One place Lombard doesn’t want ‘love’…
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vp19 on 2009.08.31 at 00:31
Current mood: 
bouncy
…why, the tennis court, of course! (Unless it’s her opponent who’s being “loved.”) We ran those photos above for two reasons: First, I’m pretty certain they’ve never run here before, and second, it’s a reminder that the U.S. Open, the season’s last “major,” starts today in Queens, N.Y., and will last through Sept. 13.Of course, back in Carole’s time it was played over at Forest Hills, whereas now it’s being played at the USTA complex in Flushing Meadows. (One of the stadiums is named for Louis Armstrong, who as far as I know of never touched a tennis racket in his life, but lived not far away in Corona. Personally, I think it would make more sense if CitiField, the Mets’ new home, was named for Armstrong instead, as he was an avid baseball fan.)
Anyway, Lombard loved tennis…and was pretty good at it, too. As we’ve noted before, she sponsored the career of Alice Marble, who won Forest Hills four times and Wimbledon once (http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/31058.html). It’s too bad that Carole, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn and some other of the film colony’s top players didn’t arrange a tournament or some exhibitions to determine Hollywood’s best player (and raise money for charity as well).
All of the photos are from a 1935 fan magazine (not sure which one), which features this caption:
“Carole apparently finds something very funny in this game. Maybe her opponent fell down. The game isn’t all one big laugh, however. Carole is all set for some fast and strenuous playing, too. Tennis is Miss Lombard’s favorite outdoor sport, and you can see her here relaxing with a swift game after a day’s work in her ‘Hands Across The Table.'”
Whether you’ll be watching the Open in person or following on TV or online, enjoy the tournament.
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The Prinz who helped Carole dance
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.30 at 00:01
Current mood: 
excited
After seeing that, some of you women may wish you were Carole Lombard; some of you men may wish you were George Raft. But I bet many of you fellows wish you were that other guy, getting as close as you legally could to Lombard’s lovely lower half without her screaming for studio security.But who is this person clutching Carole’s ankle and Raft’s calf? As you might guess, he’s a choreographer, someone who worked with Lombard several times. His name is LeRoy Prinz, and his life was an interesting one.But before we go into it, let me give credit, where credit is due — the “Daily Mirror” blog of the Los Angeles Times, a site I heartily recommend to anyone interested in Los Angeles history (which, of course, includes the movies, as they’ve been an important part of the city’s economy and culture for close to a century). Every week, the blog runs a “Movie Star Mystery Photo,” usually an overlooked actor or actress from long ago. Well, this past week the blog chose Prinz, someone who rarely appeared on camera but played a significant role in what you saw on screen.
Prinz choreographed dozens of movies. He spent most of the 1930s at Paramount, where he helped choreograph four Lombard films — “We’re Not Dressing,” “Bolero,” “Rumba” (the photo above was taken during work on that movie) and “Swing High, Swing Low.” He later moved to Warners, where he choreographed “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and other films.
In 1935, Prinz was not only working on “Rumba,” but assisting a troupe of several newcomers to Paramount, all of whom received contracts with the studio. Here he is with these lovely ladies:
With him holding fencing gear are, from left, Esther Pressman, Beula MacDonald, Bonita Barker, Kay Gordon, Dorothy Thompson and Dene Myles. In the other photo, surrounding Prinz are top, Thompson and Barker; middle, Gordon and MacDonald; bottom, Pressman and Myles.
None of the six, some of whom had been in films since the late 1920s, had substantial careers in movies; Thompson, also known as Dorothy Ward, was perhaps the most successful, getting a few speaking roles in low-profile films in the early thirties before concentrating on dance work.
Prinz, born in Missouri in 1895, ran away from home in his youth, later joined the French Foreign Legion, received pilot’s training in Canada and served with Eddie Rickenbacker’s famed 94th Aero Squadron during World War I. After the war, he received a theater arts degree at Northwestern, where he honed his interest in dance. He returned to Paris and choreographed the Folies Bergere before being hired by Cecil B. De Mille.
Prinz not only choreographed, but directed some short subjects — and won an Oscar for “A Boy And His Dog” in 1946.
In later years, he produced Hollywood benefit programs and assisted on entertainment for the 1980 Republican national convention and the 1981 inauguration of his good friend Ronald Reagan, who telephoned him a week before his death in September 1983.
For the “Daily Mirror” entry on Prinz, go to http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/08/movie-star-mystery-photo-.html.
In the book, Rubin tells stories from his years in vaudeville, films, radio and television.
A photo of Benny Rubin with Lombard as published in the book.Rubin makes a few passing references to Lombard in the book. He mentions her among the celebrities spending a weekend at San Simeon as guests of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst in 1929. Also, he makes mention of how, when Lombard was killed, he was too upset over her death to make an appearance as the racetrack tout on Jack Benny’s radio show and that Sheldon Leonard took over the part from then on.One more photo of Rubin with other 1930s comedians:
Bert Wheeler, Bob Woolsey, Milton Berle, Joe Penner, Victor Moore and Benny Rubin.
One last trip to the lobby
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.29 at 00:01
Current mood: 
melancholy
We don’t know whether that was the actual color of the gown Carole wore in that scene (since the film was shot in black-and-white, the color of the gown was largely irrelevant), but you can imagine Maria Tura wearing something in this shade. Moreover, I do not know whether this was produced before or after Lombard’s death.
What I do know is that its relative rarity )it’s considered in “fine” condition) makes this an expensive item. You can “buy it now” for $295, or you can try your hand at a regular auction over the next few weeks; the choice is yours. For more on this item, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/TO-BE-OR-NOT-TO-BE-42-CAROLE-LOMBARD-BENNY-LOBBY-CARD_W0QQitemZ160358941543QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2556234367&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.
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Flapper fashion…in Technicolor!
