Today is the 112th birthday of the actress Greta Garbo.  If you haven’t seen Anna Karenina lately (or ever), please do yourself a favor and watch it.  I just read a recount of a dinner party with Clifton Webb, his mother, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Porfirio Rubirosa, Eleanore and Brian Aherne, and Garbo.  It seems unreal to think groups of people like that congregate to eat and talk, like normal people that may live down the street.  We should all be so lucky to have such dinner parties.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Greta Garbo
OCCUPATION: Actress, Pin-up
BIRTH DATE: September 18, 1905
DEATH DATE: April 15, 1990
EDUCATION: Royal Dramatic Theater
PLACE OF BIRTH: Stockholm, Sweden
PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
AKA: Greta Gustafsson
FULL NAME: Greta Lovisa Garbo
NICKNAME: The Mona Lisa of the 20th Century
REMAINS: Cremated, Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm, Sweden
OSCAR (honorary) 30-Mar-1954
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6901 Hollywood Blvd. (motion pictures)

BEST KNOWN FOR: Greta Garbo is best known for her acting career, in both silent and talking films before World War II.

One of Hollywood‘s most enigmatic stars, Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafson on September 8, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden. To her parents, Karl and Anna, who already had two children, Greta came as a surprise arrival, further straining the family’s already tight finances.

Greta’s father was an unskilled laborer who was often out of work and in poor health, which forced his family to live with the constant threat of poverty.

At the age of 13, Greta dropped out of school to care for her father, who had fallen deeply ill. He died two years later of kidney failure. The strain her father’s health and subsequent death left on the family deeply affected young Greta, who promised to make a life for herself that was void of financial hardship.

Following her father’s death, Greta landed job as a salesperson at Swedish department store. To help promote the men’s clothing line Greta starred in a pair of advertising shorts, modeling the attire. Her natural instincts in front of the camera soon led her to a role in her first film, a comedy called Peter the Tramp (1922).

A bigger opportunity followed when Greta earned a scholarship at the prestigious Royal Dramatic Theater, Sweden’s premier school for aspiring actors. But Greta cut her education short after just a year after meeting director Mauritz Stiller, Sweden’s leading silent film director, who wanted the young actress to star in his new film, The Legend of Gosta Berling (1924).

The film’s success in both Sweden and Germany made Garbo famous. It also solidified a partnership with Stiller that would change her career and life. Stiller coached her as an actress and convinced her to change her last name to Garbo.

Garbo’s next film, Streets of Sorrow (1925), in which she played a prospective prostitute, furthered Garbo’s standing as a star in Europe. The film also caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production chief Louis B. Mayer. Mayer wanted Stiller, who worked on the film, to work in America. The flamboyant director agreed to a contract with one condition: Garbo was to come with him. Reluctantly, Mayer inked her to a deal, too.

The 19-year-old Garbo arrived in America in 1925. Her arrival had come quietly and from the start, she showed a reluctance to deal with the press or reveal anything about her private her life. During her first interview, she curtly told reporters, “I was born. I had a mother and father. I went to school. What does it matter?”

Garbo’s first American film, The Torrent (1926), cast her as a Spanish peasant who is desperate to become an opera star. But the planned Garbo-Stiller partnership in Hollywood never materialized. Stiller wasn’t hired to direct The Torrent, and after a subsequent blow-up with MGM executives he bolted for Paramount where he again encountered problems with his bosses. He returned to Sweden in 1928 and died a year later.

Garbo, however, proved to be an immediate star. Her next two films, The Temptress (1926) and Flesh and the Devil (1926), were both hits and made the actress an international star.

For MGM, Garbo was their biggest asset. Her first three films amounted to 13 percent of the company’s profits from 1925-26. Garbo, ever mindful of the financial difficulties she’d grown up with, knew she had leverage. After a contract dispute with MGM, Garbo, who’d threatened to return to Sweden, landed a new contract that paid her a record $270,000 per movie and gave her unprecedented control over her roles and the films she starred in.

In so many ways Garbo represented a new kind of Hollywood actress, one whose vulnerabilities, sexuality, passion and mystery swirled together to entice both male and female audiences. In addition, her style changed the course of American fashion, while her reclusiveness (she gave her last American interview in 1927) only fueled the public’s fascination with her.

The advent of sound presented a predicament for MGM. The future of films was clear, but there was real hesitancy to let audiences hear Garbo speak. Executives worried her star power would be diminished by her accent and low, throaty voice.

Finally, MGM relented and in 1930 Garbo made her debut in sound in a film adaption of Eugene O’Neill’s, Anna Christie. Despite MGM’s concerns, Garbo’s star did not fade. In 1931, she teamed up with Clark Gable in Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise, then co-starred with Melvyn Douglas in 1932’s As You Desire Me. That same year she was part of an all-star cast that included John and Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery in Grand Hotel. The film won a 1932 Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 1933, Garbo took on her perhaps most ambitious role as a fictional Swedish monarch in Queen Christina. Other films followed, such as Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936) and Conquest (1937).

In the late 1930s, however, Garbo’s box office appeal began to diminish. With America in the midst of The Depression, the actress’ cosmopolitan style didn’t resonate with audiences like it once had. Europe, meanwhile, where she had enjoyed incredible success, the continent was heading to war.

In an effort to remake herself, Garbo was cast in a pair of comedies, Ninotchka (1939) and Two Faced Woman (1941), neither of which matched her previous successes. After another contract dispute with MGM, Garbo retired from acting.

Away from the glare of Hollywood, Garbo retreated to a world she let few enter into. While she had several romantic partners, including, it seems, at least one woman, she never married.

During World War II, while much of Hollywood rallied the country around the war effort, Garbo remained largely silent, which earned her criticism. Over the last half century of her life, in fact, Garbo proved to be an ever-increasing mystery. On the advice of a friend, she invested heavily in real estate and art. At the time of her death she was estimated to be worth more than $55 million.

Eventually Garbo left California and settled into a new life in New York City, where she loved to window shop and periodic Greta Garbo spottings were reported like UFO sightings. Her friends during this last period of her life included the English photographer Cecil Beaton and ventriloquist and fellow Swede, Edgar Bergen.

In the late 1980s her kidneys began to fail, forcing her to stop her walks, which only further cut her off from the outside world. She died on April 15, 1990, at a New York City hospital.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Two-Faced Woman (Nov-1941) · Karin
Ninotchka (6-Oct-1939) · Ninotchka
Conquest (22-Oct-1937) · Countess Marie Walewska
Camille (12-Dec-1936) · Marguerite
Anna Karenina (30-Aug-1935) · Anna Karenina
The Painted Veil (23-Nov-1934) · Katrin
Queen Christina (26-Dec-1933) · Christina
As You Desire Me (28-May-1932) · Zara
Grand Hotel (12-Apr-1932) · Grusinskaya, the Dancer
Mata Hari (26-Dec-1931) · Mata Hari
Susan Lenox (Her Rise and Fall) (10-Oct-1931) · Susan Lenox
Anna Christie (27-Mar-1931) · Anna
Inspiration (31-Jan-1931) · Yvonne
Romance (22-Aug-1930) · Rita Cavallini
Anna Christie (21-Feb-1930) · Anna
The Kiss (15-Nov-1929) · Irene
The Single Standard (27-Jul-1929) · Arden Stuart
Wild Orchids (23-Feb-1929) · Lillie Sterling
A Woman of Affairs (15-Dec-1928) · Diana
The Mysterious Lady (4-Aug-1928) · Tania
The Divine Woman (14-Jan-1928)
Love (29-Nov-1927) · Anna Karenina
Flesh and the Devil (25-Dec-1926) · Felicitas
The Temptress (3-Oct-1926) · Elena
Torrent (8-Feb-1926) · Leonora
The Joyless Street (18-May-1925)
The Saga of Gosta Berling (9-Mar-1924)

Source: Greta Garbo – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Source: Greta Garbo – Actress, Classic Pin-Ups – Biography.com

Source: Greta Garbo, 84, Screen Icon Who Fled Her Stardom, Dies

Source: The Garbo Next Door | Vanity Fair

Source: Greta Garbo

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 114th birthday of Diana Vreeland.  She was and continues to be the arbiter of style, even after her death 20+ years ago. Do yourself a favor and read “D.V.”:  her autobiography/manual of style/name-drop-a-thon book masquerading as a roller coaster ride through the early parts of the 20th century. It will seriously change your life. Watch “The Eye Has To Travel,” her documentary.  You will start to look at style as something you own, not something you follow and conform to.  She will teach you that the sexiest most attractive thing one can have and wear is confidence.   I absolutely adore her for the permission she gives people to be fashionable, be original, beautiful, without being ordinary or expected.  Wear some pearls today, wear your shirt back to front, do something original today.  Do it for yourself with a wink to Ms. Vreeland.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Diane Dalziel Vreeland
OCCUPATION: Journalist
BIRTH DATE: September 29, 1903
DEATH DATE: August 22, 1989
PLACE OF BIRTH: Paris, France

BEST KNOWN FOR: As a fashion journaist, Diana Vreeland was an influential figure in American fashion during the 20th century.

Diana Vreeland began her career at Harper’s Bazaar in 1936. Her column “Why Don’t You…?” was famous for offering outlandish fashion and lifestyle tips for the times. Vreeland later became the magazine’s fashion editor and established herself as one of the country’s leading arbiters of style. In 1962, Vreeland joined the staff of Vogue and continued to be a powerful force in the fashion world.

Fashion journalist. Born Diana Dalziel on March 1, 1924, in Paris, France. Diana Vreeland was an influential figure in American fashion during the twentieth century. The daughter of wealthy parents, she spent her early years in France before moving to New York as a teenager.

Diana Vreeland began her career as a columnist for Harper’s Bazaar in 1936. Her column “Why Don’t You . . . ?” was famous for offering outlandish fashion and lifestyle tips for the times. Few could afford in the Depression follow her advice. Moving up the editorial ladder, Vreeland became the magazine’s fashion editor, a post she held until the early 1960s. At Harper’s Bazaar, she established herself as one of the country’s leading arbiters of style.

In 1962, Diana Vreeland joined the staff of Vogue, another influential fashion magazine, as editor in chief. At Vogue, she continued to be a powerful force in the fashion world, often able to identify the coming trends, such as the popularity of the bikini. Vreeland also worked with many well-known photographers, such as Richard Avedon, in making the magazine.

While she left Vogue in 1971, Diana Vreeland did not leave the fashion world. She worked as a consultant for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, putting together fashion exhibitions. Vreeland died on August 22, 1989. Married to T. Reed Vreeland since 1924, she had two sons, Thomas R., Jr., and Frederick.

Personal Quotes:

“People who eat white bread have no dreams.”

“Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since the gondola.”

“Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal.”

“I always wear my sweater back-to-front; it is so much more flattering.”

“I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity.”

“Pink is the navy blue of India.”

Source: Diana Vreeland – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Source: 50 of Diana Vreeland’s Best Quotes | Into The Gloss

Source: Diana Vreeland – Journalist – Biography.com

Source: The Cult of Diana | Vanity Fair

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 127th birthday of Groucho Marx.  I think of him often, especially quotes of his.  I try my best to live by this one:

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.

 Obviously, his more humorous quotes are brilliantly crafted and memorable, such as:

I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.

and

Either he’s dead or my watch has stopped.

Years and years ago, when Amazon was a scrappy little internet bookstore, we put paper bookmarks in every book we shipped to customers. One of the very first ones had a Groucho quote on it that read:  Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read. I am sure I still have a couple of those bookmarks inside of books I purchased back then.

The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Groucho Marx
OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Comedian
BIRTH DATE: October 2, 1890
DEATH DATE: August 19, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
ORIGINALLY: Julius Henry Marx
REMAINS: Cremated, Eden Memorial Park, San Fernando, CA
OSCAR (honorary) 1974
EMMY 1951 Most Outstanding Personality
RADIO HALL OF FAME
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6821 Hollywood Blvd.
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 1751 Vine St. (television)

BEST KNOWN FOR: Comedian and film actor Groucho Marx was one of the Marx Brothers. He spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit.

Comedian, actor, singer and writer Groucho Marx was born Julius Henry Marx on October 2, 1890, in New York City. Groucho Marx spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit. He once described his comedy as “the type of humor that made people laugh at themselves.”

While he originally aspired to be a doctor, Marx started his career as a singer. One of his earliest efforts proved to be disastrous, however. As part of the Le May Trio, Marx got stuck in Colorado for a while after another group member took off with his pay. He had to work at a grocery store to earn enough money to make it back to New York.

Marx’s father Samuel never had much success as a tailor, and the family struggled financially. His mother Minnie hoped that she might find prosperity through her five children. She became the quintessential “stage mother,” guiding her children’s theatrical acts and even performing herself. The act eventually featured Groucho and his brothers Leonard, Adolph and Milton.

Groucho received his colorful nickname from fellow vaudeville performer Art Fisher because of his personality. Fisher also coined amusing names for Marx’s brothers, renaming Leonard “Chico,” Adolph “Harpo” and Milton “Gummo.” Milton left the act to fight in World War I and was replaced by youngest brother Herbert, known as “Zeppo.” Both Herbert and Milton later became theatrical agents.

The Marx Brothers had a career breakthrough in 1914 while performing in Texas. During a show, some of the audience left to go see a runaway mule. When they returned, the Marx Brothers put aside their usual routines to make fun of the audience. Groucho’s quick-witted quips won over the crowd. The switch to comedy proved to be their ticket to success.

By the 1920s, the Marx Brothers had become a hugely popular theatrical act. Groucho had developed some of his trademarks by this time. He often wore a long coat, a painted-on mustache, thick glasses and held on to a cigar on stage. In addition to just liking cigars, Marx explained that they proved useful, too. He said that “if you forget a line, all you have to do is stick the cigar in your mouth and puff on it until you think of what you’ve forgotten.”

The Marx Brothers had a string of Broadway hits, starting with 1924’s I’ll Say She Is, which Groucho helped write. The following year, they returned to the stage with The Cocoanuts, a spoof on land speculation in Florida. The Marx Brothers hit it big again in 1928 with Animal Crackers.

In great demand, Marx appeared on Broadway in Animal Crackers at night while filming the film version of The Cocoanuts during the day. Around this time, he nearly suffered a complete mental breakdown. His hectic schedule and his enormous financial loss in the 1929 stock market crash had taken a toll on the performer and left him with a lifelong struggle with insomnia.

