BORN: January 2, 1917
DIED: April 19, 2003
AGED: 86 yrs from cerebral hemorrhage
REAL NAME: Eva Brigitta Hartwig
MARRIAGES: 3 times-George Balanchine
German father, Danish mother. Born to dance. Started dancing when she was 2 and slept with her ballet shoes. Was taught by one who taught Njinsky and Pavlova. She danced with the Ballet Russe and learned Russian so she could talk with her fellow dancers. She got noticed by the German Max Reinhardt and then Sam Goldwyn saw her in London in On Your Toes. he brought her to Hollywood and she met Mr. Balanchine. She was in some sort of manage a trois between him and his first wife(kinky). She enjoyed Hollywood for awhile but abruptly left and contributed a lot to the Lincoln Centre.
FILMS: The Goldwyn Follies, On Your Toes, Louisiana Purchase, Follow The Boys, Lover Come Back
BORN: January 6, 1913
DIED: August 12, 2000
AGED: 87 yrs from cancer
REAL NAME: Gretchen Young
MARRIAGES: 3 times-the last to designer Jean Louis
AFFAIRS: Spencer Tracey, Clark Gable etc... (both men were married)
LOVE CHILD- With Clark Gable-refused to tell her daughter til near the end of her (Loretta's) life
Strong catholic, prude, image was all, hypocrite, sanctimonious (can you tell she is not my favourite). When she got pregnant with Clark Gable's child, it was not the sign of the times to have a child out of wedlock so she left due to illness and came back 9 mths later with a baby she "adopted" . She would never reveal to her daughter her real father until much later in life. Clark Gable never had a say in raising his child. When he finally married and his wife became pregnant he died a few months before he was born. She would have a swear jar always on the set and if anyone swore they had to place money in the jar. Once Robert Mitchum was so angry he slammed $5 in it and let it rip-lol She had 2 sons whom she favoured over her daughter. The one son, later on, was arrested for child porn(yuck). She had a TV show in the 1950's and appeared at the beginning of each show in a beautiful gown. When NBC tried to reshow these episodes later on, she took them to court because the gowns were now out of style and she felt this would hurt her image. Hmmm-reality TV star comes to mind. Louise Brooks(see the letter B) said the best thing she ever saw was when a director got pee o'd at Loretta and threw a chair at her.
OSCAR: The Farmer's Daughter
FILMS: Laugh, Clown, Laugh, A Man's Castle, Call of the wild, The Bishop's Wife
BORN: January 10, 1883
DIED: August 23, 1966
AGED: 83 yrs from a heart attack
MARRIAGES: 4 times-2nd with Beverly Bayne
AFFAIRS: Beverly Bayne
FAMOUS PARTNER: Beverly Bayne (she shows up a lot)
Major Matinee Idol and was in his prime in 1911 (geez my dad wasn't even born yet-he was born in 1913). He was the Hubba-Hubba of the 1910's. The old stereotype image of a man coming out of his dressing room and women literally tearing his clothes off actually started with this man because it happened to him! This became folklore. He started having an affair with his leading lady which caused quite the scandal. He divorced his first wife and married his co-star Beverly but had to keep it hush, hush so it would not hurt his image. When it was found out-it did hurt his image-geez! He loved dogs (had over 30 of them) and he was supposed to have the largest songbird collection. He lost all his money in the stock market crash of 1929 and his career went with it. He worked in TV mainly until he passed away. Most of his films are gone due to the nitrate they used-it would disintegrate and was highly flammable.
FILMS: His Friend's Wife, The Silent Voice, Romeo and Juliet, Ben-Hur, The Lady In Ermine
BORN: May 26, 1907
DIED: June 11, 1979
AGED: 72 from cancer
REAL NAME: Marion Michael Morrison...yup Marion
NICKNAME: The Duke-after his boyhood dog the local firemen gave him the nickname since he hung around them with his doggie.
MARRIAGES: 3 times-the 2nd one-ouch!