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.28 at 00:01
Current mood: 
giddy
While fans of classic Hollywood cherish the beauty of black-and-white photography (there’s a reason it was called the “silver screen,” after all), there is certainly something to be said for seeing pre-World War II images in color. It reminds us the people of that era saw brilliant blue skies, magnificent reddish sunsets and glorious “purple mountain majesties,” just as we do today. In fact, as we’ve noted before, Carole Lombard was not only featured in color in “Nothing Sacred,” but also in parts of two Mack Sennett shorts, including “Matchmaking Mama,” from which a still is shown below:
It’s hard for many of us to realize that some silent film was indeed shot in Technicolor. I don’t believe there were more than a handful of full-length all-Technicolor features (if any). The process was simply too expensive. But some filmmakers did indeed employ Technicolor, and one of the most obvious places to use it was in short films focusing on fashion. (I know more than a few of you are interested in this topic.)Thankfully, one of these has cropped up on YouTube, giving us a colorful look at what the fashionable American woman was wearing in 1928. This is from “Glamour Daze” (http://glamourdaze.blogspot.com/), a charming, imaginative site that examines fashion from the 1920s to the 1950s; it’s really worth checking out.
Keep in mind that just as in the Lombard scene shown above, this is two-strip Technicolor; the three-strip process, enabling the full color spectrum to be captured on film, wouldn’t be perfected until the mid-thirties. Consequently, you’ll see lots of red, green and brown, but no blue. Nevertheless, the color reproduction is beautiful…as are the ladies.
None of the actresses shown became top-tier stars, but some had good careers, such as Laura LaPlante. Another one shown, Jeanette Loff, was a contemporary of Lombard’s at Pathe and posed with her for a comedic holiday photograph (http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/65459.html).
And the last actress featured, Ruth Elder, was better known as an aviatrix (that’s why we see her arriving in a plane). In October 1927, she attempted to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. She and her male co-pilot traveled 2,600 miles before their plane went down and they were rescued.
Note that the fashions were provided by Sibley, Lindsay & Curr, a Rochester, N.Y. department store popularly known as “Sibley’s.” At this time, it was the largest department store between New York City and Chicago. I can recall when Sibley’s expanded to my hometown of Syracuse in 1969 as part of a downtown urban renewal project. The Syracuse store closed some two decades later, and Sibley’s itself was subsequently bought out. The stores are now part of Macy’s.
Incidentally, the first of the two songs is “Love Me Tonight” by the wonderful vocalist Annette Hanshaw, and that’s her trademark “that’s all” at the end of the video.
It’s a reminder that color, and beauty, are timeless.
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Taking a studio ‘tour’
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.27 at 13:35
Current mood: 
curious
We’ll start in Hollywood, specifically at the studio Carole called home for seven years, Paramount. Here’s what the place looked like in the 1930s; that large area of land just to the north of the studio is the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.
Here’s the Paramount lot in 1936, taken from a building across the street, hence the unusual angle:
Now let’s go next door to RKO, where Lombard spent nearly two years:
This was taken in the spring of 1940, when “Irene,” with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland, was making the rounds of theaters.
It’s off to Culver City, and a studio Lombard was familiar with at different times of her career:
That’s what’s now known as the Culver Studios. In 1925, when this photo was taken, it was the Thomas Ince Studios — and later that decade, it would be taken over by Pathe, and Lombard would make her first all-talking features on the lot.
Fast forward a decade to 1935…
After serving as a studio for Pathe and then RKO, Selznick International Pictures would take over the facility, and it’s where Carole would film “Nothing Sacred” and “Made For Each Other.”
A bit further north up Washington Boulevard is the home of Ince’s first studio, shown in 1916 — then known as Triangle, but we know it better as MGM:
When Lombard made her only film at MGM, “The Gay Bride,” in 1934, this is what the studio complex looked like:
(The photo, which came from the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner archives, was cropped.)
Finally, let’s head north of Hollywood. Here’s the entrance to Universal Studios on May 29, 1939:
Now east to Burbank and the Warners lot in 1937, a year before Lombard went there to make “Fools For Scandal”:
Hope you enjoyed your visit to Hollywood past.
Carole goes on “Stage”
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.26 at 09:08
Current mood: 
artistic
If you think we’re referring to Carole Lombard’s admittedly minimal experience in live theater, you’re mistaken. (She apparently did some work with a Pasadena company after recovering from her automobile accident, but that’s about it.) No, this concerns an entertainment magazine called Stage ––
The magazine also features some fascinating ads, such as this one for the Samuel Goldwyn film “Dead End”:
And take a look at this artistic ad for lipstick (wonder if Carole ever used that brand?):
The magazine is being auctioned at eBay; as of this writing, three bids have been made, the highest being for $24.47. Want to get in on it? Then hurry — bidding closes at just after 9:10 p.m. (Eastern) tonight. Go to http://cgi.ebay.com/Sept-1937-STAGE-Magazine-GARBO-Carole-Lombard-H-HAYES_W0QQitemZ400068578703QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMagazines?hash=item5d25f20d8f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.
Oh, and now that I think of it, Carole did have a pretty substantial stage career after all. Sound stages, that is.
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Have some ‘Fun in Flickers’
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.25 at 00:08
Current mood: nostalgic
Carole Lombard was (usually) an interviewer’s delight, full of vibrant comments and fascinating recollections. One of her most famous interviews was the one shown above, “Fun In Flickers” (http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/85538.html), which ran in the Feb. 24, 1940 issue of Collier’smagazine:
What’s in it, in addition to the Lombard interview?
* A story about how Paris is coping with war, several months before the city fell to the Germans.
* A sports story about the “two-fisted champions” — the University of Oregon basketball team, which the year before had won the initial NCAA tournament (though at the time it wasn’t as highly regarded as the National Invitation Tournament, which had begun a year earlier).
* An article on hope for those suffering from leprosy.
And much more — a snapshot of a fascinating time.
If this strikes your fancy, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/1940-Colliers-February-24-Carole-Lombard-Oregon-Basket_W0QQitemZ170375541798QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMagazines?hash=item27ab2c7426&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14. But hurry…
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Carole, Clark and…who?