Working with producer Irving Thalberg, the Marx Brothers created one of their most popular movies: A Night at the Opera (1935). As the decade drew to a close, the Marx Brothers continued to make more films, but none matched the success of their earlier efforts. Their last film together was 1949’s Love Happy.

Even before the Marx Brothers split up, Groucho had been exploring other career opportunities. He wrote the 1930 humorous book Beds, and followed it up in 1942 with Many Happy Returns, his comic attack on taxes. On the radio, Groucho worked on several programs before landing a hit in 1947 with You Bet Your Life. He hosted the quirky game show, which focused more on his quick wit than on contestants winning prizes.

You Bet Your Life moved from radio to television in 1950, and Marx entertained America with his wisecracks for 11 years, also winning a 1951 Emmy. After that program ended in 1961, he appeared on Tell It to Groucho, a short-lived game show the following year. Then Marx largely retreated from the limelight, making only sporadic appearances on television and in films.

Later in life, instead of performing, Marx wrote a follow-up to his 1959 autobiography Groucho and Me. This time around, he focused on love and sex in 1963’s Memoirs of a Mangy Lover. The thrice-married comedian had a lot to say on those topics. Marx had been married to first wife Ruth from 1920 to 1942. The couple had two children together, Miriam and Arthur. He had his third child, Melinda, with his second wife, Catherine Gorcey. His third marriage to Eden Hartford lasted from 1953 to 1969.

A prolific correspondent with friends and associates, Marx had his personal writings published in 1967 as The Groucho Letters. He returned to the stage in 1972 with a one-man show at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Crowds turned out to see the performer, then in his 80s. He had trouble hearing and his voice was much weaker than it was in his prime. Still, he managed to charm and entertain the audience. Two years later, Marx received a special Academy Award for his stage and screen efforts.

By 1977, Marx was in decline both physically and mentally. He struggled with health problems, and his family battled with his companion Erin Fleming over control of his affairs. After spending nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital, Marx died of pneumonia on August 19, 1977. “He developed the insult into an art form,” The New York Times mused on his death. “And he used the insult, delivered with maniacal glee, to shatter the egos of the pompous ??and to plunge his audience into helpless laughter.”

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Skidoo (2-Dec-1968)
The Story of Mankind (8-Nov-1957) · Peter Minuit
A Girl in Every Port (13-Feb-1952)
Double Dynamite (25-Dec-1951) · Emile J. Keck
Mr. Music (8-Dec-1950) · Himself
Love Happy (12-Oct-1949) · Det. Sam Grunion
Copacabana (1-Nov-1947) · Lionel Q. Deveraux
A Night in Casablanca (10-May-1946) · Kornblow
The Big Store (20-Jun-1941)
Go West (6-Dec-1940) · S. Quentin Quale
At the Circus (20-Oct-1939) · Attorney Loophole
Room Service (30-Sep-1938) · Gordon Miller
A Day at the Races (11-Jun-1937) · Dr. Hackenbush
A Night at the Opera (15-Nov-1935) · Otis B. Driftwood
Duck Soup (17-Nov-1933) · Rufus T. Firefly
Horse Feathers (10-Aug-1932) · Prof. Wagstaff
Monkey Business (19-Sep-1931) · Groucho
Animal Crackers (28-Aug-1930) · Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding
The Cocoanuts (3-May-1929)

Source: Groucho Marx – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Source: Groucho Marx – Film Actor, Comedian – Biography.com

Source: Groucho Marx

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 123rd birthday of the poet that wrote Listen; there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.:  e.e. cummings. His writing and his writing style including the architecture of his prose was revolutionary at the time and still is today. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: E.E. Cummings
OCCUPATION: Artist, Author, Poet, Playwright
BIRTH DATE: October 14, 1894
DEATH DATE: September 3, 1962
EDUCATION: Harvard University, Cambridge Latin School
PLACE OF BIRTH: Cambridge, Massachusetts
PLACE OF DEATH: North Conway, New Hampshire
REMAINS: Buried, Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, MA

BEST KNOWN FOR: E.E. Cummings was a 20th century poet and novelist known for his innovations in style and structure.

Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was a minister and professor, while his mother instilled in the youngster a love of language and play. Cummings went on to earn both his B.A. and his M.A. by 1916 from Harvard University, where his father taught, before going on to serve in World War I overseas as a volunteer for the ambulance corps.

A pacifist, Cummings was imprisoned for several months by French authorities for suspicion of treason due to letters he’d written. He later recounted his jail experiences in the autobiographical novel The Enormous Room, published in 1922.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are

His next book, Tulips and Chimneys (1923), was a collection of poems. He published a few more volumes of poetry in the 1920s and ’30s. Cummings, who lived in Paris and New York, became known for poems that played wildly with form and spacing, punctuation, capitalization, overall grammar and pacing (a sample title of one of his poems: “the hours rise up putting off stars and it is”), perhaps serving as a structural metaphor for the writer’s belief that much of modern society killed individual creativity and freedom.

Nonetheless, he was also able to write traditionally styled verse such as sonnets with a flair for wit and whimsy. Cummings’ work was also known for its focus on nature, sexuality and love, in both a sensual and a spiritual sense.

Cummings wrote the avant-garde play Him, performed by the Provincetown Players in 1927, and a few years later traveled to the Soviet Union. Though curious, he was in fact put off by the government’s social policies, which he wrote about with unconventional prose in his 1933 work Eimi.

Unable to find a publisher, Cummings self-published much of his work and struggled financially. It was only in the 1940s and ’50s, with a burgeoning counterculture, that his style of writing came to be more favored by the masses and he gave live readings before full houses.

He received a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets at the start of the 1950s. He later spoke about his work as part of Harvard’s Charles Eliot Norton lecture series, presented in the 1953 book i: six nonlectures. Later in the decade he won the Bollingen Prize for Poetry from Yale University.

Cummings was also a noted visual artist who presented one-man gallery showings. He was married three times.

Cummings died on September 3, 1962, in North Conway, New Hampshire, from a brain hemorrhage, leaving legions of poems as a literary legacy. An overview of his writing can be found in E.E. Cummings: Compete Poetry, 1904-1962, while other published volumes include Erotic Poems, The Early Poems of E.E. Cummings and Fairy Tales.

Source: e. e. cummings

Source: E. E. Cummings – Wikipedia

Source: E.E. Cummings – Artist, Author, Poet, Playwright – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is Rita Hayworth’s 99th birthday.  I recently watched Gilda and was reminded about how much I adored her.  She is really just magnificent.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Rita Hayworth
OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Dancer, Pin-up
BIRTH DATE: October 17, 1918
DEATH DATE: May 14, 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH: Brooklyn, New York
PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
REMAINS: Buried, Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, CA
Full Name: Margarita Carmen Cansino
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 1645 Vine St.

BEST KNOWN FOR:  American film actress Rita Hayworth is best known for her stunning explosive sexual charisma on screen in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

A legendary Hollywood actress whose beauty catapulted her to international stardom in the 1940s and 1950s, Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in New York City. She changed her last name to Hayworth early on in her acting career on the advice of her first husband and manager, Edward Judson.

Hayworth hailed from show business stock. Her father, the Spanish-born Eduardo Cansino, was a dancer, and her mother, Volga, had been a Ziegfeld Follies girl. Soon after their daughter was born, they shortened her name to Rita Cansino. By the time Rita was 12 she was dancing professionally.

Still a young girl, Rita moved with her family to Los Angeles and eventually joined her father on the stage in nightclubs both in the United States and in Mexico. It was on a stage in Agua Caliente, Mexico, that a Fox Film Company producer spotted the 16-year-old dancer and inked her to a contract.

Rita Cansino, as she was still known, made her film debut in 1935 with Under the Pampas Moon, which was followed by a string of other films including Dante’s Inferno (1935) with Spencer Tracy, Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), Meet Nero Wolfe (1936), and Human Cargo (1936).

In 1937 she married Judson, a man 22 years older than her, who would set the stage for his young wife’s future stardom. On his advice, Rita not only changed her last name, but also dyed her hair auburn. Judson worked the phones and managed to get Hayworth plenty of press in newspapers and magazines, and eventually helped her get a seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures.

After a few disappointing roles in several mediocre films, Hayworth landed an important role as an unfaithful wife opposite Cary Grant in Only Angels Have Wings (1939). Critical praise came Hayworth’s way. So did more movie offers.

Just two years after the relatively unknown actress shared the screen with Grant, Hayworth was a star herself. Her stunning, sensual looks greatly helped, and that year Life magazine writer Winthrop Sargeant nicknamed Hayworth “The Great American Love Goddess.”

The moniker stuck, and only helped further her career and the fascination many male movie fans had with her. In 1941 Hayworth took the screen opposite James Cagney in Strawberry Blonde. That same year she shared the dance floor with Fred Astaire in You’ll Never Get Rich. Astaire later called Hayworth his favorite dance partner.

The following year Hayworth starred in three more big films: My Gal Sal, Tales of Manhattan, and You Were Never Lovelier.

Hayworth’s high-voltage power of seduction was affirmed in 1944 when a photograph of her in Life magazine wearing black lace became the unofficial pin-up photo for American servicemen serving overseas in World War II.

For her part, Hayworth didn’t shy away from the attention. “Why should I mind?” she said. “I like having my picture taken and being a glamorous person. Sometimes when I find myself getting impatient, I just remember the times I cried my eyes out because nobody wanted to take my picture at the Trocadero.”

Her stardom peaked in 1946 with the film Gilda, which cast her opposite Glenn Ford. A favorite of film noir fans,  the film was chock-full of sexual innuendo, which included a controversial (tame by today’s standards) striptease by Hayworth.

The following year she starred in another film noir favorite, The Lady From Shanghai, which was directed by her then-husband, Orson Welles.

Hayworth’s marriage to Welles in 1943 and subsequent divorce from the director and actor in 1948 garnered plenty of press. It was Hayworth’s second marriage, and with Welles she had a daughter, Rebecca.

It was during the filming of The Lady From Shanghai that Hayworth filed for divorce from Welles. In court documents she claimed, “he showed no interest in establishing a home. When I suggested purchasing a home, he told me he didn’t want the responsibility. Mr. Welles told me he never should have married in the first place; that it interfered with his freedom in his way of life.”

But Hayworth had also met and fallen in love with Prince Aly Khan, whose father was the head of the Ismaili Muslims. A statesman and a bit of a playboy, Khan eventually served as Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations.

Hayworth and Khan married in 1949 and had a daughter together, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. After divorcing Khan after just two years of marriage, Hayworth later married and divorced the singer Dick Haymes. Her fifth and final marriage was to movie producer James Hill.

As her personal life was dogged by turmoil, her acting career sputtered. Periodic film roles did come her way, but they failed to capture magic and project the kind of star power her earlier work once had. In all, Hayworth appeared in more than 40 films, the last of which was the 1972 release The Wrath of God.

In 1971 she briefly attempted a stage career, but it was quickly halted when it was apparent that Hayworth was unable to memorize her lines.

Hayworth’s diminished skills as an actress were largely chalked up to what many believed was a severe alcohol problem. Her deteriorating state made headlines in January 1976 when the actress, appearing disheveled and out of sorts, was escorted off a plane.

That same year a California court, citing Hayworth’s alcohol issues, named an administrator for her affairs.

But alcohol was only one of the factors ruining her life. Hayworth was also suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which doctors diagnosed her as having in 1980. A year later she was placed under the care of her daughter, Princess Yasmin, who used her mother’s condition as a catalyst for increasing awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. In 1985, Yasmin helped organize Alzheimer’s Disease International, and eventually helmed the group as its president.

After years of struggle Hayworth died on May 14, 1987, in the apartment she shared with her daughter in New York City. Her passing elicited an outpouring of appreciation from fans and fellow actors.

“Rita Hayworth was one of our country’s most beloved stars,” President Ronald Reagan said upon hearing of Hayworth’s death. “Glamorous and talented, she gave us many wonderful moments on the stage and screen and delighted audiences from the time she was a young girl. Nancy and I are saddened by Rita’s death. She was a friend whom we will miss.”

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Wrath of God (14-Jul-1972) · Señora De La Plata
Road to Salina (17-Nov-1970)
The Rover (1967)
The Poppy Is Also a Flower (22-Apr-1966)
The Money Trap (7-Sep-1965) · Rosalie Kelly
Circus World (25-Jun-1964)
The Happy Thieves (Jan-1962) · Eve Lewis
The Story on Page One (Dec-1959)
They Came to Cordura (Jun-1959) · Adelaide Geary
Separate Tables (18-Dec-1958)
Pal Joey (25-Oct-1957) · Vera Simpson
Fire Down Below (8-Aug-1957) · Irena
Miss Sadie Thompson (23-Dec-1953) · Sadie Thompson
Salome (13-Feb-1953)
Affair in Trinidad (30-Jun-1952) · Chris Emery
The Loves of Carmen (23-Aug-1948) · Carmen Garcia
The Lady from Shanghai (24-Dec-1947) · Elsa Bannister
Down to Earth (21-Aug-1947) · Kitty Pendleton
Gilda (14-Feb-1946) · Gilda
Tonight and Every Night (9-Jan-1945) · Roz Bruce
Cover Girl (30-Mar-1944) · Rusty Parker
You Were Never Lovelier (5-Oct-1942) · Maria Acuña
Tales of Manhattan (5-Aug-1942)
My Gal Sal (30-Apr-1942) · Sally Elliott
You’ll Never Get Rich (25-Sep-1941) · Sheila Winthrop
Blood and Sand (22-May-1941) · Dona Sol
Affectionately Yours (10-May-1941) · Irene Malcolm
The Strawberry Blonde (22-Feb-1941) · Virginia Brush
Angels Over Broadway (2-Oct-1940) · Nina Barone
The Lady in Question (31-Jul-1940) · Natalie Roguin
Susan and God (7-Jun-1940)
Blondie on a Budget (29-Feb-1940) · Joan Forrester
Music in My Heart (4-Jan-1940)
Only Angels Have Wings (12-May-1939) · Judy
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (27-Jan-1939) · Karen
Juvenile Court (7-Sep-1938) · Marcia Adams
Who Killed Gail Preston? (24-Feb-1938)
Trouble in Texas (6-Mar-1937) · Carmen Serano
Meet Nero Wolfe (17-Jul-1936)
Human Cargo (15-May-1936)
Paddy O’Day (29-Oct-1935) · Tamara Petrovitch
Dante’s Inferno (31-Jul-1935) · Dancer
Charlie Chan in Egypt (4-Jun-1935) · Nayda

Source: Reel Infatuation: My Gilda Crush – B Noir Detour

Source: Rita Hayworth (1918 – 1987) | ming movie reviews

Source: Rita Hayworth – Wikipedia

Source: Rita Hayworth – Biography – IMDb

Source: Rita Hayworth – Dancer, Film Actress, Classic Pin-Ups – Biography.com

Source: Rita Hayworth, Movie Legend, Dies

Source: Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Rita Hayworth, Tragic Princess

Source: Rita Hayworth

come find me, i’m @

Today is Montgomery Clift‘s 97th birthday.  His life seemed to be full of super highs and super lows and I think that makes the best life story.  It makes me root for them (even if I know the outcome) and love their humanity, vulnerability, and fragility.  Plus, his best friend was Elizabeth Taylor, the 1950’s Elizabeth Taylor at that.  Have you seen A Place in the Sun or Misfits lately?  Have you seen them ever?  They both have ridiculously talented casts that make them more than worthwhile to watch.  The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Edward Montgomery Clift
OCCUPATION: Film Actor
BIRTH DATE: October 17, 1920
DEATH DATE: July 23, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH: Omaha, Nebraska
PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
REMAINS: Buried, Quaker Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6104 Hollywood Blvd.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Actor Montgomery Clift starred in films like Red River (1948), A Place in the Sun (1951), and From Here To Eternity (1953).