FAMOUS PARTNERS: John Ford, Ward Bond, Maureen O'Hara
One of My all time Favs and I have to say, in his later life reminded me of my dad. A Great man, Tall, stood by his convictions even when they were not popular. He commanded respect. Conservative in his politics and agreed with the HUAC-not the best thing and a dark time. Staunch anti communist. His 2nd marriage was a disaster as they drank too much and fought and he made the biggest mistake-he let his mother in law move in. Had a terrible time to divorce her (she died of alcoholism soon after). He Loved his Latin women and his tequila and the sea. Contrary to what is now believed he did try to enter WW2 but was declined as he had an old football injury that made him 4F. He tried several times until the higher ups at the government and his studio) said he would better serve by making movies since he also was a family man and older. apparently even John Ford tried to help but to no avail. He was a 4 pack a day smoker-not good. He also made one of the all time worst films called "The Conqueror" (I claim this Tar-Tar woman...) . They filmed on location near atomic bomb testing and there was a lot of dust ups etc... The director, leading lady, supporting actors plus 78 other crew members all died from cancer. He fought the cancer or The Big C as he called it with courage. He wanted to be remembered by a Spanish saying that says "He's Big, He's Ugly But He Had Dignity". When I saw him at the Oscars in 1979 he was so thin, I wept. My dad knew it would not be long before he passed away.
OSCAR: True Grit (sorry Jeff Bridges but John Wayne does it best)
FILMS: Stagecoach, The Flying Tigers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Red River, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, The Alamo, Hatari, McLintlock, North To Alaska, Sons of Katie Elder, Chisolm, The Shootist
BORN: May 8, 1895
DIED: August 23, 1926
AGED: 31 yrs from peritonitis from a burst appendix
REAL NAME: Ruolpho Alfonzo Rafaelo Filbert Guglielmi Di Valentina D'antonguolla-Whew!-What a mouthful!!
MARRIAGES: Twice-Jean Acker-She wouldn't let him into the bedroom on their wedding night. Natasha Rambova (AKA Winnifred Shaunessy)-she turned out to be a lesbian-this guy could pick 'em or what!
ENGAGED: Pola Negri-She flung herself on the coffin-it is all about her after all
AFFAIRS: "Just a Gigolo, everywhere I go..."
He came to this country penniless and even slept on park benches. He moved up from being a male prostitute to a gigolo where rich women paid for him to dance with them(I am certain the dancing was on the ball room and in the bedroom). He got paid for these meetings with the socialites-busy boy:). He moved out to California and due to his excellent dancing and looks got his start and broke out in The Four Horsemen. Unfortunately he was not the best in picking women and they seemed to rule over him. Others of the time said he loved just to be known as Rudy and was shy. From his movies he became known as "the Great Lover" but men didn't care for him and called him the "Pink Powder Puff" I think they were jealous because all their wives swooned over him. When he died, suddenly, thousands flocked to the funeral and some women actually committed suicide. There was one woman known as the lady in black who went to his grave every year and placed a red rose at his grave until she passed away in the 1980's or '90's.
FILMS: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Camille, Blood and Sand, The Sheik, Son of the Sheik, The Eagle
BORN: April 16, 1921
DIED: March 28, 2004
AGED: 82 yrs from heart failure
MARRIED: 3 times
He had an interesting lineage-Russian, German, French, Spanish etc.... This man was no dummy! He was fluent in many languages. He was not only an actor but a director, writer and an interviewer. He made a great Hercule Poirot. He was in India sitting in the gardens waiting for Indira Ghandi as he was going to interview her and as she was making her way to him she was assassinated. Wow I think this is the only coloured image I have of my list.