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.24 at 00:01
Current mood: confused
As the seller on eBay so accurately described it, Clark and Carole are accompanied by “a third person who looks familiar but I can’t name.” If it’s any solace to the seller, I can’t identify him, either (though judging from the costume, it might be someone related to the production of “Gone With The Wind”).. But if you can, let me know.In addition, if you’d like to purchase this picture, or just learn more about it, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/Clark-Gable-Carole-Lombard-Candid-Movie-Photo_W0QQitemZ320413810306QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9a26be82&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14. One bid has already been made at $5.99 as of this writing, and bidding closes at just after 8:45 p.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday.Oh, and one more thing — Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. will be airing “Nothing Sacred” at 6:45 p.m. (Eastern) tonight as part of a day-long Fredric March tribute on its “Summer Under The Stars.”Edit Tags Add to memories Share Track
Remembering Rudy
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.23 at 00:06
Current mood: nostalgic
There aren’t very many people left who were alive when Carole Lombard was still with us…and far fewer who can make that claim about having existed simultaneously with Rudolph Valentino, who passed away 83 years ago today, on Aug. 23, 1926.And through her movies, Lombard still speaks to us; even if silent film was somehow magically audible, Valentino would come to us in a totally foreign dialect, so to speak; thus was the “language” of the silent cinema.It’s difficult for contemporary audiences to grasp Valentino’s significance to film. He was the first of the so-called “Latin lovers” to become a big star on screen (ironic, since Valentino was Italian, not from Spain or Latin America, although his breakthrough role came as an Argentinian in “The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse”). He paved the way for others in that vein, although some of them weren’t Latin, either, such as Ricardo Cortez, who was actually Jewish and from Austria. You could argue that Russ Columbo, shown below, continued the Valentino tradition from a musical perspective.
Watch some of Valentino’s films, and you can fully comprehend his stardom in a way that mere stills can’t show. He was magnetic, charismatic, but he rarely took it to excess. Indeed, he could — and sometimes did — gently lampoon his image. Most of his fan base was female, but many men respected his work.
One of the great questions of film history is whether Valentino could have made the transition to talking pictures. There are some recordings of Valentino’s voice, and he certainly doesn’t sound inconsistent with his screen persona. But would he have received scripts with dialogue that fit the new paradigm of the talkies? (That, more than his voice, was what doomed John Gilbert; florid prose that seemed appropriate on title cards sounded ludicrous when actually spoken.) Even if Valentino had made a seamless transition to talkies, he might not have withstood the change in sensibilities that came when the Depression hit full force in 1931 and the new male ideal shifted to tougher types such as James Cagney and Clark Gable.
Carole Lombard likely saw a few Valentino films as a teenager, but as far as I know, she never met him. (At the time of his death, she was still 17 and recuperating from the automobile accident that had left a scar along her left cheek.) But one of Carole’s contemporaries did meet Valentino — in fact, she credited him with getting her movie career started. We are referring to Myrna Loy, who tried out for a small role in Valentino’ 1925 film “Cobra,” but didn’t get it. However, Valentino was impressed with Loy (then known as Myrna Williams), and helped her get a chorus role in the 1925 Metro film “Pretty Ladies.”
Valentino is also remembered today for the fervor of his fandom following his death, something that now is almost considered the thing of parody. Fortunately, in recent years Valentino’s legacy has been treated with far more respect, and today at 12:10 p.m. at the Cathedral Mausoleum of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (shown below), the annual memorial service will be held.
The featured speaker will be the actor’s great-grandniece, Jeanine Villalobos — marking the first time a family member will have appeared at the service since the 1930s. She will read letters that Alberto Valentino, Rudolph’s brother, had mailed to Italy discussing the outpouring from the public at the time of the actor’s funeral. That evening at the cemetery, two Valentino fioms, “A Society Sensation” and “Stolen Moments,” will be presented.
At Allan R. Ellenberger’s fine “Hollywoodland” site, he has put up several entries that provide more insight into Valentino the actor and Valentino the man.
* For more on the service, visit http://blog.allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/rudolph-valentino-memorial-service-3/.
* He conjectures where the actor might have been buried if his life had gone a bit differently at http://blog.allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/valentinos-alternate-ending/.
* The story of a “forgotten” admirer, who so loved Valentino she named her son, who died at childbirth, after him, can be found at http://blog.allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/valentinos-forgotten-admirer/.
* For recollections of Valentino from another noted actor, Gilbert Roland, go to http://blog.allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/gilbert-roland-on-valentino/
* And a report, with pictures, on the service can be found at http://blog.allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/rudolph-valentino-memorial-service-4/
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Using a British bus ‘to look for America’
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.22 at 00:01
Current mood: 
restless
It was originally planned to be a little film called “Night Bus,” based upon a story no one thought was anything particularly special. It could have starred Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy, or Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, but Lombard — one of the few actresses in the industry who didn’t mind being loaned out to Harry Cohn and Columbia, decided to stay put at Paramount to make a dance film with George Raft called “Bolero.”Gable’s co-star would be Claudette Colbert, the film would be retitled “It Happened One Night,” and it came out of nowhere to become a word of mouth hit that cleaned up at the Oscars.It’s perhaps Hollywood’s most illustrious example of buses on screen.. Of course, buses have figured prominently in other parts of American culture. (think of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” or “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival). Well, now Greyhound — an iconic brand — is being carried over to Great Britain for travel.
Beginning next month, buses under the Greyhound name will run trips from London to Portsmouth and Southampton. Of course, the UK is a far more compact land than America, endowed with an efficient, far-reaching rail system. Unlike the U.S., there are few out-of-the-way villages — the communities that made Greyhound such an important mode of transit in America.
To learn more about Greyhound’s American history and its plans for Great Britain, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8212248.stm. Oh, and if you ride one night, say hi to Peter and Ellie for us.
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Get your ‘Hands Across’ this press sheet
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.21 at 00:01
Current mood: mellow
Overlooked by more than a few classic film buffs for many years, “Hands Across The Table” is increasingly being deemed one of the best films Carole Lombard ever made — or at the very least the best thing she did in her seven years at Paramount — since its inclusion in “The Carole Lombard Glamour Collection” DVD set nearly 3 1/2 years ago.Now you have an opportunity to purchase an artifact from that 1935 film. We’re specifically referring to a press sheet promoting the movie:
Note the reference “It pays to advertise” on the back page; was the use of that phrase merely a coincidence, or was one of the Paramount press people a Lombard fan using the term as sort of an in-joke? Whatever, it sure would be nice to own one of those “magnetic pictorials.”The seller provides us with more information on the person who originally owned this and many other items being auctioned:
“Paul Denis worked for Billboard from 1931 to 1943, first as an associate editor, then as managing editor, before moving to the New York Post, where he became assistant to the columnist Earl Wilson. He also wrote for magazines and was the author of six books, including ‘Inside the Soaps.’ Mr. Denis founded Daytime TV magazine in 1969.” The seller promises many more items from the partial estate.