Hailed as one of Hollywood’s first true Method actors, Edward Montgomery Clift was born October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. “Monty,” as his family called him, was the son of William Clift, a successful Wall Street broker, and his wife, Ethel.

Clift’s early life was shaped by privilege. While his father was away on work, which was often, Ethel led her family on jaunts to Europe or Bermuda, where the Clifts had a second home.

In the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, however, the family’s situation greatly changed. The Clifts, which included Monty’s twin sister, Roberta, and a brother, Brooks, settled into a new, more modest life in Sarasota, Florida.

At the age of 13, Clift started acting with a local theater company. His mother was impressed by her son’s commitment to the stage and encouraged him to pursue his craft. Shortly after the family moved to Massachusetts, he auditioned and won a part in the Broadway play Fly Away Home.

When the family moved again, this time to New York City, Clift earned a second Broadway nod as the lead in Dame Nature. The role cemented Clift, just 17 years old, as a Broadway star. Over the next decade, he appeared in several other productions, including There Shall Be No Night, The Skin of Our Teeth and Our Town, among others.

For years Clift had resisted calls to jump to the big screen. He was particular about his work and his directors. He finally made the leap with the 1948 release Red River, a Howard Hawks–directed western co-starring John Wayne.

That same year audiences were treated to a second Clift film, The Search, which starred the actor as an American G.I. in post-war Germany. The film catapulted Clift to full-fledged Hollywood star status and earned him an Academy nomination for Best Actor.

Over the next decade Clift starred in several high-profile films, including A Place in the Sun (1951) with Elizabeth Taylor, Alfred Hitchcock’s I Confess (1953) and the box-office smash From Here to Eternity (1953), co-starring Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra and Deborah Kerr.

For Hollywood, Clift represented an entirely different kind of leading man. He was sensitive and vulnerable, and fearless in the roles he accepted, even if they cast him as a villain. While the film world celebrated his heartthrob status—gossip columnists constantly linked Clift with Taylor, a close friend—Clift and those around him hid the fact that he was gay.

In May 1957 tragedy struck when Clift, driving home from a party at Taylor’s California home, veered off the road and struck a telephone pole. The accident devastated Clift, physically and psychologically. He had already been dealing with alcohol and prescription drug problems, and his addictions soared.

Over the next decade, Clift continued to work, appearing in seven more films. He received an Academy nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Rudolph Petersen in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), which co-starred Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster.

His final role came in The Defector (1966), in which he played an American physicist working with a CIA agent in Germany to secure the defection of a Russian scientist.

Clift died of a heart attack at his home in New York City on July 23, 1966.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Defector (20-Oct-1966) · Prof. James Bower
Freud (12-Dec-1962)
Judgment at Nuremberg (14-Dec-1961) · Rudolph Petersen
The Misfits (1-Feb-1961) · Perce Howland
Wild River (26-Mar-1960) · Chuck Glover
Suddenly, Last Summer (22-Dec-1959) · Dr. Cukrowicz
The Young Lions (2-Apr-1958)
Lonelyhearts (1958)
Raintree County (4-Oct-1957) · John Shawnessy
From Here to Eternity (5-Aug-1953) · Robert E. Lee Prewitt
Station Terminus (2-Apr-1953) · Giovanni Doria
I Confess (22-Mar-1953) · Fr. Michael Logan
A Place in the Sun (28-Aug-1951) · George Eastman
The Big Lift (26-Apr-1950) · Sgt. Danny MacCullough
The Heiress (6-Oct-1949) · Morris Townsend
Red River (1-Sep-1948) · Matthew Garth
The Search (26-Mar-1948) · Ralph Stevenson

Source: Montgomery Clift – Wikipedia

Source: Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Long Suicide of Montgomery Clift | Vanity Fair

Source: Montgomery Clift – Film Actor – Biography.com

Source: Montgomery Clift

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 61st birthday of Carrie Fisher. She was a badass, a rebel, a clever wit, and a truth teller. Her iconic Star Wars role solidified her place in the collective memory of the world. Her clever writing conveyed the honesty and truth in uncomfortable topics and made them approachable and universal. We were lucky to have her. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Carrie Fisher
OCCUPATION: Film Actress
BIRTH DATE: October 21, 1956
DEATH DATE: December 27, 2016
PLACE OF BIRTH: Los Angeles, California
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California, Unites States

BEST KNOWN FOR: Carrie Fisher became a cultural icon after starring as Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies. Her first novel, Postcards from the Edge, was published in 1987.

I don’t want my life to imitate art, I want my life to be art.

Actress and writer Carrie Fisher was born on October 21, 1956 in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California. Her father was singer Eddie Fisher and her mother was actress Debbie Reynolds. In one of Hollywood’s scandals, Fisher left Reynolds when Carrie was two years old for actress Elizabeth Taylor.

At an early age, Fisher showed an interest in books and writing poetry. She eventually followed her famous parents into show business, first appearing at the age of 15 in Irene, a Broadway show starring her mother. In 1975, she made her film debut in Shampoo, starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn. But her big breakthrough came playing Princess Leia in George Lucas’s blockbuster Star Wars (1977), opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Her role as the smart and wisecracking princess made Fisher a pop culture icon, and she reprised the role in the film’s sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).

In 1980, she appeared in The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. She returned to Broadway that year in Censored Scenes from King Kong, and two years later starred in the Broadway production of Agnes of God.

Around the early to mid-1980s, Fisher struggled with alcohol, drugs and depression while appearing in a series of largely forgettable films, including Under the Rainbow (1981) and Hollywood Vice Squad (1986).

But as the decade drew to a close, Fisher again came into her own, both on- and off-screen. In 1987, she published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge, a successful semi-autobiographical tale of a show business mother and daughter. She later adapted the novel into a screenplay that was made into a 1990 film featuring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine directed by Mike Nichols.

Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

Fisher also turned in a series of solid supporting roles in films such as Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), When Harry Met Sally (1989) and Soap Dish (1991), in which she took a comic turn as a bawdy casting director. She later landed her own interview show with Oxygen Media called Conversations From the Edge With Carrie Fisher (2002-2003). Other television appearances included voicing the character of Angela on Family Guy, and making a guest appearances on Sex and the City, Big Bang Theory, and Entourage. She also had a recurring role playing Rob’s mother on the British sitcom Catastrophe (2015).

A talented screenwriter, Fisher helped revise many Hollywood scripts, including Sister Act (1992), Outbreak (1995) and The Wedding Singer (1998), among many others. She has also mined her own life experiences to create such bestselling books as The Best Awful There Is (2004), Wishful Drinking (2009) and Shockaholic (2012).

Fisher also returned to the film franchise that made her famous, appearing in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, along with Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill. The film, directed by J.J. Abrams, opened in the U.S. on December 18, 2015 and broke an array of box office records, earning more than $247 million domestically in its opening weekend. Fisher also completed filming the eighth episode of the Star Wars saga, which is scheduled for release in December 2017.

In November 2016, she released The Princess Diarist, a memoir based on the diaries she wrote while filming the original Star Wars trilogy. In the book, she writes that she had an affair with co-star Harrison Ford in 1976 during filming of the first movie.

Fisher has one child, daughter Billie Catherine, from her relationship with agent Bryan Lourd. She was also briefly married to singer/songwriter Paul Simon in the 1980s.

Fisher was open about discussing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and struggles with drug addiction. In 2016, Harvard College presented Fisher with its Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, highlighting that “her forthright activism and outspokenness about addiction, mental illness, and agnosticism have advanced public discourse on these issues with creativity and empathy.”

When accepting the honor, Fisher told the audience: “I’ve never been ashamed of my mental illness; it never occurred to me. Many people thank me for talking about it, and mothers can tell their kids when they are upset with the diagnosis that Princess Leia is bipolar too.”

The outspoken author and actress remained busy with multiple projects until she suffered a massive heart attack while on a flight traveling from London to California on December 23, 2016. She was administered CPR and rushed to a hospital upon landing in Los Angeles where she was reported to be in critical condition. Fans around the world sent their support to Fisher on social media using the hashtag #MayTheForceBeWithHer.

Four days later, on December 27, 2016, the beloved actress died at the hospital at the age of 60. A spokesman for Fisher’s family released a statement on behalf of her daughter Billie: “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”

Her mother, screen legend Debbie Reynolds, also posted a message on Facebook: “Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop.”

A day after Fisher’s death, Debbie Reynolds died. Reynolds had been making funeral arrangements for Carrie with her son Todd Fisher and reportedly suffered a possible stroke. According to TMZ, her son said hours before Reynolds was rushed to the hospital she told him: “I miss her so much, I want to be with Carrie.”

“She’s now with Carrie and we’re all heartbroken,” Todd Fisher said from the hospital after Reynolds death.

A private memorial was held for Fisher’s family and friends at Fisher’s Beverly Hills home, which is located on a property she shared with Reynolds, on January 5, 2017. In addition to Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, brother Todd, half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher and her beloved French bull dog Gary, celebrity friends in attendance included Penny Marshall, Meg Ryan, Richard Dreyfuss, Buck Henry, Candice Bergen, George Lucas, Ellen Barkin, Ed Begley Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Actresses Meryl Streep, Tracey Ullman, author Bruce Wagner and comedian Stephen Fry were among those who eulogized Fisher. Streep also performed one of Fisher’s favorite song, “Happy Days Are Here Again,” according to People magazine.

Fisher was cremated and her ashes were placed in an urn shaped like a Prozac pill. Debbie Reynolds was laid to rest the following day at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, where she was buried with some of Fisher’s ashes.

“Carrie’s favorite possession was a giant Prozac pill that she bought many years ago. A big pill,” Todd Fisher told Entertainment Tonight. “She loved it, and it was in her house, and Billie and I felt it was where she’d want to be. We couldn’t find anything appropriate. Carrie would like that. It was her favorite thing, and so that’s how you do it. And so they’re together, and they will be together here and in heaven, and we’re okay with that.”

After Fisher and Reynolds’ memorials, Bright Lights, an HBO documentary about their relationship aired on January 7, 2017. The film, which was directed by Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens, premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in May.

In June 2017, a coroner’s report was released which revealed that Fisher had a mixture of drugs in her system, including evidence of cocaine, methadone, MDMA (also known as ecstasy), alcohol and opiates, when she suffered cardiac arrest. The report noted that “sleep apnea and other undetermined factors” contributed to Fisher’s death. Her daughter Billie addressed the findings and her mother’s open struggles with addiction. ”My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life,” she said. “She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.

“I know my Mom, she’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles,” she added. “Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby.”

TELEVISION
Catastrophe Mia (2015-17)
Celebrity Poker Showdown Contestant (2004)

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (14-Dec-2015)
Maps to the Stars (19-May-2014)
Sorority Row (9-Sep-2009)
White Lightnin’ (9-Jan-2009)
The Women (12-Sep-2008)
Fanboys (31-Jul-2008) · Doctor
Cougar Club (19-May-2007)
Ghost Writer (9-Mar-2007)
Romancing the Bride (3-Dec-2005)
Undiscovered (26-Aug-2005)
The Aristocrats (Jan-2005) · Herself
Stateside (27-Feb-2004) · Mrs. Dubois
Wonderland (8-Sep-2003) · Sally Hansen
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (18-Jun-2003) · Mother Superior
A Midsummer Night’s Rave (1-Nov-2002)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (24-Aug-2001) · Nun
Heartbreakers (23-Mar-2001)
These Old Broads (12-Feb-2001)
Lisa Picard Is Famous (14-May-2000) · Herself
Scream 3 (4-Feb-2000) · Bianca
This Is My Life (21-Feb-1992) · Claudia Curtis
Soapdish (31-May-1991) · Betsy Faye Sharon
Drop Dead Fred (19-Apr-1991)
Sibling Rivalry (26-Oct-1990) · Iris Turner-Hunter
Sweet Revenge (14-May-1990)
When Harry Met Sally (12-Jul-1989)
Loverboy (28-Apr-1989) · Monica Delancy
The ‘burbs (17-Feb-1989)
Appointment with Death (15-Apr-1988)
The Time Guardian (3-Dec-1987)
Amazon Women on the Moon (18-Sep-1987)
Sunday Drive (30-Nov-1986)
Hollywood Vice Squad (28-Feb-1986)
Hannah and Her Sisters (7-Feb-1986) · April
The Man with One Red Shoe (19-Jul-1985) · Paula
Garbo Talks (12-Oct-1984) · Lisa Rolfe
Return of the Jedi (25-May-1983)
Under the Rainbow (31-Jul-1981)
The Blues Brothers (16-Jun-1980) · Mystery Woman
The Empire Strikes Back (21-May-1980) · Princess Leia
Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video (1979) · Herself
The Star Wars Holiday Special (17-Nov-1978)
Star Wars (25-May-1977) · Princess Leia
Shampoo (11-Feb-1975)

Author of books:
Delusions of Grandma
Postcards from the Edge (1987, novel)
Surrender the Pink (1990, novel)
The Best Awful (2003, novel)
Wishful Drinking (2008, memoir)
Shockaholic (2010)

Source: Carrie Fisher – Film Actor/Film Actress, Actress, Film Actress – Biography.com

Source: Carrie Fisher

Source: Carrie Fisher – Wikipedia

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 92nd  birthday of the talk show host and comedian Johnny Carson. His influence on The Tonight Show launched the careers of David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Foxworthy, Ellen DeGeneres, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Tim Allen, Drew Carey, and Roseanne Barr. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Johnny Carson
OCCUPATION: Talk Show Host
BIRTH DATE: October 23, 1925
DEATH DATE: January 23, 2005
EDUCATION: University of Nebraska
PLACE OF BIRTH: Corning, Iowa
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
FULL NAME: John William Carson
BROADCASTING AND CABLE HALL OF FAME
PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM 1992
KENNEDY CENTER HONOR 1993
PEABODY 1986
EMMY 1976 for The Tonight Show
EMMY 1977 for The Tonight Show
EMMY 1978 for The Tonight Show
EMMY 1979 for The Tonight Show
EMMY 1992 for The Tonight Show
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 1751 Vine St. (television)
ASTEROID NAMESAKE 3252 Johnny

BEST KNOWN FOR:  One of television’s best known personalities, Johnny Carson hosted “The Tonight Show” for 30 years. His farewell show in 1992 drew 50 million viewers.