OSCARS: Spartacus, Topkapi
FILMS: Quo Vadis, We're No Angels, Billy Bud, Death On The Nile
BORN: April 5, 1900
DIED: June 10, 1967
AGED: 67 by a heart attack brought on by years of alcohol abuse
MARRIED: Once
AFFAIRS: Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn
FAMOUS PARTNERS: Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn
A Great actor. "Learn your lines and don't bump into the furniture". Irascible, cantankerous later in life, a staunch catholic. Would never think of divorcing his wife, but adultery-sure, why not...oops more guilt for him to drown in. His son was born deaf (his wife started the John Tracy Clinic for the deaf) and he was eaten up by guilt over this as well. He seemed to feel huge guilt over many things and this made him drink more. Spencer would go on binges and the studio would have to find him usually holed up in some seedy hotel that he destroyed. They kept this from the papers because he did play a priest a couple of times on screen and one cannot lose the image. When he met Katherine Hepburn she said he seemed to be a bit short, the director said-"don't worry, he'll cut you down to size". When they would go over to friends, like Bogie and Bacall, she would sit on the floor next to him-Honest! He was plagued by ill health later in the 50's and 60's and Katherine Hepburn cared for him and disregarded her career. He loved to disrupt in a gleeful way-When Frederic March had a great scene in Inherit The Wind, Spencer Tracy picked his nose to throw good ole Freddie off. For his last film, the director(Stanley Kubrick) and Katherine Hepburn promised to put up their own money so Spencer could have the part. He died 10 days after completing his scenes.
OSCARS: Captain's Courageous, Boys Town
FILMS: A Man's castle, San Francisco, Boys Town, Woman of the Year, Pat and Mike, Father of the Bride, Bad Day at Black Rock, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
BORN: May 20, 1908
DIED: July 2, 1997
AGED: 89 yrs from old age
MARRIED: Once and he loved her deeply-happy marriage
DATED: Oh he was a happy man-Ginger Rogers, Olivia De Havilland, Marlene Dietrich
UNREQUITED LOVE: Margaret Sullivan
GREAT FRIENDS: Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper
An all around nice guy and my favourite film actor. Henry Fonda and Jimmy met doing theatre with Margaret Sullivan. Henry married Margaret(didn't last) and poor Jimmy just carried a torch. Many said she was his greatest love and there is a resemblance between Margaret and his wife Gail Hatrick McLean. He was one of the first to volunteer for war when America entered this horrible drama. He was too thin-over 6ft(I think 6' 3" but not sure right this moment) and only 136lbs-thin bugger eh? He ate a lot of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and just scraped by. He flew 20 missions over Germany and won flying cross. He is the highest ranking actor to this day (got to be Brigadier General). While in the war, he still sent his agent 10% of his wages-I thought that quite funny. Walter Matthau was in his company during the war and he stated all the men respected Mr. Stewart as he stood up for them. When he came back he placed it in his contract that he would not make any war films and the studios could not use his experiences he had of the war. It came out, after his death, that he flew combat missions in Vietnam as well. Shrewd in business and was the first star to get a percentage of the profits. He loved to write poems and would recite them on Johnny Carson-I have his book of poems which I cherish. He loved Africa and tried to help the plight of the elephants. Comics love his voice and it is often imitated. It is even placed in a song by Jon and Vangelis-"The Friends of Mr. Cairo". He, accidentally, broke the news at the 1960 Oscars when he accepted an honorary Oscar for Gary Cooper and he broke down. People realized then that Mr. Cooper was terminal with cancer and shortly after Mr. Cooper died. When his wife passed away he was devastated and, later, often wished he could still see his old friends and was lonely. He was great in comedies, dramas and westerns. He had a wonderful life.
OSCAR: The Philadelphia Story
FILMS: The Shopwarn Angel, You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It's A Wonderful Life, Winchester '73, Harvey, Rear Window, Vertigo, Flight of the Phoenix.
BORN: June 4, 1907
DIED: November 28, 1976
AGED: 69 yrs from cancer. Suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis
MARRIED: Once and happily!
Great gal! One of the boys but beautiful and down to earth. a quick wit who was a pleasure to work with. had a son who loves her deeply and had a great home life. I know! From Hollywood?? It's true though. She often gave to charity and when she was struck with arthritis helped with that and there is a hospital in her name dedicated to arthritis and trying to cure it. She was equally famous in theatre as well.