The item is being sold for $29.95 under eBay’s “buy it now” option. If interested, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/Carole-Lombard-Fred-MacMurray-Hands-Across-the-Table_W0QQitemZ380114562289QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item588097ecf1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.under
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More history in the cards
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.20 at 16:31
Current mood: creative
Slightly more than three months ago, we discussed the incredibly attractive film star cards issued by the Garbaty tobacco company of Germany (http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/205341.html). As it turns out, another Carole Lombard card issued by Garbaty has been put up for auction. I’ll tell you a little more about it after I present you with the image, and the back of the card as well (which has no information directly about Lombard):
This card is from 1937, among the last cards Garbaty issued (by this time, the Garbaty family, which was Jewish, had flad Nazi Germany for the U.S.). The series called “Film-Lieblinge” (Film Favorites). This series was comparatively less ornate than some of the earlier Garbaty series, but is nonetheless beautiful. A total of 200 cards were issued, 160 of which were at the same scale as previous sets and 40 at a larger 2 7/16″ X 3 1/4″ size. I believe this is one of the larger cards.Both the size and its relative rarity may account for the higher value of this, compared to other Lombard cards from Garbaty; it has a “buy it now” price of $89.99. If you’re interested in purchasing it, or would like to learn more, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/1937-Garbaty-114-Carole-Lombard-SGC-88_W0QQitemZ250453953386QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a50380b6a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14Edit Tags Add to memories Share Track
Tomorrow, have some Hopkins
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.19 at 00:21
Current mood: ecstatic
Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. continues its splendid “Summer Under The Stars” series until the end of August, and tomorrow, the 20th, a fine actress who’s sometimes overlooked — though it has little to do with the high caliber of her acting — will get her due. We are referring to Miriam Hopkins, whose career may have intersected more with Carole Lombard’s than any other actress of the time. That’s Miriam, above, in “Fast And Loose,” a film she made with Lombard in 1930. Unfortunately, it’s not on TCM’s schedule, but a lot of other good films are.And three of the highlights are slated for prime time, as we’ll see a tripleheader of Hopkins with arguably her favorite director, the great Ernst Lubitsch.
At 9:45, Hopkins teams with Herbert Marshall and Kay Francis in the stylish “Trouble In Paradise” from 1932, and at 11:15 is the delightful 1933 gem “Design For Living” with Fredric March and Gary Cooper.Beyond that are Hopkins films in all sorts of settings, from romantic comedy (1934’s “The Richest Girl In The World” at 8:15 a.m.) to drama (“These Three” from 1936 at 2:45 a.m.(, even a western (1940’s “Virginia City” at 4 p.m.). Hopkins was an intelligent woman who could be difficult to work with at times but was nevertheless respected for her skills.
There are even two films Hopkins made with Bette Davis (who ended up taking Hopkins’ husband from her, triggering a feud that would last for years), “The Old Maid” (1939( at 12:15 p.m. and “Old Acquaintance” (1943) at 2.
For the entire schedule, go to http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=8/20/2009&timezone=EST&cid=N.
Backward, into the future!
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.18 at 01:11
Current mood: relieved
Imagine a society where the typical American women stands at the stature of your typical WNBA player or supermodel, women to literally look up to. Well, according to this story in the Associated Press, this should have already taken place…back in the year 2000, when women were going to averagebetween 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-2.The AP story was actually a prediction, made all the way back in December 1949. The mid-century was approaching, and so it was appropriate for many to look a half-century hence and predict what life would be like in that far-off time. And while American women are slightly taller than their counterparts of 1950, they certainly haven’t morphed into a legion of feminine giants (nor have they developed, on average, the size 11 feet this article predicted).Welcome to past views of the future; some of the predictions are right on target, others, like this one, not so much. They are fascinating to examine, sometimes for their accuracy, other times for their ludicrousness. The above clipping is from a site called “Paleo-Future” (http://www.paleofuture.com/), which has all sorts of examples. Some will elicit a chuckle, others a knowing nod. (And speaking of nods, the subject title is a twist on “Forward, Into The Past,” the title of a Firesign Theatre skit lampooning the excesses of old-time radio.)During the 1930s, there were some concepts of the world of the future — think of the Flash Gordon serials (with Charles Middleton in his memorable turn as Ming the Merciless). Another came in a Pathetone newsreel that imagined futuristic fashion in “Eve, A.D. 2,000!”
Here are two stills of what the narrator said are imaginings “from top designers” as to what women would be wearing in 2000:
Yeah, I’m sure this is how Travis Banton, Adrian and Irene viewed women’s wear more than 60 years into the future. This seems about as accurate as the prediction that women of the millennium would be a group of towering amazons, futuristic Xenas.
But before you guys begin to chortle, here’s what the designers envisioned you wearing:
Must be one of Ming’s assistants.
Fortunately, we have the entire segment, featuring even more outlandish designs:
One wonders whether Carole Lombard ever imagined what life would be like in 2000. Perhaps she did, but if so, she probably never talked about it — and she may not have envisioned seeing it for herself. After all, she would have been a few months past age 91 as the odometer of time changed all its digits and became 2000.
With that thought (and the 900th post at “Carole & Co.”), I’m off to bed, and will sleep well as a Washington Nationals fan now that Stephen Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 amateur draft, signed with the team at the deadline last night. Welcome to Washington. and we eagerly await to see Nationals Park become…
Candidly Carole
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.17 at 00:01
Current mood: cheerful
I am told it’s from about 1935, but that’s about all I know about it. I have no idea who the other person in the photo is (perhaps it’s someone I should recognize, but don’t) or where this was taken.But don’t those eyes of Lombard’s just draw you in? Isn’t that smile marvelous? (Although I will concede that for a second or so, one might wonder whether that’s Carole or her old Cocanut Grove dance rival, Joan Crawford.) Anyway, it’s stunning, and I’m a bit surprised that this is the first time I’ve come across this photograph.Want some more surprises?