Born in Corning, Iowa on October 23, 1925 to Ruth and Homer R. Carson, a power company manager, Johnny Carson learned how to reel in audiences at a young age. He fell in love with magic when he was 12 years old, and after purchasing a magician’s kit through the mail, began performing magic tricks in public, as “The Great Carson.”

Following high school, in 1943, an 18-year-old Carson joined the U.S. Navy as an ensign, and then decoded encrypted messages as a communications officer. Serving aboard the USS Pennsylvania, he continued performing magic, mainly for his fellow shipmates. He later said that one of the fondest memories from his service was performing magic for James Forrestal, U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Though assigned to combat in the summer of 1945, Carson never went into battle — WWII ended in 1945, following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and Carson was sent back to the United States.

In the fall of 1945, Carson began studying at the University of Nebraska, and received a bachelor’s degree in radio and speech four years later. After college, he had a short stint as television writer for The Red Skelton Show in Los Angeles, and then moved to New York City in pursuit of bigger audiences.

In October of 1962, Carson replaced Jack Paar as host of The Tonight Show—a counterpart to NBC’s Tonight show—and, following wavering ratings his first year, Carson became a prime-time hit.

Audiences found comfort in Carson’s calm and steady presence in their living rooms each evening. Revered for his affable personality, quick wit and crisp interviews, he guided viewers into the late night hours with a familiarity they grew to rely on year after year. Featuring interviews with the stars of the latest Hollywood movies or the hottest bands, Carson kept Americans up-to-date on popular culture, and reflected some of the most distinct personalities of his era through impersonations, including his classic take on President Ronald Reagan.

Carson created several recurring comedic characters that popped up regularly on his show, including Carnac the Magnificent, an Eastern psychic who was said to know the answers to all kinds of baffling questions. In these skits, Carson would wear a colorful cape and featured turban and attempt to answer questions on cards before even opening their sealed envelopes. Carson, as Carmac, would demand silence before answering questions such as “Answer: Flypaper.” “Question: What do you use to gift wrap a zipper?”

Carson was The Tonight Show’s host for three decades. During that time, he received six Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Carson’s final appearance as host in 1992 attracted an estimated 50 million viewers.

Carson was in and out of relationships throughout his life, marrying four separate times. He married Jody Wolcott in 1948, and they had three sons, Charles (Kit), Cory and Richard. Richard died in an auto accident in 1991.

Carson and Jody divorced in 1963, and only months later, Carson married his second wife, Joanne Copeland. That relationship ended in 1972, following a grueling legal battle that ended with Copeland receiving a settlement of nearly $500,000 and annual alimony from Carson. That same year, Carson married third wife Joanna Holland—from whom he filed for divorce in 1983.

For the first time in 35 years, Carson lived life as an unmarried man from 1983 to 1987. He married for the final time in June of 1987; Carson and Alexis Maas remained together until Carson’s death, nearly eighteen years later.

At age 74, in 1999, Carson suffered a severe heart attack while he was sleeping at his Malibu, California home. Soon after, he underwent quadruple-bypass surgery. In January of 2005, at age 79, Carson died of respiratory failure caused by emphysema.

Carson, considered to be one of the most popular stars of American television, has been praised by several mainstream comics—including Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon—for helping them launch their careers. Today, he is regarded worldwide as a televison legacy.

TELEVISION
The Tonight Show Host (1962-92)

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Paul Williams Still Alive (11-Sep-2011) · Himself
Run for Your Life (Apr-2008) · Himself
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (10-Apr-1993) · Himself
Looking for Love (5-Aug-1964)

AUTHOR OF BOOKS
Happiness Is a Dry Martini (1965)

Source: Johnny Carson

Source: Johnny Carson – Wikipedia

Source: Johnny Carson – Talk Show Host – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 186th birthday of the artist Edouard Manet. His works are immediately recognizable and frequently reproduced, making them part of our collective consciousness and human experience. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Edouard Manet
OCCUPATION: Painter
BIRTH DATE: January 23, 1832
DEATH DATE: April 30, 1883
EDUCATION: College Rollin, Canon Poiloup’s school in Vaugirard
PLACE OF BIRTH: Paris, France
PLACE OF DEATH: Paris, France

BEST KNOWN FOR: Edouard Manet was a French painter who depicted everyday scenes of people and city life. He was a leading artist in the transition from realism to impressionism.

Impressionist painter Edouard Manet fell dramatically short in meeting his parents’ expectations. Born in Paris on January 23, 1832, he was the son of Auguste Manet, a high-ranking judge, and Eugénie-Desirée Fournier, the daughter of a diplomat and the goddaughter of the Swedish crown prince. Affluent and well connected, the couple hoped their son would choose a respectable career, preferably law. Edouard refused. He wanted to create art.

Manet’s uncle, Edmond Fournier, supported his early interests and arranged frequent trips for him to the Louvre. His father, ever fearful that his family’s prestige would be tarnished, continued to present Manet with more “appropriate” options. In 1848, Manet boarded a Navy vessel headed for Brazil; his father hoped he might take to a seafaring life. Manet returned in 1849 and promptly failed his naval examinations. He repeatedly failed over the course of a decade, so his parents finally gave in and supported his dream of attending art school.

At age 18, Manet began studying under Thomas Couture, learning the basics of drawing and painting. For several years, Manet would steal away to the Louvre and sit for hours copying the works of the old masters. From 1853 to 1856, he traveled through Italy, Germany and Holland to take in the brilliance of several admired painters, notably Frans Hals, Diego Velázquez and Francisco José de Goya.

After six years as a student, Manet finally opened his own studio. His painting “The Absinthe Drinker” is a fine example of his early attempts at realism, the most popular style of that day. Despite his success with realism, Manet began to entertain a looser, more impressionistic style. Using broad brushstrokes, he chose as his subjects everyday people engaged in everyday tasks. His canvases were populated by singers, street people, gypsies and beggars. This unconventional focus combined with a mature knowledge of the old masters startled some and impressed others.

For his painting “Concert in the Tuileries Gardens,” sometimes called “Music in the Tuileries,” Manet set up his easel in the open air and stood for hours while he composed a fashionable crowd of city dwellers. When he showed the painting, some thought it was unfinished, while others understood what he was trying to convey. Perhaps his most famous painting is “The Luncheon on the Grass,” which he completed and exhibited in 1863. The scene of two young men dressed and sitting alongside a female nude alarmed several of the jury members making selections for the annual Paris Salon, the official exhibit hosted by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Due to its perceived indecency, they refused to show it. Manet was not alone, though, as more than 4,000 paintings were denied entry that year. In response, Napoleon III established the Salon des Refusés to exhibit some of those rejected works, including Manet’s submission.

During this time, Manet married a Dutch woman named Suzanne Leenhoff. She had been Manet’s piano tutor when he was a child, and some believe, for a time, also Manet’s father’s mistress. By the time she and Manet officially married, they had been involved for nearly 10 years and had an infant son named Leon Keoella Leenhoff. The boy posed for his father for the 1861 painting “Boy Carrying a Sword” and as a minor subject in “The Balcony.” Suzanne was the model for several paintings, including “The Reading.”

Trying once again to gain acceptance into the salon, Manet submitted “Olympia” in 1865. This striking portrait, inspired by Titian’s “Venus of Urbino,” shows a lounging nude beauty who unabashedly stares at her viewers. The salon jury members were not impressed. They deemed it scandalous, as did the general public. Manet’s contemporaries, on the other hand, began to think of him a hero, someone willing to break the mold. In hindsight, he was ringing in a new style and leading the transition from realism to impressionism. Within 42 years, “Olympia” would be installed in Louvre.

After Manet’s unsuccessful attempt in 1865, he traveled to Spain, during which time he painted “The Spanish Singer.” In 1866, he met and befriended the novelist Emile Zola, who in 1867 wrote a glowing article about Manet in the French paper Figaro. He pointed out how almost all significant artists start by offending the current public’s sensibilities. This review impressed the art critic Louis-Edmond Duranty, who began to support him as well. Painters like Cezanne, Gauguin, Degas and Monet became his friends.

Some of Manet’s best-loved works are his cafe scenes. His completed paintings were often based on small sketches he made while out socializing. These works, including “At the Cafe,” “The Beer Drinkers” and “The Cafe Concert,” among others, depict 19th-century Paris. Unlike conventional painters of his time, he strove to illuminate the rituals of both common and bourgeoisie French people. His subjects are reading, waiting for friends, drinking and working. In stark contrast to his cafe scenes, Manet also painted the tragedies and triumphs of war. In 1870, he served as a soldier during the Franco-German War and observed the destruction of Paris. His studio was partially destroyed during the siege of Paris, but to his delight, an art dealer named Paul Durand-Ruel bought everything he could salvage from the wreckage for 50,000 francs.

In 1874, Manet was invited to show at the very first exhibit put on by impressionist artists. However supportive he was of the general movement, he turned them down, as well as seven other invitations. He felt it was necessary to remain devoted to the salon and its place in the art world. Like many of his paintings, Edouard Manet was a contradiction, both bourgeoisie and common, conventional and radical. A year after the first impressionist exhibit, he was offered the opportunity to draw illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe’s book-length French edition of “The Raven.” In 1881, the French government awarded him the Légion d’honneur.

He died two years later in Paris, on April 30, 1883. Besides 420 paintings, he left behind a reputation that would forever define him as a bold and influential artist.

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 144th birthday of the writer W. Somerset Maugham.  I was given a copy of “The Razor’s Edge” quite a while ago by a former employer stating “this is one of my favorite books and novels.”  He meant that he liked the story and like the look of the book, physically.  The book was given to him by the matriarch of a very prominent Seattle family when she was closing up and selling off her properties on the San Juan Islands.  I still have it and I hope to do the same with it one day.  The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Somerset Maugham
OCCUPATION: Author, Playwright
BIRTH DATE: January 25, 1874
DEATH DATE: December 16, 1965
EDUCATION: King’s School, Canterbury, St. Thomas’ Medical School, London
PLACE OF BIRTH: Paris, France
PLACE OF DEATH: Nice, France

BEST KNOWN FOR: Somerset Maugham was a British fiction writer, essayist and playwright known for works like Of Human Bondage and The Razor’s Edge.

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.

Today is the birthday of W. Somerset Maugham, born in Paris (1874). His father was in Paris as a lawyer for the British Embassy. When Maugham was eight years old, his mother died from tuberculosis. His father died of cancer two years later. The boy was sent back to England into the care of a cold and distant uncle, a vicar. Maugham was miserable at his school. He said later: “I wasn’t even likable as a boy. I was withdrawn and unhappy, and rejected most overtures of sympathy over my stuttering and shyness.” Maugham became a doctor and practiced in the London slums. He was particularly moved by the women he encountered in the hospital, where he delivered babies; and he was shocked by his fellow doctors’ callous approach to the poor. He wrote: “I saw how men died. I saw how they bore pain. I saw what hope looked like, fear and relief; I saw the dark lines that despair drew on a face; I saw courage and steadfastness. I saw faith shine in the eyes of those who trusted in what I could only think was an illusion and I saw the gallantry that made a man greet the prognosis of death with an ironic joke because he was too proud to let those about him see the terror of his soul.”

At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.

When he was 23, he published his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, about a working-class 18-year-old named Liza who has an affair with a 40-year-old married man named Jim, a father of nine. Jim’s wife beats up Liza, who is pregnant, and who miscarries, and dies. The novel was a big success, and Maugham made enough money to quit medicine and become a full-time writer. For many years, he made his living as a playwright, but eventually he became one of the most popular novelists in Britain. His novels include Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale (1930), and The Razor’s Edge (1944).

It was such a lovely day I thought it a pity to get up.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Encore (14-Nov-1951) · Presenter
Trio (1-Aug-1950) · Presenter
Quartet (26-Oct-1948) · Himself

Author of books:
Liza and Lambeth (1897, novel)
Of Human Bondage (1915, novel)
The Moon and Sixpence (1919, novel)
Ashenden (1928, short stories)
Cakes and Ale (1930, novel)
Rain and Other Stories (1933, short stories)
The Summing Up (1938, novel)
The Razor’s Edge (1944, novel)
Catalina (1948, novel)
Quartet (1949, novel)

Wrote plays:
A Man of Honour (1903)
Lady Frederick (1907)
Our Betters (1917)
The Circle (1921)
The Constant Wife (1927)
The Sacred Flame (1928)

Source: W. Somerset Maugham

Source: W. Somerset Maugham – Wikipedia

Source: Somerset Maugham – Author, Playwright – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 144th birthday of the eternal wit Gertrude Stein.  She was an artist collector as much as she was an art collector, influencing, promoting, supporting and to some extent creating the art, literature and music from an extremely talented group of people that were in Paris between the wars.  She named them “The Lost Generation.”  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Gertrude Stein
OCCUPATION: Art Collector, Publisher, Poet, Author, Journalist
BIRTH DATE: February 3, 1874
DEATH DATE: July 27, 1946
EDUCATION: Radcliffe College, John Hopkins Medical School
PLACE OF BIRTH: Allegheny, Pennsylvania
PLACE OF DEATH: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
REMAINS: Buried, Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris, France

BEST KNOWN FOR: Gertrude Stein was an American author and poet best known for her modernist writings, extensive art collecting and literary salon in 1920s Paris.

