Tag Archives: Hollywood

Classic Hollywood #187 – Marie Wilson Protests Wearing A Corset

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Marie Wilson Stages A Protest Against “Fencing Her In” With A Corset

There was no news slug on the rear of this photograph, but tracking down what the commotion was all about was easy. It’s a publicity stunt of the silliest magnitude.

Film Lovelies Protest Corsets, Win Short Ribs
Hollywood, CA – Carrying signs and corsets Hollywood lovelies picket a movie studio. They are from left, with “No! To Corsets” sign is Marie Wilson, in background, Judy Cook, the picketed producer Albert Lewin and Darlene De Mos. photo: AP 5/15/1946

The Des Moines Register was one of the news Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #184 – Brian Aherne & Wife Eleanor

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Brian Aherne Dancing With His Wife Eleanor Labrot 1948

While standing next to Brian Aherne at a party one day, Gary Cooper said quietly out of the side of his mouth, “How tall are you?”

“Six foot two and a half,” Aherne answered.

“Me too,” said Cooper. “Never admit to six foot three!”

A few years later at a party in Washington D.C., General George C. Marshall asked the identical question in the identical way.

“I used Gary’s line to reply six two and a half, never admit to six foot three,” Aherne said. And the General replied, “Me too!”

The point is Continue reading →

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 →

Classic Hollywood #160 – Virginia Bruce Wedding – 1937

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Virginia Bruce With Friends At Wedding Party 1937

At Reception Following Bruce-Ruben Nuptials
Beverly Hills, Calif. – Virginia Bruce is pictured above with three of her screenland friends at the reception following her marriage to director J. Walter Ruben. From left to right are; Dolores Del Rio, Virginia Bruce, Mrs. Jack Warner and Mrs. Gary (Sandra) Cooper. The newly wedded couple’s honeymoon has been delayed until sometime after Christmas when they will be able to take a respite from their screen duties. 12/20/1937 credit: International News Photos

The wedding itself was small by Hollywood standards Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #159 – Humphrey Bogart Gets Married

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Humphrey Bogart Marries Wife Number Three, Mayo Methot – 1938

Few Hollywood duos are eternally associated with one another like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Bogie and Bacall. Bogie and Betty. Bogie’s baby. All phrases indicating the inexorable linking of the couple.

But Lauren Bacall was not Humphrey Bogart’s first wife.

Humphrey Bogart was married three times before meeting and falling in love with Lauren Bacall during the 1943 filming of To Have and Have Not. Bogart was 43, Bacall just 19.

Bogart’s first wife Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #157 – Betty Grable Poses For USC Trojan Sculptor

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Betty Grable Is Model For “Spirit Of Hollywood” – 1937

photo: World Wide PhotosHollywood, Calif: Roger Noble Burnham, noted sculptor last night presented his latest work, “Spirit of Hollywood,” to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the women’s division. Miss Betty Grable, actress was present last night and was chosen by Burnham as his model because in “Spirit of Hollywood,” he sought to depict youth, beauty and energy moving forward and looking upward, but with “both feet on the ground.” The sculptor said he felt Miss Grable exemplified this, as she worked her way upward through childhood in Hollywood. The life size plaque will be on display in the Chamber’s auditorium. Photo shows: Roger Noble Burnham, noted sculptor, completing his plaque of Miss Betty Grable, actress, shown posing for Burnham. photo: Wide World Photos 11/9/1937

Among Roger Noble Burnham’s (1876-1962)  most enduring works is the sculpture on the campus of The University of Southern California (1930) called Trojan Shrine aka Tommy Trojan. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #156 – Mary Pickford & Buddy Rogers Get Engaged

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The Engagement Of Mary Pickford & Buddy Rogers – 1936

Mary Pickford Buddy Rogers photo Wide World“America’s Sweetheart” Formally Announces Engagement
Hollywood, Calif – Photo shows: Mary Pickford, “America’s Sweetheart” and Charles “Buddy” Rogers film actor and orchestra leader at the dinner party formally announcing their engagement. They expect to be married in the spring, in Hollywood. He must be in London for a film production January 4. She expects to go abroad, possibly with her niece, and Rogers’ mother in December. photo Wide World Photos 11/21/1936

Here is the Hollywood publicity machine Continue reading →

From Hollywood’s Golden Age To Ho-Hum or Why Most Films Today Stink

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An Insider’s Observations On Hollywood’s Decline

If you feel frustrated by the lack of quality films being produced over the last few decades, you are not alone. Anyone who watches Turner Classic Movies regularly rather than seeing recent films probably feels the same way.

But is there a simple explanation as to what has changed about the movies?

One legendary Hollywood veteran working behind the scene’s had a strong opinion as to what happened.

Sydney Guilaroff, MGM hair stylist

Sydney Guilaroff (1907-1997) is a name you will see in the credits of hundreds of films Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #147 – Biggest Film Stars In Hollywood 1925

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Three Big Stars – Fairbanks, Coogan and Valentino

When Douglas Fairbanks Sr. died on December 12, 1939, newspapers pointed out that he was one of the three biggest moneymakers of Hollywood just 14 years earlier. After 1925 Fairbanks starred in only seven more films, with his final film being 1934’s The Private Life Of Don Juan.

Here is the original news caption: Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #146 – W.C. Fields & Joe DiMaggio

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Joe DiMaggio Visits W.C. Fields On The Set Of You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man – 1939

Comedian W.C. Fields does not strike me as someone who would have had any passion for baseball. In James Curtis’ comprehensive 2003 biography of Fields, not one page mentions baseball or any player of the National Pastime. So the news caption below for this photograph is pure Hollywood ballyhoo. Continue reading →