* The photo is being auctioned at eBay, specifically at http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-CANDID-STILL-OF-ACTRESS-CAROLE-LOMBARD-Circa-1935_W0QQitemZ180397487712QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a00873660&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.
* Even though the opening bid request is for all of $5.99 (on an 8″ x 10″ high quality glossy paper), no one has bid on the item as of this writing. The deadline is 10 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday.
Let’s hope this picture finds a buyer. After all, candidness was always one of Lombard’s charms.
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Photographed by Richee…printed by Hurrell
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.16 at 00:01
Current mood: impressed
This photograph was taken at Paramount in 1936 by the studio’s top photographer at the time, Eugene Robert Richee, as he surrounds Carole’s alabaster features in white. Merely seeing it on the screen is beautiful, but imagine having this exquisite portrait the way it was meant to be seen — a double weight, silver gelatin printing in a high-gloss finish. This is how George Hurrell and other legends of the art of portrait photography went about creating their masterpieces. In fact, this was printed by Mark Vieira, whose array of books on Hollywood history include a Hurrell biography. Moreover, this was made in the very building where Hurrell maintained his studio for many years.In addition to the 8″ x 10″ portrait, the winning bidder will get a “Certificate of authenticity as well as appraisal for $950… a copy of a great letter from Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and another from Helmut Newton both discussing Hurrell.”Currently, one bid has been placed at $29.99; bidding closes at 8:48 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday. If you’re interested, and what fan of portrait photography wouldn’t be, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/EUGENE-ROBERT-RICHEE-INCREDIBLE-CAROLE-LOMBARD-PHOTO_W0QQitemZ370244600218QQcmdZViewItemQQptZArt_Photo_Images?hash=item56344c419a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.Edit Tags Add to memories Share Track
Hollywood and a family patriarch
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.15 at 00:01
Current mood: 
accomplished
The death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, earlier this week at age 88 again reminded us of the major role the Kennedy family has played in American society. And the man who started it all, family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy (shown at lower left in the family portrait).If you ever wondered where the Kennedys’ infatuation with actresses came from (John F. Kennedy Jr, with Daryl Hannah, John F. Kennedy with Gene Tierney and of course Marilyn Monroe, who was also rumored to have had a relationship with Robert F. Kennedy), well, let’s just say it’s a family tradition. For several years, Joseph P. Kennedy had an intimate relationship with Gloria Swanson, arguably the first “modern” star.But unlike his sons some decades later, Joe Kennedy wasn’t simply going to bed with a movie star; he was helping guide Swanson’s career to boost the studio he owned. Joseph was a businessman – a very good one – and you can learn a lot about his dealings in Hollywood, both professional and personal, in “Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years,” written by Cari Beauchamp.
Kennedy didn’t spend very many years in the film industry – less than a decade – but he was there from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s, a time when Hollywood was undergoing much upheaval. There was the transition to sound, of course, but the economics of movies were also changing. Studios were consolidating or merging in order to survive, resulting in filmdom’s eight major companies by the mid-1930s (Columbia, MGM, Paramount, RKO, Twentieth Century-Fox, United Artists, Universal and Warners), and Kennedy played a major role in that shift.
Kennedy, previously a successful Boston banker, ran several studios, wheeling and dealing. For a while he controlled First National, but it eventually wound up in the hands of Warners (which subsequently moved most of its operations from Sunset Boulevard to First National’s facility in Burbank). Kennedy assisted David Sarnoff and others in the creation of what became RKO, to whom he later sold his interests in Pathe Pictures. (By the way, in the early thirties, RKO-Pathe was located on the former Thomas Ince lot on Washington Boulevard in the Culver City – the site that later in the decade became home to Selznick International Pictures, where Carole Lombard would make two films.)
Speaking of Lombard, there’s little about her in this book. It notes she was among several actors let go by Pathe in late 1929, but doesn’t go into the primary reason why – newly arrived Constance Bennett’s contention that Lombard and fellow Pathe player Diane Ellis, both blondes, looked too much like her. Nor does it mention the incident, reported in Larry Swindell’s “Screwball” and other books, where Lombard was told to lose some weight after joining Pathe and her response to Kennedy, “You could stand to lose some weight yourself.”
Nevertheless, this is a fascinating book. Among the things you learn is how Kennedy helped platonic friend Marion Davies assist her financial bailout of William Randolph Hearst when he ran into difficulties in the mid-thirties. (In 1960, Davies aided John F. Kennedy’s campaign for the presidency, and was on hand for his inauguration the following January. She died that September.)
And while we’re on the subject of patriarchs, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the passing of a musical patriarch, Les Paul, who died earlier this week at age 94. Both a remarkable musician and a technical master, he did so much for the music industry…and until earlier this year was doing two shows with his trio every Monday at a midtown Manhattan jazz club.
As a tribute, here’s one of the nicest, most heartfelt things he ever did — the 1945 war-is-over standard, “It’s Been A Long, Long Time,” where Les plays guitar and Bing Crosby sings. I’m generally not as much a fan of Crosby’s forties work as I am his thirties output, but this is among the exceptions; Bing sings it ably, given lovely support by Les. There have been many fine versions of this song, but to me, this is the definitive one. Savor its beauty.
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An ‘Untouchable’ in Dodge City?