Writer and art patron Gertrude Stein was born on February 3, 1874, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Gertude Stein was an imaginative, influential writer in the 20th century. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, she spent her early years in Europe with her family. The Steins later settled in Oakland, California.

Stein graduated from Radcliffe College in 1898 with a bachelor’s degree. While at the college, Stein studied psychology under William James (and would remain greatly influenced by his ideas). She went on to study medicine at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Medical School.

In 1903, Gertrude Stein moved to Paris, France, to be with her brother, Leo, where they began collecting Post-Impressionist paintings, thereby helping several leading artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. She and Leo established a famous literary and artistic salon at 27 rue de Fleurus. Leo moved to Florence, Italy, in 1912, taking many of the paintings with him. Stein remained in Paris with her assistant Alice B. Toklas, who she met in 1909. Toklas and Stein would become lifelong companions.

By the early 1920s, Gertrude Stein had been writing for several years, and had begun to publish her innovative works: Three Lives (1909), Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms (1914) and The Making of Americans: Being a History of a Family’s Progress (written 1906–’11; published 1925). Intended to employ the techniques of abstraction and Cubism in prose, much of her work was virtually unintelligible to even educated readers.

During World War I, Stein bought her own Ford van, and she and Toklas served as ambulance drivers for the French. After the war, she maintained her salon (though after 1928 she spent much of the year in the village of Bilignin, and in 1937, she moved to a more stylish location in Paris) and served as both hostess and an inspiration to such American expatriates as Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald (she is credited with coining the term “the Lost Generation”). She also lectured in England in 1926 and published her only commercial success, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933), which she wrote from Toklas’s point-of-view.

Gertrude Stein made a successful lecture tour of the United States in 1934, but returned to France, where she would reside during World War II. After the liberation of Paris in 1944, she was visited by many Americans. In addition to her later novels and memoirs, she wrote librettos to two operas by Virgil Thomson: Four Saints in Three Acts (1934) and The Mother of Us All (1947).

Gertrude Stein died on July 27, 1946, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Though critical opinion is divided on Stein’s various writings, the imprint of her strong, witty personality survives, as does her influence on contemporary literature.

Author of books:
Three Lives (1909)
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933, memoirs)
Yes Is for a Very Young Man (1946)

Source: Gertrude Stein – Wikipedia

Source: Gertrude Stein – Art Collector, Publisher, Author, Poet, Journalist – Biography.com

Source: Understanding Steinese – The New Yorker

Source: Gertrude Stein

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 137th birthday of the French artist Fernand Léger. His developed style of painting is distinctively his own. I see a combination of Picasso and Rivera cubism and the linear Art Deco formality. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Fernand Léger
OCCUPATION: Painter
BIRTH DATE: February 4, 1881
DEATH DATE: August 17, 1955
EDUCATION: Paris School of Decorative Arts
PLACE OF BIRTH: Argentan, France
PLACE OF DEATH: Gif-sur-Yvette, France

BEST KNOWN FOR: French painter Fernand Léger created the abstract painting series “Contrast of Forms.” His work blended elements of Cubism with his own unique style, “tubism.”

Fernand Léger was born to a peasant family in the rural town of Argentan, France, on February 4, 1881. Léger’s father was a cattle dealer who hoped his son would follow in his footsteps and choose what he deemed a practical trade. Although Léger was initially discouraged from becoming an artist, his father became supportive once he recognized Léger’s gift for drawing.

With his father’s approval, Léger enrolled in architecture school and accepted an apprenticeship under an architect in Caen. In 1901, upon completion of his two-year internship, Léger moved to Paris, France, where he worked as an architectural draftsman.

Wishing to further pursue his art education, Léger applied to the prestigious École des Beux-Arts and was unfortunately rejected.In 1903 he stated attending the Paris School of Decorative Arts instead, while also being unofficially mentored by two École des Beux-Arts professors who recognized his potential. Up until this point, Léger’s painting style blended Impressionism with Fauvism. In 1907 he attended a retrospective of Paul Cézanne’s work. From then on, Léger’s work took on more elements of Cubism, but with his own unique style of slicing forms into tubular cylinders, casually referred to as “tubism.”

In 1913, he started a series of abstract paintings called “Contrast of Forms.” A year later, he put his art career on hold to serve in the French army during World War I. In 1916, he was gassed at Verdun. Having incurred a head injury, he was sent home and hospitalized until 1917.

After the war, Léger continued to paint but also tried his hand at other mediums, including book illustrations and set and costume designs for the theater. In 1924, Léger ventured to make his first film, Ballet Mécanique. That same year, he opened his own school of modern art.

As Léger’s work matured in the 1920s and ’30s, he increasingly incorporated elements of modernism—particularly representations of machinery and human figures expressing speed and movement. His notable paintings from this period include “The Mechanic,” “Mona Lisa with Keys,” “Adam and Eve,” and “Composition with Two Parrots,” among others.

With the arrival of World War II, in 1940, Léger temporarily relocated to America. During this time, he produced a series of paintings called “Divers,” noted for its unique use of large patches of color that overlapped outlines to portrayed stylized figures of swimmers diving off docks in Marseille. This series was followed by two others also portraying human figures in motion: “Acrobats” and “Cyclists.” In 1946, Léger went back to France, where he revitalized his art school and became active in the Communist Party. In the 1950s, Léger’s work focused on the theme of the common man, and further expanded to include tapestry, pottery, stained glass and mosaics.

Léger died on August 17, 1955, in Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

Source: Fernand Léger – Wikipedia

Source: Fernand Leger – 442 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures – WikiArt.org

Source: Fernand Léger – Painter – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 119th birthday of silent movie idol Ramon Novarro.  I first discovered him back in the early 90s through an article in Architectural Digest about his Lloyd Wright house on Los Feliz.  Gorgeous house, I could go on and on about it (and have).  Since that first article, I have read several biographies and done my best to watch the films of his that are available.  His story is fascinating.  The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: José Ramón Gil Samaniego
OCCUPATION: Silent Film Star
BIRTH DATE: February 6, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH: Durango, Mexico
DATE OF DEATH: October 30, 1968
PLACE OF DEATH: North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
REMAINS: Buried, Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
GOLDEN GLOBE 1960 Special Award
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6350 Hollywood Blvd.
HEIGHT: 5′ 6″

BEST KNOWN FOR: Jose Ramón Gil Samaniego, best known as Ramón Novarro, was a Mexican-American film, stage and television actor who began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box office attractions of the 1920s and early 1930s.

Navarro was born José Ramón Gil Samaniego on February 6, 1899 in Durango, Mexico to Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego. He moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, to escape the Mexican Revolution in 1913.

Allan Ellenberger, Novarro’s biographer, writes:

…the Samaniegos were an influential and well-respected family in Mexico. Many Samaniegos had prominent positions the affairs of state and were held in high esteem by the president. Ramon’s grandfather, Mariano Samaniego, was a well-known physician in Juarez. Known as a charitable and outgoing man, he was once an interim governor for the State of Chihuahua and was the first city councilman of El Paso, Texas…

Ramon’s father, Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego, was born in Juarez and attended high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After receiving his degree in dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to Durango, Mexico, and began a flourishing dental practice. In 1891 he married Leonor Gavilan, the beautiful daughter of a prosperous landowner. The Gavilans were a mixture of Spanish and Aztec blood, and according to local legend, they were descended from Guerrero, a prince of Montezuma.

The family estate was called the “Garden of Eden”. Thirteen children were born there: Emilio; Guadalupe; Rosa; Ramon; Leonor; Mariano; Luz; Antonio; a stillborn child; Carmen; Angel and Eduardo.

At the time of the revolution in Mexico the family moved from Durango to Mexico City and then back to Durango. Ramon’s three sisters, Guadalupe, Rosa, and Leonor became nuns.

A second cousin of the Mexican actresses Dolores del Río and Andrea Palma, he entered films in 1917 in bit parts; and he supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter. His friends, the actor and director Rex Ingram and his wife, the actress Alice Terry, began to promote him as a rival to Rudolph Valentino, and Ingram suggested he change his name to “Novarro.” From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in Scaramouche (1923) brought him his first major success.

In 1925, he achieved his greatest success in Ben-Hur, his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As with many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino’s death in 1926, Novarro became the screen’s leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM stablemate, John Gilbert, as a model lover. He was popular as a swashbuckler in action roles and was considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day. Novarro appeared with Norma Shearer in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) and with Joan Crawford in Across to Singapore (1928). He made his first talking film, starring as a singing French soldier, in Devil-May-Care (1929). He also starred with the French actress Renée Adorée in The Pagan (1929). Novarro starred with Greta Garbo in Mata Hari (1932) and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy in The Barbarian (1933).

When Novarro’s contract with MGM Studios expired in 1935, the studio did not renew it. He continued to act sporadically, appearing in films for Republic Pictures, a Mexican religious drama, and a French comedy. In the 1940s, he had several small roles in American films, including John Huston’s We Were Strangers (1949) starring Jennifer Jones and John Garfield. In 1958, he was considered for a role in a television series, The Green Peacock with Howard Duff and Ida Lupino after the demise of their CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve. The project, however, never materialized. A Broadway tryout was aborted in the 1960s; but Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in NBC’s The High Chaparral as late as 1968.

At the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was earning more than US$100,000 per film. He invested some of his income in real estate, and his Hollywood Hills residence is one of the more renowned designs (1927) by architect Lloyd Wright. After his career ended, he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Novarro had been troubled all his life as a result of his conflicting views over his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality, and his life-long struggle with alcoholism is often traced to these issues. MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer reportedly tried to coerce Novarro into a “lavender marriage”, which he refused. He was a friend of adventurer and author Richard Halliburton, also a celebrity in the closet, and was romantically involved with journalist Herbert Howe, who was also his publicist during the late 1920s.

Novarro was murdered on October 30, 1968, by two brothers, Paul and Tom Ferguson (aged 22 and 17, respectively), whom he had hired from an agency to come to his Laurel Canyon home for sex. According to the prosecution in the murder case, the two young men believed that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro’s house. The prosecution accused them of torturing Novarro for several hours to force him to reveal where the nonexistent money was hidden. They left with a mere 20 dollars that they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. Novarro allegedly died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. The two brothers were later caught and sentenced to long prison terms, but were quickly released on probation. Both were later rearrested for unrelated crimes, for which they served longer terms than for their murder conviction.

Ramón Novarro is buried in Calvary Cemetery, in Los Angeles. Ramón Novarro’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard

Novarro’s murder served as the influence for the short story by Charles Bukowski, The Murder of Ramon Vasquez, and the song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, “Tango,” recorded by Peggy Lee on her Mirrors album.

In late 2005, the Wings Theatre in New York City staged the world premiere of Through a Naked Lens by George Barthel. The play combined fact and fiction to depict Novarro’s rise to fame and a relationship with Hollywood journalist Herbert Howe.

Novarro’s relationship with Herbert Howe is discussed in two biographies: Allan R. Ellenberger’s Ramón Novarro and André Soares’s Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramón Novarro. A recounting of Novarro’s murder can be found in Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Heller in Pink Tights (29-Feb-1960)
Crisis (7-Jul-1950) · Col. Adragon
The Outriders (1-Mar-1950) · Don Antonio Chaves
The Big Steal (9-Jul-1949) · Inspector General Ortega
We Were Strangers (27-Apr-1949) · Chief
Laughing Boy (13-Apr-1934) · Laughing Boy
The Cat and the Fiddle (16-Feb-1934) · Victor Florescu
The Barbarian (12-May-1933) · Jamil
The Son-Daughter (23-Dec-1932)
Huddle (14-May-1932) · Tony
Mata Hari (26-Dec-1931) · Lt. Alexis Rosanoff
Son of India (1-Aug-1931) · Karim
Daybreak (2-May-1931) · Willi
Call of the Flesh (16-Aug-1930)
In Gay Madrid (17-May-1930) · Ricardo
The Pagan (27-Apr-1929) · Henry Shoesmith, Jr.
The Flying Fleet (19-Jan-1929) · Tommy Winslow
Across to Singapore (7-Apr-1928) · Joel Shore
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (21-Sep-1927) · Prince Karl Heinrich
Ben-Hur (30-Dec-1925)
The Red Lily (8-Sep-1924)
The Arab (13-Jul-1924)
Scaramouche (15-Sep-1923)
The Prisoner of Zenda (11-Sep-1922) · Rupert of Hentzau

Source: A star is killed: Hollywood’s deadly secret – latimes

Source: Ramon Novarro – Wikipedia

Source: Ramon Novarro

Source: Ramon Novarro

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 128th birthday of the Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner Boris Pasternak.  It is always with a tinge of embarrassment when you say you first learned of a very important writer through a dramatized version of his work, but whatever road gets you there is fine, as long as you get there.  I mean, have you seen Dr. Zhivago?  It is so sweepingly epic and cold.  I always feel so cold when I watch it.  Boris’ story is beautiful and should be a lesson to us to not not do the things we love because there is no excuse.  Sure, it is hard to carve out the time to do things sometimes, but we can always find a little time.  Boris had the Soviet Government’s opposition to his work.  There’s your perspective.  The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Boris Pasternak
OCCUPATION: Author, Poet
BIRTH DATE: February 10, 1890
DEATH DATE: May 30, 1960
EDUCATION: Moscow University, University of Marburg
PLACE OF BIRTH: Moscow, Russia
PLACE OF DEATH: Peredelkino, Russia
Full Name: Boris Leonidovich Pasternak
REMAINS: Buried, Pasternak Home, Peredelkino, Russia
NOBEL PRIZE for Literature 1958

Best Known For:  Boris Pasternak was a Russian novelist and poet who wrote the epic Dr. Zhivago.

Boris Pasternak was born in Moscow to a cultured Jewish family. His father Leonid was a professor at the Moscow School of Painting and an illustrator of Tolstoy’s works. His mother, Rosa Kaufman, was an acclaimed concert pianist. His parents received frequent visits from prominent Moscow writers, artists, and intellectuals, including composers Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, poet and playwright Alexander Blok, writer Andrei Bely, and poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whose writing would greatly influence Pasternak.