FILMS: Night Must Fall, Craig's Wife, The Women, His Girl Friday, Morning Becomes Electra, Auntie Mame.
BORN: April 21, 1915
DIED: June 3, 2001
AGED: 86 yrs from pneumonia. he also had cancer
REAL NAME: Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn
MARRIED: Twice-the first to Katherine De Mille-Cecil B DeMille's dad-how'd you like that guy for a father in law
AFFAIRS: This guy loved to do the hubba, hubba and boasted about it. In fact fathered many kids including one in 1977 and another in 1993.
Passionate actor and a excellent one to boot. A talker of his many conquests he also, apparently when, on his wedding night, he found out his first wife was not a virgin he punched her in the face. A real woman's man wouldn't you say. ASS! I would have given him the spoon.....
OSCARS: Viva Zapata, Lust For Life
FILMS: Blood and Sand, La Strada, Guns of Navarone, Zorba the Greek, Only the Lonely
BORN: July 29, 1892
DIED: March 5, 1989
AGED: 96 yrs-old age
MARRIED: Twice-once to Carole Lombard
ENGAGED: Jean Harlow
FAMOUS PARTNER: Myrna Loy
Suave, comedic gentleman with a little devil thrown in for good measure. Played the villain earlier in life but that all changed with the Thin Man series. Moved easily from silent to sound due to his mellifluous voice. Was devastated when Jean Harlow died at the height of her career (she was only 26). He made his parts his own.
FILMS: Canary Murder Case, The Thin Man Series, The Great Ziegfeld, My Man Godfrey, Life with Father, Mister Roberts.
BORN: February 19, 1911
DIED: November 23, 1979
AGED: 68 Yrs from major stroke, had heart issues
REAL NAME: Estelle Merle O'Brien
NICKNAME: Queenie
MARRIAGES: 4 times-Alexander Korda, Robert Wolders (later he was with Audrey Hepburn)
AFFAIRS: David Niven, Turhan Bey, etc...
Her dad was British and her mom was from Ceylon which Merle tried to hide from the world. She did not want to be known as a half-caste. She would introduce her mom as her maid to keep her secrets. Known for her beauty and exotic looks there are rumours she worked as a high class call girl before she found fame. She also was a very bad car accident and almost died in the 1930's. When married to Mr. Korda she worked, with him, in intelligence during WW2. She was born with a congenital heart defect which plagued later in life.
FILMS: Private Life of Henry the VIII, The Dark Angel,These Three, Wuthering Heights, A Song To Remember
BORN: March 1, 1910
DIED: July 29, 1983
AGED: 83 Yrs. from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
MARRIED: twice-1st wife died at friend's home. They were playing a game and the lights were off and she fell down a flight of stairs. she was only 28-poor thing and Mr. Niven was devastated.
AFFAIRS: Merle Oberon, Rita Hayworth, Ann Todd, Evelyn Keyes(who wasn't with her)
FAMOUS ROOMMATE: Errol Flynn
Witty and entertaining. Very likeable fellow, great story teller. He was the first british ex-pat star to enlist in WW 2 and was distinguished in the service. He wrote 2 great entertaining "autobiographies"-The Moon's a Balloon", and "Bring On The Empty Horses". The disease that eventually took his life robbed him from his ability to speak. Rich Little was used to dub him in his last movie.