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.14 at 11:11
Current mood: contemplative
That’s Robert Stack with Carole Lombard in her final film, “To Be Or Not To Be.” They had been friends for several years, since Stack — a renowned skeet shooter — had given her lessons.Stack, who had been acting for several years before working on film with Lombard, would of course gain lasting fame for playing Eliot Ness in the early sixties series “The Untouchables.” However, if some CBS executives had had their way, Stack would have played another lawman who ultimately became famous…although, unlike Ness, he never actually existed.In the early fifties, CBS radio decided to try something new — a western series that went far beyond the horse opera shoot-’em-up cliches. It was called “Gunsmoke,” and when it came time to select a cast, some of the network suits wanted Stack to play the marshal of Dodge City, Matt Dillon. This put them at odds with the show’s creator, Norman MacDonnell, who sensed Stack would be too much a traditional heroic type. Instead, MacDonnell wanted to hire a veteran radio actor who had worked with him on other series such as “Escape.”Ultimately, MacDonnell got his way, and that’s how William Conrad came to play Marshal Dillon when “Gunsmoke” debuted on radio in April 1952. And thanks to fine acting from Conrad and other members of the cast, literate scripts and excellent sound work, “Gunsmoke” quickly became recognized as something far beyond the typical oater — radio’s equivalent of what was being done on screen at the time, such as “High Noon” or the James Stewart “psychological” westerns.Maybe Stack could have pulled it off. But Conrad gave Dillon’s character a texture, a weariness over the complexity of his work. As Dillon explained in the show’s opening, he was “the first man they look for and the last they wanna meet…It’s a chancy job, but it makes a man watchful. And a little lonely.”
Writers researched Dodge City of the 1870s to make it as realistic as possible; there really was a Front Street in town, and the Long Branch saloon actually existed. (The series’ authenticity was such that the Dodge City Chamber of Commerce wrote the program looking for information on whether someone named Matt Dillon had worked in the town at the time.)
By the early ’50s, network radio drama was reaching an artistic peak; production values had improved tremendously, as had the writing. (For proof, listen to “Dragnet” on radio and compare it with some of the police-detective shows of a few years earlier. “Dragnet’s” realism was a quantum leap forward, although the emphasis was on the procedural work, not the characters. Joe Friday was no Matt Dillon.) But just as silents faced a challenge from the comparatively primitive talkies, so was radio confronted by television.
So as “Gunsmoke” became a hit, there was talk that like “Dragnet,” it too would be adapted for TV. Cast members were hoping to make the switch as well, and began a campaign to show they could pull it off. They visited Knott’s Berry Farm in 1953 wearing western gear, and a few photos were made, such as this one:
That’s Conrad, flanked by Howard MacNear as Doc Adams, left, and Parley Baer as Dillon’s assistant (not a deputy), Chester Proudfoot. Above them is Georgia Ellis as Kitty, who ran the Long Branch (and overseer of its girls; there was always an undercurrent that she was a madam). TV fans will remember MacNear as Floyd the barber on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
CBS ultimately didn’t buy the argument, and when the TV version began in September 1955 — introduced by John Wayne, a major fan of the radio series — James Arness was cast as the marshal (he certainly looked the part more than Conrad did, although his voice was never quite as authoritative), and none of the radio actors made the switch to the TV series. (Many of the scripts used in the first few years of the TV series were adapted from those used on radio.)
The radio series continued to air, and in fact would run until June 1961, the death knell for traditional network radio. (Two other CBS series, “Suspense” and “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar,” continued through September 1962.) The TV series ran for two decades, and is still highly regarded — although many still deem the radio “Gunsmoke” to be the definitive version.
To compare the radio and TV “Gunsmokes”‘ approach to the same scene, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3LGw4C9y7g. To hear some “Gunsmoke” radio episodes, visit http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/template.php?show_name=Gunsmoke.
Lombard at her ‘Worst’
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.13 at 11:11
Current mood: amused
And no, I’m not referring to “The Gay Bride” or “Fools For Scandal” (or, if you’re Leonard Maltin, “True Confession”). This is actually about a film Carole Lombard never made, though she came close to doing so.We’re referring to a 1933 movie made at Fox called “The Worst Woman In Paris.” Great title, huh? One that any actress would be proud of (he said sarcastically). Well, on July 1, 1933, Harrison Carroll in the Los Angeles Evening Herald-Expressreported Lombard had been signed for the lead role. According to G.D. Hamann’s research, she was the latest star to fill the part:“Siren types used to be plentiful in Hollywood, but to hear Fox, there is an acute shortage just now. After a two months’ search they have signed Carole Lombard to play the lead in ‘The Worst Woman In Paris.’“The filling of this part has given the studio more grief than selecting the complete cast of any two normal pictures. Almost every actress in Hollywood has been under consideration at one time or another.”First it was Jean Harlow, then it was Myrna Loy. MGM wouldn’t loan its platinum-haired sensation, and Myrna took sick just before the picture was supposed to start. Between times, attempts had been made to sign Tallulah Bankhead, Claudette Colbert, Kay Francis and Ann Dvorak. Even Mary Astor, who is scarcely the siren type, was once mentioned for the role.
“Director Monta Bell is praying that Carole will keep her health, so he can start the cameras grinding at last.”
According to Lombard biographer Larry Swindell, Carole didn’t, coming down with a case of her “annual influenza” that forced her to drop out. And perhaps that played a part. But six days later, the Herald-Express reported Lombard “is said by her mother to have gone to Reno to establish residence and seek a divorce from William Powell … Incompatibility of temperament is blamed.” And in Carroll’s column that day:
“…Director Monta Bell is almost ready to beat his head against the wall. After endless negotiations, Carole Lombard was finally signed to play in ‘The Worst Woman In Paris.’ Now she too drops out of the role. Says Monta, ‘If I don’t get a leading woman by next week, I’m going to use a female impersonator.'”
But Bell — who also helped write the screenplay — never had to approach Julian Eltinge to play the worst-man-dressed-as-a-woman-in-Paris. That’s because he wound up with Benita Hume, better known now as Mrs. Ronald Colman, as the lead, joining the cast that included Adolphe Menjou and Helen Chandler.
As it turned out, it wasn’t much of a film; “Halliwell’s Film Guide” called it a “Silly, pointless story on which good production values are wasted,” while at the time of its release in December 1933, Variety said it “Does not give promise of scoring in any placement.” But nearly 70 years later, it apparently scored well when revived at a movie convention in Syracuse. One reviewer called it a sophisticated comedy at the Internet Movie Database. (Noted film authority William K. Everson also liked it.) The movie was also shown at Film Forum in New York at a December 2007 pre-Code festival; it’s probably shown every now and then on the Fox Movie Channel.
Incidentally, “The Worst Woman In Paris” (which occasionally has a question mark at the end of the title) was among a number of films criticized by the Legion of Decency in its ultimately successful battle to more strictly enforce the Production Code.