While he drew well, Pasternak’s first love was botany and his second, music. Inspired by Scriabin, Pasternak studied composition for six years, from which three of his finished piano pieces have survived. Pasternak entered the Moscow Conservatory, but dropped out in 1910 because he lacked confidence in his technical skill. He entered the Law Faculty at Moscow University and later studied philosophy at Marburg University in Germany. Ultimately he gave up his academic career, returning to Russia in 1913 to pursue his poetry. He would not find success for another ten years.

Unable to serve in the army because of a fall from a horse that left him with one leg shorter than the other, Pasternak spent World War I working as a clerk at a chemical works to the far east of Moscow. Pasternak’s poetic debut was Twin in the Stormclouds (1913), published by Lirika, a cooperative publishing enterprise he formed with a group of seven fellow poets. When Lirikia disbanded, Pasternak briefly joined the Futurist group Tsentrifuga, which jettisoned tradition in favor of innovation in style and subject with poets Sergei Bobrov and Vladimir Mayakovsky. Though influenced by topical urban, symbolist, and futurist elements, Pasternak’s early poetry was distinguished by its alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and use of metaphor.

He wrote two books in 1917, My Sister Life and Themes and Variations.The Bolshevik Revolution and World War I would delay their appearance for five years, during which he translated plays by Heinrich von Kleist and Ben Johnson and poems by the German expressionists. When it was finally published in 1922, My Sister Life secured his place among the leading writers of the time. Its lush imagery and idiomatic language contrasted with its disciplined quatrain form. That same year Pasternak married Art Institute student Evgeniya Lurye and brought her to Berlin to stay with his family, who would relocate there permanently. This was the last time Pasternak would ever see them, as his repeated applications for permission to visit were denied. In 1923, the couple began their own family with a son, Evgenii. Pasternak finally publishedThemes and Variations that same year.

Although Pasternak initially welcomed the Bolshevik Revolution, the brutality of new government came to horrify him, a reversal acknowledged in his collection Aerial Ways (1924), which showed his growing disregard of politics as a primary human and artistic concern. Vladimir Lenin‘s new Soviet government maintained that art should motivate political change while Pasternak insisted that art focus on eternal truths rather than historical or societal concerns. For his stance, he became a silent hero among Russian intellectuals. Living in an overcrowded communal flat in Moscow, he continued to write short poems,  came to believe that poets and artists had no assured place in society and could only live as outsiders. During the 1920s his poetry turned from the lyric to narrative and epic forms, addressing the 1905 Russian Revolution in Sublime Malady (1924), Lieutenant Schmidt(1927), and The Year 1905 (1927).

In 1924 Lenin died and the struggle for succession ensued. In 1928, Stalin emerged victorious; Trotsky was driven into exile and one by one Stalin’s other rivals were eliminated. While the most sweeping changes in Russia occurred in agriculture, which was collectivized, a clampdown occurred in all fields, including that of literature. By 1932, the doctrine of Socialist Realism, the principle that the arts should glorify the ideals of Communism, was established. Independent artistic groups were disbanded in 1932 and the new Union of Soviet Writers assumed control of literary affairs, imposing adherence to socialist realism.

Pasternak’s first foray into prose, Spektorsky (1931), showed scenes from the life of a young poet, who shared the author’s own historical passivity and fatalism in the face of the Revolution. While many writers and artists became despondent and felt the temptation to commit suicide, Pasternak believed that poets must continue working when art and even spiritualism were no longer secure. He expressed this theory through the metaphor of “second birth,” the title of his 1932 poetry collection. Pasternak has been criticized for self-centeredness, a sentiment embodied in the popular saying, “Everything changes under our zodiac, only Pasternak remains Pasternak.” While he was not oblivious to the terror going on around him, he was resistant to its impact on his work, hoping to create something transcendent.

The love poems in Second Birth also addressed a change in Pasternak’s personal life: he had fallen for Zinaida Neigauz, wife of composer Genrikh Neigauz. He would eventually leave Evgeniya and take Zinaida as his second wife. While these poems expressed a newfound optimism and reconciliation of lyrical and social elements, his artistic rebirth was short-lived. Second Birth and his autobiography Safe Conduct (1931) were Pasternak’s last original works before the state forbade him to publish, considering his work contrary to the aims of Communism. Pasternak resorted to translation as a safer livelihood, taking on classic works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rilke, William Shakespeare, and Paul Verlaine. Both successful and well compensated, he was able to buy a house in a writers’ village just outside Moscow in 1936. It would be his principal home for the rest of his life. In the late 1940s he also translated the major tragedies of Shakespeare, and these remain the standard versions used in Russia.

During World War II, as Hitler’s troops marched into Russia, Pasternak published two new poetry collections, On Early (1942) and The Terrestrial Expanse (1945). In 1945 Zinaida’s son, Adrian, died, a loss that left her bereft and joyless. The following year Pasternak fell in love with Olga Ivinskaya, who from then on was Pasternak’s de facto wife, though he still shared a home with Zinaida. Olga inspired his later love poems and served as a prototype for Lara in Doctor Zhivago.

Pasternak was one of the rare poets to be popular during his lifetime. If he forgot a line in one of his poems during a reading, the crowd would assist him. During the war, letters he received from the front line reminded him of the reach that his voice had. He did not want to lose this contact with the masses so Pasternak began a large novel that glorified freedom, independence, and a return to Christian religion that would become Dr. Zhivago. Basing the story on his own experience of wartime and revolution, Pasternak employed Yuri Zhivago as mouthpiece for his own philosophical and artistic beliefs. He presented Zhivago’s inability to influence his own fate not as a fault, but as a sign that he was destined to become an artistic witness to the tragedy of his age. The author closely identified Zhivago’s predicament with that of the suffering Christ.

The government’s postwar ideological clampdown forced Pasternak to labor on the manuscript in secret. Rejected in Russia, Doctor Zhivagowas smuggled west in 1957 and published first in Italian and then in English in 1958. The epic novel about the life and loves of physician and poet Yuri Zhivago during the political upheavals of 20th-century Russia was acclaimed as a successful combination of lyrical, descriptive, and epic dramatic styles. The book, which concludes with a cycle of Zhivago’s poetry, was translated into 18 languages. In October 1958, Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, “for his important achievement both in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition.” Russian authorities, unhappy with his harsh depiction of life under Communism, forced him to decline the Nobel Prize and ejected him from the Union of Soviet Writers. While he was not sent into exile or arrested, all publication of his translations came to a halt and he fell into poverty. He wrote his last complete book,When the Weather Clears, in 1959. That summer, he began The Blind Beauty, a play about an enslaved artist during the period of serfdom in Russia, but fell ill with lung cancer before he could complete it. Pasternak took to his bed in his home at Peredelkino, where he succumbed the evening of May 30, 1960. Upon hearing of his death, many thousands of people traveled from Moscow to his funeral. For the Russian people, he remains a symbol of resistance in the face of terror and oppression.

In 1988, the Union of Soviet Writers posthumously reinstated Pasternak, making the publication of Doctor Zhivago in the Soviet Union finally possible. Pasternak’s son, Evgenii, accepted the Nobel Prize medal on his father’s behalf at a ceremony in Stockholm in 1989.

Source: Boris Pasternak – Wikipedia

Source: Boris Pasternak – Biographical

Source: Boris Pasternak – Author, Poet – Biography.com

Source: Boris Pasternak

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 137th birthday of the prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. She elevated the art of dance to celebrity status. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Anna Pavlova
OCCUPATION: Ballet Dancer, Choreographer
BIRTH DATE: February 12, 1881
DEATH DATE: January 23, 1931
EDUCATION: Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre
PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Petersburg, Russia
PLACE OF DEATH: The Hague, Netherlands
FULL NAME: Anna Pavlovna Pavlova
REMAINS: Cremated, Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow, Russia

BEST KNOWN FOR:  Anna Pavlova was a famous Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The company she founded in 1911 was the first to tour ballet around the world.

Ballerina Anna Pavlova was born Anna Matveyevna Pavlovna Pavlova on February 12, 1881–a cold and snowy winter’s day–in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her mother, Lyubov Feodorovna was a washerwoman. Her stepfather, Matvey Pavlov, was a reserve soldier. The identity of Anna Pavlova’s biological father is unknown, though some speculate that her mother had an affair with a banker named Lazar Poliakoff. As a child, Anna preferred to believe she was a product of an earlier marriage. She told people her mother had once been married to a man named Pavel, who died when Anna was just a toddler. Yet this Pavel remains something of a mystery to historians and biographers.

From early on, Anna’s active imagination and love of fantasy drew her to the world of ballet. Looking back on her childhood, Anna Pavlova described her budding passion for ballet accordingly: “I always wanted to dance; from my youngest years…Thus I built castles in the air out of my hopes and dreams.”

Although they were poor, Anna and her mother were able to see a performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg when Anna was 8 years old. Captivated by what she saw, the wide-eyed little girl declared she was resolved to become a ballet dancer. Anna’s mother enthusiastically supported her pursuit. Within just two years, Anna was accepted at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, after passing the entry exam with flying colors. The school was directed by famed ballet master Marius Petipa.

At the Imperial Ballet School, Petipa and Anna’s teachers, Ekaterina Vazem and Pavel Gerdt, quickly recognized her extraordinary gift. A dedicated and ambitious student, Anna knew a successful ballet career would require a lot more than just talent. Her natural gift for dance, combined with her tireless work ethic, is here summarized in her own words: “No one can arrive from being talented alone. God gives talent, work transforms talent into genius.” In 1899 Anna graduated the St. Petersburg Imperial Dance School at the age of 18–gracefully leaping from school to stage in her hard-earned transformation from ballet student to prima ballerina in the making.

Because Anna graduated as a coryphée, she was able to skip right over dancing in a corps de ballet. In other words, she bypassed the usual initiation rite of dancing in large groups, and was permitted to dance in smaller groups right away. Fresh out of dance school, on September 19, 1899, the gifted young ballerina made her company debut, dancing in a group of three in La Fille Mal Gardée.   The performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg–the same theater where, as a child, Anna Pavlova had first decided to become a dancer.

Pavlova’s career soon blossomed. With every performance, she gained increasing critical acclaim and subsequent fame. But it was in 1905 that Anna Pavlova made her breakthrough performance, when she danced the lead solo in choreographer Michael Fokine‘s The Dying Swan,  with music by Camille Saint-Saëns. With her delicate movements and intense facial expressions, Anna managed to convey to the audience the play’s complex message about the fragility and preciousness of life. The Dying Swan was to become Anna Pavlova’s signature role.

Anna continued to rise quickly through the ranks. By 1906 she had already successfully danced the difficult part of Giselle. Just seven years into her ballet career, Anna was promoted to prima ballerina.

Accompanied by a handful of other dancers, in 1907, Anna took leave on her first tour abroad. The tour stopped at capital cities throughout Europe–including Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague, among others. In response to the critical acclaim her performances received, Anna signed up for a second tour in 1908.

In 1909, after having completed her second tour, Anna was invited to join Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe on its historic tour, during the opening season in Paris. Anna’s fellow dancers in the company included the likes of Laurent Novikoff, Thadee Slavinsky, Olga Spessivtzeva, Anatole Vilz and Alexander Volinine. While touring, the Ballet Russe frequently visited Australia, and there played an instrumental role in Russian ballet’s influence on the future of Australian dance. During 1910, Anna toured the United Kingdom and the United States. When she wasn’t dancing solo, her more notable dance partners included Laurent Novikoff and Pierre Vladimirov.

In 1911 Anna Pavlova took a major step in her career–by forming her own ballet company. In so doing, Anna was able to retain complete creative control over performances and even choreograph her own roles. Anna put her husband, Victor Dandré, in charge of organizing her independent tours. For the final two decades of her ballet career, she toured with her company all over the world, as little girls watched in awe and were inspired to become dancers, the same way Anna had been at the Mariinsky Theatre all those years ago.

In 1930, when Anna was 50 years old, her 30-year dance career had come to physically wear on her. She decided to take a Christmas vacation after wrapping up a particularly arduous tour in England. At the end of her vacation, she boarded a train back to The Hague, where she planned to resume dancing. On its way from Cannes to Paris, the train was in an accident. Anna was unharmed in the accident, but she was left waiting out the delay for 12 hours on the platform. It was a snowy evening, and Anna was only wearing only a thin jacket and flimsy silk pajamas. Once in Holland, within days of the accident, she developed double pneumonia. Her illness quickly worsened. On her deathbed, Anna, passionate about dance until her final breath, asked to see her swan costume one last time. She died in The Hague, Netherlands, in the wee hours of the morning, on January 23, 1931. Her ashes were interred at Golders Green Cemetery, near the Ivy House where she had lived with her manager and husband, Victor Dandré, in London,  England.

Anna Pavlova was one of the most celebrated and influential ballet dancers of her time. Her passion and grace are captured in striking photographic portraits. Her legacy lives on through dance schools, societies and companies established in her honor, and perhaps most powerfully, in the future generations of dancers she inspired.

Source: Anna Pavlova – Wikipedia

Source: Anna Pavlova – Ballet Dancer, Choreographer – Biography.com

Source: Anna Pavlova

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 103rd birthday of the prolific Hollywood actress Ann Sheridan. Her’s is the classic Hollywood story, right down to her final resting place. Do yourself a favor and watch one of her films from the 30s and think about a time before television and how everyone went to movie houses. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Ann Sheridan
BIRTHDATE: February 21, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH: Denton, TX
HEIGHT: 5′ 5″
DATE OF DEATH: January 21, 1967
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, CA
REMAINS: Cremated, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, CA
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 7024 Hollywood Blvd.

BEST KNOWN FOR: American actress. She worked regularly from 1934 to her death in 1967, first in film and later in television. Notable roles include Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), Kings Row (1942), Nora Prentiss (1947) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949).

Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, Sheridan was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a Paramount film. She abandoned college to pursue a career in Hollywood.

She made her film debut in 1934, aged 19, in the film Search for Beauty, and played uncredited bit parts in Paramount films for the next two years. Paramount made little effort to develop Sheridan’s talent, so she left, signing a contract with Warner Bros. in 1936, and changing her name to Ann Sheridan.

Sheridan’s career prospects began to improve. She received as many as 250 marriage proposals from fans in a single week. Tagged “The Oomph Girl”—a sobriquet which she reportedly loathed – Sheridan was a popular pin-up girl in the early 1940s.