OSCAR: Separate Tables
FILMS: Raffles, Wuthering Heights, Enchantment, Around The World in 80 Days, Guns of Navarone, The Pink Panther, Murder by Death
BORN: May 15, 1909
DIED: July 27, 1984
AGED: 75 yrs from a heart attack
MARRIED: Twice
Under-rated actor, romantic lead but also could play a charming evil nasty pants. Known to be arrogant, Opinionated, intelligent. Known for his distinctive voice. A complicated hero. He was a conscientious objector during WW2 which I think was a brave thing to do. One of my personal fav's
FILMS: Seventh Veil, The Wicked Lady, A Star is Born, Five Fingers, The Man Between, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Journey to the Centre of the earth, North by Northwest, Lolita, Georgy Girl, The Verdict
BORN: November 5, 1913
DIED: July 7, 1967
AGED: 53 yrs from tuberculosis
MARRIED: twice, 2nd to Laurence Olivier
LIVED WITH: John Merivale
AFFAIRS: Laurence Olivier when in her 1st marriage), Peter Finch
Extremely beautiful, intelligent actress, very cultured-knew her wines! Her greatest love was with Laurence Olivier and they starred in movies and the theatre. She suffered from severe bi-polar disorder and underwent electric shock therapy and was in and out of mental institutions throughout her life. She and Olivier owned Notley Abbey and would give dinner parties and when she was in her "manic" phase, she would not let anyone leave and sleeping was optional. David Niven spoke of her in his book but never named her out of respect.
OSCARS: Gone with the Wind, Streetcar Named Desire
FILMS: Waterloo Bridge, That Hamilton Woman, Anna Karenina, Ship of Fools
BORN: August 23, 1912
DIED: February 2, 1996
AGED: 83 ys from sepsis, coronary disease. Suffered major stroke year earlier
MARRIED: 3 times-Betsy Blair, Jeanne Coyne(he was widowed). last one was only 36 yrs old and he was 77. Men say: Alright!!! Women say: Eeeewwwwww, really??
Amazing dancer, right beside Fred Astaire (like apples and oranges). Loved the athletic style of dance and would incorporate ballet as well. Loved camera techniques-dances with Jerry the Mouse from Tom and Jerry (you tube it). Demanding taskmaster, temperamental. Loved to direct too-"Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand. tried to preserve the wonderful art of the musical to new people through the That's Entertainment films.
FILMS: For Me and My Gal, Covergirl, Anchors Aweigh, On the Town, An American in Paris, Singing In The Rain, Invitation to the Dance, and, yes, Xanadu (should we laugh or cry)
BORN: August 25, 1916
DIED: December 12, 2008
AGED: 92 yrs-old age
REAL NAME: Charles Van Dell Johnson
MARRIED: Once-Ouch!!!
BEST FRIEND: Keenan Wynn whose wife Van married
AFFAIRS: Keenan Wynn...maybe-rumours
FAMOUS PARTNER: June Allyson
Freckle-faced boy next door. Almost died in a bad car accident and almost lost his dream part but Spencer Tracy saved the day. The rumour mill is that Van was gay and had an affair with Keenan Wynn who was also his best friend. To quell the rumours Keenan divorced his wife and 4 hrs later she married Van. Unfortunately it did not end well. The marriage ended on a bad note and she got a lot of his money. Oh my oh my...
FILMS: A Guy Named Joe, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, In The Good Ole Summertime, Two Girls and a Sailor, The Caine Mutiny,
BORN: June 14, 1909
DIED: April 14, 1995
AGED: 85 yrs from oral cancer
Married: Twice
"Silver and Gold, Silver and Gold...." Mr. Snowman himself from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. I have his Christmas album with these songs on it. Great Folk Singer who sang "Blue-Tailed Fly". Was brought to the House Un-American Activity trials and he spoke which did cause a rift between him and Pete Seeger-terrible, terrible, times. Under-rated actor who worked in Film, Theatre and TV. A rotund sweet man.
OSCAR: The Big Country
FILMS: East of Eden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Brass Bottle
BORN: May 12, 1907
DIED: June 29, 2003
AGED: 96 yrs-old age
MARRIED: once
AFFAIRS: John Ford, Howard Hughes, Spencer Tracy
FAMOUS PARTNER: Spencer Tracy
"The Great Kate", "Katherine of Arrogance". Very open family in some ways. dad used to walk around naked. Mother was a suffragette. Athletic, fiercely loyal. Lost oldest brother to suicide (hanging)-many in her family died from suicide. gave up career for a while to nurse Spencer Tracy-her greatest love. Considered, arguably, the best actress (Sorry Meryl but Kate, in my mind, is better). Nominated many times and won 4 times
OSCAR WINS: Morning Glory, The Lion In Winter, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, On Golden Pond
FILMS: Alice Adams, Sylvia Scarlett, Bringing Up Baby, Philadelphia Story, Woman of the Year, Adam's Rib, The African Queen
BORN: January 18, 1904
DIED: November 29, 1986
AGED: 82 yrs from massive stroke
REAL NAME: Archibald Leach ( Nope not kidding!)