But whether it was through influenza, a divorce, or both, Lombard was able to evade the role — and any subsequent jokes about being cast in a film with that title.
Oh, and Mary Astor “scarcely the siren type”? Well, her diary hadn’t yet been made public.
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In the ‘quintessential’ winner’s circle
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.12 at 11:01
Current mood: happy
We know Carole Lombard is a winner — and now we have demonstrable proof. (Above is Seabiscuit, one of the all-time great racehorses, and one Lombard probably saw race, posting a win at Santa Anita in 1937.)The “Hollywood Dreamland” blog recently asked its readers to name the quintessential actress of the 1930s. Eight names were listed (though several deserving candidates, such as Jean Arthur, Claudette Colbert and Irene Dunne were omitted, presumably for lack of space), and Lombard not only won, but won going away.Carole Lombard, 29 votes, 26%Bette Davis, 18 votes, 16%
Jean Harlow, 16 votes, 14%
Myrna Loy and Ginger Rogers, 14 votes each, 12%
Katharine Hepburn, 7 votes, 6%
Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, 6 votes each, 5%Note the gap between Lombard and second-place Davis was only one vote less than that between Davis and the two seventh-place finishers, Crawford and Garbo.I’ve been credited for being a good “campaign manager” for Carole, and perhaps some of the votes for her can be directly attributed to this site. But Lombard’s life, work and personality speaks for itself.
For more on this poll — whose 110 votes represented a record for that blog — go to http://hollywooddreamland.blogspot.com/2009/08/poll-results-carole-lombard.html. And if you voted for her, thanks.
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Lombard ‘lived’ here
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.11 at 12:28
Current mood: curious
We’ve discussed places where Carole Lombard lived, but here’s an entry about a place one of her characters lived in, so to speak.The character is Jane Mason, whom Carole portrayed opposite James Stewart, shown above, in the 1939 Selznick International film “Made For Each Other.” The fictional couple lived in the east, but some of the settings for the film were derived from a home in California — or, should I say, homes...models from a late 1930s development called San Gabriel Village.According to an article in the Sept. 17, 1938 Los Angeles Evening Herald-Expressand unearthed by G.D. Hamann in his painstaking research of classic Hollywood, two model houses “provided inspiration” for settings, according to Lillian K. Deighton, the studio’s director of research.The article said the fireplace “is an exact duplication of the fireplaces in San Gabriel Village homes, with heart and facing of red brick and graceful white mantel. Living room furniture is directly inspired by the decorative schemes of both model homes. The kitchen is a replica of the kitchen in the model home at 1003 Del Mar.”I have no idea whether Lombard visited the homes as part of the research — but since she had designs on a house she could someday share with Clark Gable, she very well have made a tour of her own. (And having moved into a few houses in recent years, she certainly had some experience with the subject.)
The houses appear to be still there, judging from a Google map search. To reach them, take Valley Boulevard to Del Mar and turn north a few blocks; they are at the intersection with West and East Fairview avenues. Perhaps the fireplaces remain as they were in 1938, but one presumes the living room furniture and kitchen have undergone their share of changes.
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Danger for Davies
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.10 at 11:23
Current mood: discontent
That’s Carole Lombard’s good friend Marion Davies with Leslie Howard in the 1931 drama “Five And Ten.” Before that year was ended, Davies’ life was shaken by a bomb threat, one that could have seriously injured or even killed her.It occurred on Dec. 21, at Davies’ Ocean House in Santa Monica. The generous Davies was planning to send some of the gifts she received to needy children, and she asked a butler to open a small package that had been labeled “Personal Only for Marion Davies,” and inside was a small jewelry box with a key fastened to its side. According to Davies biographer Fred Lawrence Guiles, “When the butler touched the key, smoke began to pour from the [box] and Marion screamed to him to throw it out of the house.” It was tossed onto the beach, the sheriff’s office were called and after the device was soaked, the box was opened and a potent explosive was found — reportedly leaden pellets from a .22 caliber rifle.Who did it? According to the Hollywood Citizen-News,police had one suspect, a Casper J. Potter, 30, of West 10th Street, who had just been arrested on an extortion plot against a wealthy Los Angeles woman. The handwriting on that letter was similar to one received by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, the studio where Davies then worked.The Citizen-News information was researched by G.D. Hamann, but no follow-up items were given, probably meaning that either Potter was cleared or no suspect was ever found. (It should be noted that the Citizen-Newswas not a Hearst paper, and it is unclear whether the perpetrator was familiar with the link between Davies and publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.)Whatever, Guiles wrote, the incident was “a sordid end to a bad year, and Marion fretted for a long time over the fact that there was someone unknown who resented her enough to take her life.”
“…and in flew Enza.”
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.08 at 11:00
Current mood: 
listless
One of the things we do at “Carole & Co.” is not just review Carole Lombard’s career as an actress and a star, but her life and the environment she lived in. We’re doing that in today’s entry — one that sort of resonates to conditions we may soon be facing.Despite Carole’s athleticism, she was remarkably susceptible to ailments throughout her life. This goes back as far as her childhood as Jane Alice Peters; had she not suffered a sustained cold at age 6, Bess Peters and her three children might well have remained in San Francisco when they moved there from Fort Wayne in the fall of 1914. Jane’s life would have been very different, and though she still may have tried to become an actress, she wouldn’t have had the factory-town connections Los Angeles provided.Let’s turn the clock ahead four years, to October 1918, when Jane had just turned 10 and her only connection to the movies was attending them. At the time, Los Angeles and much of wartime America was facing an epidemic of what was called “Spanish influenza” — though there was nothing to confirm that it was spawned in Spain.Los Angeles, a rapidly growing city, feared being hard hit (at a time when it was building many ships to aid the Allied cause in the World War, which would end in about a month), and so city officials took action. Group meetings were barred; places where masses could gather, such as theaters and libraries, were closed. Department stores could remain open, but sales promotions were discouraged. Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway streetcars were vacuumed daily to prevent the spread of the disease. Even church services were shut down, and many of the city’s larger Protestant churches presented their sermons in newspapers.About the only places where people congregated were pharmacies, in order to purchase medicines and other preventative items. For more on the epidemic in southern California in 1918, go to http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/04/los-angeles-fights-the-flu-october-13-1918.html
Larry Swindell makes no mention of the flu strain’s effects on Jane in his Lombard biography, “Screwball.” At the time, Jane and her family were living on South Catalina Street (a few blocks west of the current Wilshire/Vermont Metrorail station), and she and her brothers received a brief school holiday due to the outbreak. (We do know Carole would be laid low by the flu a few times during the 1930s.)