She was the heroine of a novel, Ann Sheridan and the Sign of the Sphinx, written by Kathryn Heisenfelt, published by Whitman Publishing Company in 1943. While the heroine of the story was identified as a famous actress, the stories were entirely fictitious. The story was probably written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of Nancy Drew. It is part of a series known as “Whitman Authorized Editions”, 16 books published between 1941 and 1947 that always featured a film actress as heroine.

She received substantial roles and positive reaction from critics and moviegoers in such films as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), opposite James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, Dodge City (1939) with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, Torrid Zone with Cagney and They Drive by Night with George Raft and Bogart (both 1940), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) with Bette Davis, and Kings Row (1942), in which she received top billing playing opposite Ronald Reagan, Robert Cummings, and Betty Field.

She also appeared in such musicals as It All Came True (1940) and Navy Blues (1941). She was also memorable in two of her biggest hits, Nora Prentiss and The Unfaithful, both in 1947.

Despite these successes, her career began to decline. Her role in I Was a Male War Bride (1949), directed by Howard Hawks and costarring Cary Grant, gave her another success, but by the 1950s she was struggling to find work and her film roles were sporadic. In 1950, she appeared on the ABC musical television series Stop the Music. In 1962, she played the lead in “The Mavis Grant Story” on the Western series Wagon Train. In the middle 1960s, Sheridan appeared on the NBC soap opera Another World. She also had a TV series of her own in the mid-1960s, a comedy Western entitled Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats. This was shortly before her death.

For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Ann Sheridan has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 7024 Hollywood Boulevard.

Sheridan married three times, including a marriage lasting one year to fellow Warner Brothers star George Brent, who co-starred with her in Honeymoon for Three (1941).

In 1966, Sheridan began starring in a new TV series, a Western themed comedy called Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats. She became ill during the filming, and died of esophageal and liver cancer at age 51 on January 21, 1967, in Los Angeles, California, a month before her 52nd birthday. She was cremated, and her ashes were stored at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles until her remains were interred in a niche in the Chapel Columbarium at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2005.

TELEVISION
Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats Henrietta Hanks (1966-67)
Another World Kathryn Corning (1965-66)

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Opposite Sex (26-Oct-1956) · Amanda
Come Next Spring (9-Mar-1956) · Bess Ballot
Appointment in Honduras (16-Oct-1953) · Sylvia Sheppard
Take Me to Town (19-Jun-1953)
Woman on the Run (29-Nov-1950)
Stella (20-Jul-1950)
I Was a Male War Bride (11-Aug-1949) · Lt. Catherine Gates
Good Sam (1-Sep-1948) · Lu Clayton
Silver River (18-May-1948) · Georgia Moore
The Unfaithful (5-Jun-1947) · Chris Hunter
Nora Prentiss (21-Feb-1947) · Nora Prentiss
One More Tomorrow (1-Jun-1946) · Christie Sage
The Doughgirls (30-Aug-1944) · Edna Stokes
Shine on Harvest Moon (10-Mar-1944) · Nora Bayes
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1-Oct-1943) · Herself
Edge of Darkness (23-Mar-1943)
George Washington Slept Here (28-Nov-1942) · Connie Fuller
Wings for the Eagle (18-Jul-1942) · Roma Maple
Juke Girl (30-May-1942)
Kings Row (2-Feb-1942) · Randy Monaghan
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1-Jan-1942) · Lorraine Sheldon
Navy Blues (13-Sep-1941)
Honeymoon for Three (18-Jan-1941) · Anne Rogers
City for Conquest (21-Sep-1940) · Peggy Nash
They Drive by Night (27-Jul-1940) · Cassie Hartley
Torrid Zone (18-May-1940) · Lee Donley
It All Came True (6-Apr-1940) · Sarah Jane Ryan
Castle on the Hudson (17-Feb-1940) · Kay
The Angels Wash Their Faces (26-Aug-1939) · Joy Ryan
Winter Carnival (28-Jul-1939)
Indianapolis Speedway (14-Jul-1939) · Frankie Merrick
Naughty But Nice (23-Jun-1939)
Dodge City (1-Apr-1939) · Ruby Gilman
They Made Me a Criminal (21-Jan-1939) · Goldie
Angels with Dirty Faces (24-Nov-1938)
Letter of Introduction (5-Aug-1938)
Cowboy from Brooklyn (9-Jul-1938) · Maxine Chadwick
The Patient in Room 18 (8-Jan-1938)
She Loved a Fireman (18-Dec-1937) · Margie Shannon
Wine, Women and Horses (11-Sep-1937)
San Quentin (3-Aug-1937)
The Great O’Malley (13-Feb-1937) · Judy Nolan
Black Legion (30-Jan-1937) · Betty Grogan
The Glass Key (15-Jun-1935)
Rocky Mountain Mystery (1-Mar-1935)
Car 99 (23-Feb-1935)
Enter Madame (4-Jan-1935)
Ladies Should Listen (10-Aug-1934)
Kiss and Make-Up (13-Jul-1934)

Source: Ann Sheridan – Wikipedia

Source: Ann Sheridan (1915 – 1967) – Find A Grave Memorial

Source: Ann Sheridan

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 91st birthday of the fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy.  His continuously classic modern style cannot be copied and his longevity is unmatched.  The world is lucky that he is still in it.

NAME: Hubert de Givenchy
OCCUPATION: Fashion Designer
BIRTH DATE: February 21, 1927
DID YOU KNOW?: Hubert de Givenchy designed Audrey Hepburn‘s costumes for several films, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
EDUCATION: École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Beauvais, France
FULL NAME: Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy
AKA: Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy

BEST KNOWN FOR: French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy is known for his elegant haute couture designs and professional relationships with clients like Audrey Hepburn.

Hubert de Givenchy Marcel Taffin de Givenchy was born on February 21, 1927, in the city of Beauvais in northern France. His parents, Lucien and Béatrice (née Badin) Taffin de Givenchy, gave him and his brother, Jean-Claude, an aristocratic heritage. After Lucien Taffin de Givenchy died in 1930, Givenchy was raised by his mother and his maternal grandmother.

In 1944, Hubert de Givenchy moved to Paris, where he studied art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Though he briefly considered a career in law, he decided to enter the world of fashion and, at the age of 17, began an apprenticeship with designer Jacques Fath. After his time with Fath, Givenchy worked for several famous French couture houses in the 1940s: Lucien Lelong, Robert Piquet and Elsa Schiaparelli.

Givenchy opened his own design house in 1952. His debut collection was a hit. It featured separates such as long skirts and tailored blouses, including the “Bettina blouse,” named after model Bettina Graziani. In his following collections, he also designed elegant evening gowns, feminine hats and tailored suits, and the Givenchy name became synonymous with Parisian chic.

In 1953, Givenchy met Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, whom he greatly admired. In 1957, the two designers teamed up to introduce a new silhouette called the “sack,” a loose form without any waistline.

By the 1960s, Givenchy, setting new trends and embracing certain aspects of youth culture, had begun to favor shorter hemlines and straighter silhouettes in his designs.

Givenchy designed for many celebrity clients, but his best-known client (who became a close personal friend) was Audrey Hepburn. Givenchy and Hepburn met in 1953, when she was just a rising star; he designed her costumes for Sabrina (1954) and helped to define her classic, gamine style. Over the following decade, he designed her costumes for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Charade (1963), Paris When It Sizzles (1964) and How to Steal a Million (1966). The Givenchy brand also released a fragrance inspired by Hepburn called L’Interdit.

Among the other well-known women of style dressed by Givenchy were U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who wore a Givenchy gown during an official visit to Paris in 1961; Princess Grace of Monaco; Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor; and socialite Babe Paley.

After selling his business to the luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey in 1988, Givenchy designed for seven more years, retiring and presenting his final collection in 1995. He was succeeded as head designer by enfant terrible John Galliano.

Designers to later serve as head designer at Givenchy include Alexander McQueen and Riccardo Tisci.

Givenchy lives in retirement at a country estate called Le Jonchet in the French countryside. His work has been shown in retrospective exhibitions at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the Musée Galliera in Paris, and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1996.

Source: Hubert de Givenchy – Wikipedia

Source: Hubert de Givenchy – Fashion Designer – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 86th  birthday of Elizabeth Taylor.  Everything has already been said and everything should be said about Elizabeth Taylor.  Pick one of her films and watch it and re-fall in love with her.  I can’t even decide which one it should be.  Cat? Place? BUtterfield? Suddenly? Giant? Just watch one.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Elizabeth Taylor
OCCUPATION: Film Actress
BIRTH DATE: February 27, 1932
DEATH DATE: March 23, 2011
PLACE OF BIRTH: London, England
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
NICKNAME: Liz Taylor
FULL NAME: Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE
REMAINS: Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, CA
OSCAR for Best Actress 1961 for Butterfield 8
OSCAR for Best Actress 1967 for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
GOLDEN GLOBE 1960 for Suddenly, Last Summer
GOLCEN GLOBE 1974 World Film Favorite, Female
AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 1993
DAME OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 2000
KENNEDY CENTER HONOR 2002
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6336 Hollywood Blvd.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Actress Elizabeth Taylor starred in films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butterfield 8, but was just as famous for her violet eyes and scandalous love life.

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on February 27, 1932, in London, England. One of film’s most celebrated stars, Elizabeth Taylor has fashioned a career that’s covered more than six decades, accepting roles that have not only showcased her beauty, but her ability to take on emotionally charged characters.

Taylor’s American parents, both art dealers, were residing in London when she was born. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Taylors returned to the United States and settled into their new life in Los Angeles.

“One problem with people who have no vices is that they’re pretty sure to have some annoying virtues.” – Elizabeth Taylor

Performance was in Taylor’s blood. Her mother had worked as an actress until she married. At the age of 3, the young Taylor started dancing, and eventually gave a recital for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Not long after relocating to California a family friend suggested the Taylors’ daughter take a screen test.

She soon signed a contract with Universal Studios, and made her screen debut at the age of 10 in There’s One Born Every Minute (1942). She followed that up with a bigger role in Lassie Come Home (1943) and later The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

Her breakout role, however, came in 1944 with National Velvet, in a role Elizabeth Taylor spent four months working to get. The film subsequently turned out to be a huge hit that pulled in more than $4 million and made the 12-year-old actress a huge star.

In the glare of the Hollywood spotlight, the young actress showed she was more than adept at handling celebrity’s tricky terrain. Even more impressive was the fact that, unlike so many child stars before and after her, Taylor proved she could make a seamless transition to more adult roles.

“It would be glamorous to be reincarnated as a great big ring on Liz Taylor’s finger.” – Andy Warhol

Her stunning looks helped. At just 18 she played opposite Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride (1950). Taylor also showed her acting talents in 1954 with three films: The Last Time I Saw Paris, Rhapsody, and Elephant Walk, the latter of which saw Taylor take on the role of a plantation owner’s wife who is in love with the farm’s manager.

Her personal life only boosted the success of her films. For a time she dated millionaire Howard Hughes, then at the age of 17, Elizabeth Taylor made her first entrance into marriage, when she wed hotel heir, Nicky Hilton.

The union didn’t last long and, in 1952, Taylor was walking down the aisle again—this time to marry actor Michael Welding. In all, Taylor has married eight times during life, including twice to actor Richard Burton.

While her love life continued to make international headlines, Taylor continued to shine showed as an actress.

She delivered a riveting performance in the drama A Place in the Sun, and turned things up even more in 1956 with the film adaptation of the Edna Ferber novel, Giant that co-starred James Dean. Two years later, she sizzled on the big screen in the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The following year, she starred in another Williams classic, Suddenly Last Summer. Taylor earned her first Oscar, capturing the coveted Best Actress award for her role as call girl in BUtterfield 8 (1960).

But Taylor’s fame was also touched by tragedy and loss. In 1958, she became a young widow when her husband, pioneering film producer Mike Todd, was killed in a plane crash. After his death, Taylor became embroiled in one of the greatest Hollywood love scandals of the era when she began an affair with Todd’s close friend, Eddie Fisher. Fisher divorced Debbie Reynolds and married Taylor in 1959. The couple stayed married for five years until she left Fisher for actor Richard Burton.

The public’s obsession with Taylor’s love life hit new heights with her 1964 marriage to Richard Burton. She’d met and fallen in love with the actor during her work on Cleopatra (1963), a film that not only heightened Taylor’s clout and fame, but also proved to be a staggering investment, clocking in at an unprecedented $37 million to make.

The Taylor-Burton union was a fiery and passionate one. They appeared onscreen together in the much-panned The V.I.P.’s (1963), and then again two years later for the heralded Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a film that earned Taylor her second Oscar for her role as an overweight, angry wife of an alcoholic professor, played by Burton.

The subsequent years proved to be an up-and-down affair for Taylor. There were more marriages, more divorces, health obstacles, and a struggling film career, with movies that gained little traction with critics or the movie-going public.

Still, Taylor continued to act. She found work on television, even making a guest appearance on General Hospital, and on stage. She also began focusing more attention on philanthropy. After her close friend Rock Hudson died in 1985 following his battle with HIV/AIDS, the actress started work to find a cure for the disease. In 1991 she launched the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation in order to offer greater support for those who are sick, as well fund research for more advanced treatments.

Largely retired from the world of acting, Taylor received numerous awards for her body of work. In 1993 she received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award. In 2000 she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Taylor overcame a litany of health problems throughout the 90s, from diabetes to congestive heart failure. She had both hips replaced, and in 1997 had a brain tumor removed. In October 2009, Taylor, who has four children, underwent successful heart surgery. In early 2011, Taylor again experienced heart problems.

She was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in that February for congestive heart failure. On March 23, 2011, Taylor passed away from the condition.