MARRIAGES: 5 times-Virginia Cherrill, Barbara Hutton, Dyan Cannon
FAMOUS ROOMMATE: Randolph Scott
AFFAIRS: Randolph Scott-you have to see some pics of them together, they really look like a couple-too bad about the times they lived in. Orry-Kelly (NO-not oral-bad people you:)), Sophia Loren
Dashing, Handsome, distinctive voice, cheap, issues with women( I mean Sophia chose fat, bald Carlo Ponti over Cary). He was told his mom was dead when he was young but, when he was 32 yrs old, he found out she was alive and living in a mental ward(thanks dad). Could do dramas and comedies equally well. A favourite of Alfred Hitchcock. LSD user. Doted on his only daughter.
FILMS: I'm No Angel, Bringing Up Baby, Penny Serenade, Arsenic and Old Lace, Notorious, To Catch a Thief, North By Northwest, Operation Petticoat
BORN: June 20, 1909
DIED: October 14, 1959
AGED: 50-heart attack-Oh hell his whole body was a wreck, that hell raiser
MARRIED: 3 Times-Lili Damita, Patrice Wymore
AFFAIRS: Where do you think "In Like Flynn" came from! Numerous affairs, apparently bisexual and had affairs with Tyrone Power and Howard Hughes(really??)
FAMOUS PARTNERS: Olivia De Havilland
FAMOUS ROOMMATE: David Niven-David was only into women so they made the most of it as a couple of bad boys chasing after the gals
You Tasmanian Devil you! He was born there, very handsome, had mother issues. He was up for statutory rape with 2 gals that he took on his boat-he was found innocent(As the driven slush). Travelled to Spain during their Civil War and there is speculation he took part in that war. There are also claims he was a Nazi spy but only claims so far. He loved Olivia De Havilland and she liked him but she knew his ways and avoided his advances. Had numerous health problems, was an alcoholic and everything else in between. Devil may care attitude.
FILMS: Captain Blood, Adventures of Robin Hood, Sante Fe Trail, They Died With Their Boots On.
http://eclecticellapu.blogspot.ca/2014/04/yayyyyy-two-new-challenges.html - 2 new challenges
I just joined this blog and it looks like a lot of fun. I decided to do One for the Boys. I had an Easter one as well but I thought the boys deserved another card. If you want to look at my Easter card it is on my blog. I bought the stamp in Venice and I thought it was quite different. I needed a little Picasso in my life. I stamped him with basic black on glossy paper. I used alcohol inks for the background paper and placed it all together with the grey paper. I finished it off with some border in silver and the corners I painted black and there ya go. I had a fun day:) I just had to add that
BORN: June 29, 1901
DIED: March 6, 1967
AGED: 65 yrs from a stroke
MARRIED: Once
FAMOUS PARTNER: Jeannette MacDonald
One half of America's singing sweethearts. Great voice and most famous for the 8 films he did with Ms. MacDonald. They were famous for the operettas and classical style music they brought in the mid to late 30's. Amazing to think how popular they were-sing a long with me while you wear your Canadian Mountie uniform.."I am calling yoooooo-ooooo-oooou..." Always rumour that he and Ms MacDonald were lovers but also heard they didn't care for each other. I heard a tape of him speaking about her passing and he was broken up so, whether they were lovers or not, he cared for her-my belief-now cue the singing as I need to hear the Indian Love Call. Later toured in nightclubs and he made fun of his image.
FILMS: Naughty Marietta, Maytime, RoseMarie, I Married an Angel
