan described the marriage as turbulent. On January 16, 1966 Mattis and Caan divorced. Mattis said it was more important for Caan to go out with his friends than being with her or their year-old daughter. She also complained Caan swore at her, struck her several times and belittled her in the presence of his friends. Continue reading
What is about to happen in this 1925 film is anybody’s guess. But these 16 chorus girls are ready to do some sort of athletic routine in their spiffy hats. As the news slug says:
The athletic training indulged in by the Christie Sports Girls even comes in handy now and then in the pictures. Witness this gym scene in a new Bill Dooley comedy. photo: NEA,(Newspaper Enterprise Association) December 3, 1925
Forgotten today are brothers Al and Charles Christie of the Christie Film Company. Continue reading
If Ronald Colman had his way, Gone With The Wind star Vivien Leigh would have played opposite Colman in The Light That Failed, (1939) not Ida Lupino. Continue reading
The Original Movie Vampire Learns Intricate Chinese Game
Theda Bara the original movie vampire learned a new game yesterday, while at the Westchester-Biltmore Club. It is called Pung-Chow, the Royal Game of China, played for thousands of years in the land of Confucius, the mystic charm of the East, combined with the excitement and entertainment which Americans demand, and a game for young and old. The game is even more intricate than chess and Miss Bara had the pleasure of being instructed by these two fair Chinese experts. photo: Wide World Photos 12/7//1922
Theda Bara (born Theodosia Goodman 1885-1955) is virtually unknown today because she was a silent star and only six of her films are extant. People usually recognize publicity stills of Bara without necessarily knowing her name as the title character in Cleopatra (1917). That film is lost, as are 40 of Bara’s other movies.
A huge star earning $4,000 per week when there was practically no income tax, Bara slowed down after making dozens of films in the nineteen teens. From 1920-1926 Bara made only more three films.
In 1921 Bara married Continue reading
Ringo & Sellers At A Party
Peter Sellers and Beatle drummer Ringo Starr are seen playing roulette at a party at Les Ambassadeurs in London. The party was to celebrate the completion of the film “The Magic Christian” in which they co-star. Among other guests at the party were Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono who have just bought a 72 acre estate and mansion at Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot, Berks. photo:Syndication International (Daily Mirror) May 5, 1969
One does not necessarily associate Peter Sellers with The Beatles. But strange casting for a strange film brought the two stars of different genres together. Continue reading