Shortly after her death, her son Michael Wilding released a statement, saying “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love … We will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
These Old Broads (12-Feb-2001)
The Flintstones (27-May-1994) · Pearl Slaghoople
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (20-Apr-1992) · Herself
Sweet Bird of Youth (1-Oct-1989)
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) · Herself
Young Toscanini (5-Sep-1988)
North and South (3-Nov-1985)
Malice in Wonderland (12-May-1985)
Between Friends (11-Sep-1983)
Genocide (14-Mar-1982) · Narrator [VOICE]
The Mirror Crack’d (19-Dec-1980)
A Little Night Music (Sep-1977)
Victory at Entebbe (13-Dec-1976)
The Blue Bird (5-Apr-1976)
That’s Entertainment! (23-May-1974) · Herself
The Driver’s Seat (20-May-1974)
Ash Wednesday (1-Nov-1973)
Night Watch (10-Aug-1973)
Hammersmith Is Out (12-May-1972)
Under Milk Wood (27-Jan-1972)
Zee and Co. (21-Jan-1972) · Zee Blakeley
The Only Game in Town (21-Jan-1970) · Fran Walker
Secret Ceremony (23-Oct-1968) · Leonora
Boom (26-May-1968) · Flora Goforth
The Comedians (31-Oct-1967) · Martha Pineda
Reflections in a Golden Eye (11-Oct-1967) · Leonora Penderton
Doctor Faustus (10-Oct-1967)
The Taming of the Shrew (27-Feb-1967) · Katharina
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (21-Jun-1966) · Martha
The Sandpiper (23-Jun-1965) · Laura Reynolds
The V.I.P.’s (1-Sep-1963) · Frances Andros
Cleopatra (12-Jun-1963) · Cleopatra
Butterfield 8 (4-Nov-1960) · Gloria Wandrous
Suddenly, Last Summer (22-Dec-1959) · Catherine Holly
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (18-Sep-1958) · Maggie Pollitt
Raintree County (4-Oct-1957) · Susannah Drake
Giant (10-Oct-1956) · Leslie Benedict
The Last Time I Saw Paris (18-Nov-1954) · Helen Ellswirth
Beau Brummell (1-Oct-1954)
Elephant Walk (21-Apr-1954) · Ruth Wiley
Rhapsody (11-Mar-1954) · Louise Durant
The Girl Who Had Everything (27-Mar-1953) · Jean Latimer
Ivanhoe (31-Jul-1952) · Rebecca
Love Is Better Than Ever (23-Feb-1952) · Anastacia Macaboy
A Place in the Sun (28-Aug-1951) · Angela Vickers
Father’s Little Dividend (12-Apr-1951) · Kay Dunstan
Father of the Bride (16-Jun-1950) · Kay Banks
The Big Hangover (26-May-1950)
Conspirator (9-Dec-1949) · Melinda Greyton
Little Women (10-Mar-1949) · Amy
Julia Misbehaves (8-Aug-1948) · Susan Packett
A Date with Judy (21-Jun-1948)
Cynthia (29-Aug-1947) · Cynthia Bishop
Life with Father (15-Aug-1947) · Mary
Courage of Lassie (8-Nov-1946) · Kathie Merrick
National Velvet (14-Dec-1944) · Velvet Brown
Lassie Come Home (10-Oct-1943) · Priscilla
There’s One Born Every Minute (26-Jun-1942)

Source: Elizabeth Taylor

Source: Elizabeth Taylor – Wikipedia

Source: Elizabeth Taylor – Actress, Film Actor/Film Actress, Film Actress – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 107th birthday of the original blonde bombshell:  Jean Harlow.  It is amazing to think that someone can die at 26 over 70 years ago and the world can still adore her.  Watch a few of her films and the biopic Harlow with Caroll Baker, you will become a lifelong fan.  Some people just have IT, although IT never gets any better defined than that.  Just something that draws us moths to their flame, something that we see, admire, perhaps even aspire to, but IT is something that attracts us on a biological level.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she left.

NAME: Jean Harlow
OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Pin-up
BIRTH DATE: March 03, 1911
DEATH DATE: June 07, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kansas City, Missouri
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
ORIGINALLY: Harlean Carpenter
HEIGHT: 5′ 1″
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6910 Hollywood Blvd (motion pictures)
REMAINS: Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, CA

BEST KNOWN FOR: Jean Harlow was an American actress who proved herself a platinum-blonde sex-symbol and able comedian in 1930s Hollywood.

Harlean Harlow Carpenter was born on March 3, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri. She moved with her mother, Jean Harlow, to Los Angeles after her parents separated, and was educated at Ferry Hall School in Highland Park, Illinois and the Hollywood School for Girls.

Harlow endured bouts with polio, meningitis and scarlet fever as a child. She eloped with a young bond broker named Charles McGrew at age 16, though their marriage ended when she decided to pursue an acting career.

Adopting her mother’s maiden name for her films, Harlow captured the public’s attention when she flashed her legs in the 1929 Laurel and Hardy comedy Double Whoopee. She also made her sound debut that year in The Saturday Night Kid, but her breakout performance came the following year in Howard Hughes’s update of Hell’s Angels, where she delivered her famously suggestive line, “Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?”

Harlow appeared in six films in 1931, including The Public Enemy and Platinum Blonde. Hollywood’s original blonde bombshell, her rise was fueled by her sexual allure, but she soon proved an actress of substance. Harlow’s role in the 1932 film Red-Headed Woman put her comedic abilities on display and established her as a bona fide star. She was also featured that year in Red Dust, one of several acclaimed pairings with Clark Gable, and in the following year’s hits Dinner at Eight, Hold Your Man, and Bombshell.

Men like me because I don’t wear a brassiere. Women like me because I don’t look like a girl who would steal a husband. At least not for long.

Despite her perceived charmed life as a leading lady, Harlow’s personal life was anything but glamorous. Her second husband, an MGM executive named Paul Bern, died in an apparent suicide at their home in 1932, and a third marriage, to cinematographer Harold Rosson, lasted less than a year.

Harlow got engaged to fellow MGM actor William Powell, her co-star in Reckless (1935) and Libeled Lady (1936), but her still-ascendant career was complicated by declining health. After years of undergoing weekly treatment with toxic chemicals to maintain her famous platinum-blonde locks, she wore a wig to mask her hair loss in the 1935 film China Seas. The following year, she was stricken with a throat infection and influenza.

While on the set of Saratoga in 1937, Harlow was bedridden with fatigue, nausea and abdominal pain. Believed to be on the path to recovery, she instead lapsed into a coma and died in a Hollywood hospital on June 7, 1937, from kidney failure. The film was completed with other actresses standing in as doubles for the recently deceased starlet.

Despite her brief career, Harlow is remembered as one of the biggest stars of the early sound era in Hollywood. A biopic on her life, Harlow, was released in 1965, starring Carroll Baker. Decades later, singer Gwen Stefani briefly portrayed Harlow in the 2004 Martin Scorsese film The Aviator, and a few years later Mischa Barton was tapped to play the sex symbol for the production of another biopic, By Love Reclaimed, slated for a 2016 release.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Saratoga (23-Jun-1937) · Carol Clayton
Personal Property (19-Mar-1937) · Crystal Wetherby
Libeled Lady (9-Oct-1936) · Gladys
Suzy (26-Jun-1936) · Suzy
Wife vs. Secretary (28-Feb-1936) · Whitey
Riffraff (3-Jan-1936) · Hattie
China Seas (9-Aug-1935) · China Doll
Reckless (17-Apr-1935) · Mona
The Girl from Missouri (3-Aug-1934) · Eadie
Bombshell (11-Oct-1933) · Lola
Dinner at Eight (29-Aug-1933) · Kitty Packard
Hold Your Man (30-Jun-1933) · Ruby
Red Dust (22-Oct-1932) · Vantine
Red-Headed Woman (25-Jun-1932) · Lil Andrews
The Beast of the City (13-Feb-1932)
Three Wise Girls (11-Jan-1932)
Platinum Blonde (31-Oct-1931) · Ann Schuyler
Iron Man (30-Apr-1931)
The Public Enemy (23-Apr-1931) · Gwen Allen
The Secret Six (18-Apr-1931) · Anne
Hell’s Angels (27-May-1930)
Double Whoopee (18-May-1929) · Blonde

Source: Jean Harlow – Wikipedia

Source: Jean Harlow

Source: Jean Harlow – Actress, Film Actor/Film Actress, Film Actress, Classic Pin-Ups – Biography.com

come find me, i’m @

Today is the 129th birthday of the actress and activist Pearl While. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Pearl White
OCCUPATION: Women’s Rights Activist, Film Actress
BIRTH DATE: March 4, 1889
DEATH DATE: August 4, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH: Green Ridge, Missouri
PLACE OF DEATH: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
REMAINS: Buried, Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Pearl White was an American silent film actress best known for her role in The Perils of Pauline, in which she did her own stunt work.

White was born in Green Ridge, Missouri to Edgar White, a farmer, and Inez White. She had four brothers and sisters. The family later moved to Springfield, Missouri. At age 6, she made her stage debut as “Little Eva” in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When she was 13 years old, White worked as a bareback rider for the circus.

She began performing with the Diemer Theater Company, located on Commercial Street, while in her second year of high school. Against the wishes of her father, White dropped out of high school and, in 1907 at age 18, she went on the road with the Trousedale Stock Company, working evening shows while keeping her day job to help support her family. She was soon able to join the company full-time, touring through the American Midwest. White played minor roles for several years, when she was spotted by the Powers Film Company in New York. She claimed she had also performed in Cuba for a time under the name “Miss Mazee”, singing American songs in a dance hall. Her travels as a singer took her to South America, where she performed in casinos and dance halls. In 1910, White had trouble with her throat, and her voice began to fail from the nightly theatrical performances. She made her debut in films that year, starring in a series of one-reel dramas and comedies for Pat Powers in the Bronx. It was at Powers Films that White honed her skills at physical comedy and stunt work. She became a popular player with the company and caught the attention of Pathé Frères.

In 1910, White was offered a role by Pathé Frères in The Girl From Arizona, the French company’s first American film produced at their new studio in Bound Brook, New Jersey. She then worked at Lubin Studios in 1911 and several other of the independents, until the Crystal Film Company in Manhattan gave her top billing in a number of slapstick comedy shorts from 1912 to 1914. White then took a vacation in Europe. Upon her return, she signed with Eclectic Film Company, a subsidiary of Pathé in 1914.

Pathé director Louis J. Gasnier offered her the starring role in film serial The Perils of Pauline, based on a story by playwright Charles W. Goddard. The film features the central character of “Pauline” in a story involving considerable action, which the athletic Pearl White proved ideally suited for. The Perils of Pauline consisted of twenty, two-reel episodes that were released weekly. The serial proved to be a hit with audiences and made White a major celebrity, and she was soon earning $1,750 a week. She followed this with an even bigger box office hit, The Exploits of Elaine (1914-1915). Over the next five years, White would appear in the popular serials The New Exploits of Elaine (1915), The Romance of Elaine (1915), The Iron Claw (1916), Pearl of the Army (1916-1917), The Fatal Ring (1917), The House of Hate (1918), The Lightening Raider (1919) and The Black Secret (1919-1920). In these serials, White flew airplanes, raced cars, swam across rivers, and did other similar feats. She did much of her own stunt work until Pathé decided that they could not risk injuring one of their most popular stars (She had already injured her spine during the filming of The Perils of Pauline, an injury that would cause her pain for the rest of her life). A male stunt double wearing a wig would perform the majority of the more dangerous stunts in White’s later films. The public was largely unaware that White and other actors utilized stunt doubles because studios made a point to publicize that the actors did their own stunts. In August 1922, the public finally learned the truth. During the filming of White’s final serial Plunder, John Stevenson, an actor who was doubling for White, was supposed to leap from the top of a bus on 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue onto an elevated girder. He missed the girder and struck his head. Stevenson died of a fractured skull. After the filming of Plunder was complete, White traveled to Europe for another vacation.

By 1919, White had grown tired of film serials and signed with Fox Film Corporation with the ambition to appear in dramatic roles. Over the next two years, White appeared in ten drama films for Fox but her popularity had begun to wane.

Influenced by her French friends from Pathé Studios, White was drawn to the artistic gathering in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. While living there, she made her last film for her friend, Belgian-born director Edward José, who had directed her in several serials. Silent films could be made in any country, and as White was a recognizable star worldwide, she was offered many roles in France. She made her final film, Terreur (released as The Perils of Paris in the United States), in France in 1924. White returned to the stage in a Montmartre production Tu Perds la Boule (You Lose the Ball). In 1925 she accepted an offer to star with comedian Max Wall in the “London Review” at the Lyceum Theatre in London where she earned $3,000 a week. She then retired from performing.

By the time she retired from films in 1924, White had amassed a fortune of $2 million. A shrewd businesswoman, she invested in a successful Parisian nightclub, a Biarritz resort hotel/casino, and a stable of ten race horses. White divided her time between her townhouse in Passy and a 54-acre estate near Rambouillet. She became involved with Theodore Cossika, a Greek businessman who shared her love of travel. Together they purchased a home near Cairo, Egypt, and White travelled with him throughout the Middle East and the Orient.

According to published reports after her death, White’s friends claimed that she intended to make a comeback in sound films. White later told friends that after she made a test for sound films in 1929, she was told that her voice was unsuitable. White made occasional visits to the United States in 1924, 1927 and 1937. On her last visit, White would tell reporters that she was not interested in making a comeback and mused that acting in silent films was more difficult than acting in the then-new “talkies” though she did praise Greta Garbo. By this time, White had gained a substantial amount of weight. She told reporters she did not like to be photographed as she felt that photos made her face look fat adding, “Why should I have my picture taken when I can get paid for it?”.

White was married twice and had no children. She married actor Victor Sutherland on October 10, 1907. They divorced in 1914. In 1919, she married for the second time to actor Wallace McCutcheon. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1921.

By 1937, White was dying of liver failure. The injury she sustained to her spine while filming The Perils of Pauline had continued to cause her pain which she eased with drugs and alcohol. A year before her death, White got her affairs in order, purchased a plot in Cimetière de Passy (Passy Cemetery) near her home and arranged her own funeral. In early July 1938, she checked herself into the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, due to issues with her liver. She slipped into a coma on August 3, 1938 and died the following day of what was identified in her obituaries as a “liver ailment” (likely cirrhosis due to years of heavy drinking). She was 49 years old. White was buried in Cimetière de Passy after a small, private funeral.

White left the majority of her fortune, including jewelery and property, to Theodore Cossika. She also bequeathed money to her father, nieces, and nephews, and willed $73,000 to charities.

Pearl White’s place in film history is important in both the evolution of cinema genres and the role of women. Like many silent film actors, many of White’s films are now considered lost. The Perils of Pauline is only known to exist in a reduced nine-reel version released in Europe in 1916, but The Exploits of Elaine survives and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. All of her films were made at studios on the east coast of the United States, as White reportedly never visited Hollywood, California.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Pearl White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

The 1947 Paramount Pictures film The Perils of Pauline, starring Betty Hutton, is a fictionalized biography of Pearl White.

Source: Pearl White – Wikipedia

Source: Pearl White – Actress, Activist, Film Actor/Film Actress, Women’s Rights Activist, Film Actress – Biography.com

Source: Pearl White

come find me, i’m @