Despite the lighthearted look shown above (and the jokey phrase “and in flew Enza”), the flu would be no laughing matter. It would last about a year and a half, killing millions worldwide. With a re-emergence of the H1N1 flu a definite possibility, it’s good to learn from the past about living safely.
What made Sammy run? And what made Carole live there?
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.07 at 11:22
Current mood: 
awake
If that was indeed Lombard’s domicile, it apparently wasn’t for very long, as she and Powell soon moved to a house of their own that was recently put up for sale (http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/210183.html). However, that’s not the only tie Colonial House has with classic Hollywood. It was Bette Davis’ last domicile on the West Coast (she had a sixth-floor penthouse, according to Alleman), and she lived there until her death in the fall of 1989.And fictionally, it was the home of Sammy Glick, the title character in Budd Schulberg’s famed 1941 novel “What Makes Sammy Run?” Schulberg, who wrote some of the 1950s’ best screenplays (“On The Waterfront,” “A Face In The Crowd”), died earlier this week at age 95. (He also helped rewrite the screenplay of “Nothing Sacred” after Ben Hecht left the production.)Of Glick’s Colonial House apartment, he wrote, it was “one of the smallest in the building and even that must have been way beyond his means…but he wrote off only part of the expense to shelter, the rest to prestige.”
I’m trying to watch a movie!
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.06 at 10:53
Current mood: curious
That’s Marion Davies and William Haines watching a movie — one made by Marion’s character, I believe — in the 1928 King Vidor classic “Show People.” We’re using it because I just came across a blog entry about the problems some face when they watch a classic movie in a theater or some other public environment (such as outdoors on a large screen during the summer), and some rather uncouth people spoil the experience by hooting at the film for whatever unknown reason. You can find the entry — and a number of comments on the topic — at http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/movie-hating-public.html#commentsI’m fortunate in that I can’t recall ever encountering such a situation — it may have helped that most of my viewings have come at revival houses in places such as New York City, where there is a considerable clientele who treat these films with respect and not as camp — but I’ve probably been one of the lucky ones. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time.My question to you is, have you ever been faced with this situation? What movie was it, and what was the apparent reason for such behavior? (One comment in the above entry refers to people hooting at Jean Arthur’s rather unique voice while “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” was shown. I viewed that film in public nearly five years ago, and thankfully no one stooped to such an action.)
I guess part of me is particularly interested in seeing if any screenings of Carole Lombard films have received such nefarious treatment, but this query applies to any film from the classic era.
So let us know.
P.S. An update on the “quintessential 1930s actress” poll at “Hollywood Dreamland” — Carole Lombard now has the lead! She has 23 votes, while Bette Davis has 16 votes and “Libeled Lady” co-stars Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy have 13 each. There are still a few days left to vote, so if you haven’t, go to http://hollywooddreamland.blogspot.com/ and cast your ballot for Carole.
Carole Lombard, godmother
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.05 at 15:04
Current mood: content
Imagine having Carole Lombard as your godmother. For one man, that is indeed a reality.His name is Richard Lang, son of director Walter Lang, shown below (who directed a number of musicals for 20th Century-Fox, such as “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “The King And I,” as well as Lombard’s own “Love Before Breakfast” for Universal) and Madalynne Fields, Carole’s old friend from Mack Sennett days and later her personal secretary.She and Lang married in 1937, and later had a son, Richard; Carole was named his godmother.Like his father, he became a director; most of Richard’s work came in TV, where he directed episodes of series ranging from “Julia” (the groundbreaking late-sixties sitcom starring Diahann Carroll), “Charlie’s Angels,” “Jake And The Fatman” (starring William Conrad, perhaps best known as Marshall Dillon on the classic radio version of “Gunsmoke”), and later “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place.” His last credit, according to the Internet Movie Database, came in 1997, so I assume he’s at least semi-retired from the industry.Both his parents lived to see him gain some success in the business, as Walter Lang died in February 1972 and Madalynne Fields Lang died some 2 1/2 years later.
Carole with her Buddy
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.04 at 11:06
Current mood: giddy
I’ve seen a lot of photos from Carole Lombard’s first Paramount film, 1930’s “Safety In Numbers” with Buddy Rogers, but this one is new to me, and probably rare. And it’s up for auction.The minimum bid is $29.99, and the deadline for bidding is just after 8 p.m. (Eastern) Friday. As of this writing, no bids have been placed. If interested (or if you’re having problems viewing this image), go to http://cgi.ebay.com/CAROLE-LOMBARD-ROGERS-1930-VINTAGE-MOVIE-PHOTO-1177_W0QQitemZ350234433569QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518b995821&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.Edit Tags Add to memories Share Track
Tomorrow, it’s Satchmo’s birthday!
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.03 at 12:14
Current mood: happy
Finally, I knew Armstrong played on country legend Jimmie Rodgers’ 1930 “Blue Yodel No. 9.” But what I didn’t know is that Louis did a version of it with Johnny Cash on Cash’s TV show in October 1970:
On Aug. 4, WKCR-FM (89.9 in New York) will present a 24-hour Armstrong “birthday broadcast,” as it does annually. You can hear the marathon at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/.
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A lot to love about Loy
Posted by vp19 on 2009.08.01 at 11:19
Current mood: satisfied
It’s rather appropriate that the most prolific, and beloved, screen couple in the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — the studio with a lion mascot — were both Leos. (So am I, for that matter, born Aug. 19.) Earlier this week, we saluted William Powell on the anniversary of his birth; now, we’ll do likewise with Myrna Loy, who was born 104 years ago tomorrow. (This is being done a day ahead of schedule because I may not have access to a computer tomorrow.)We’ve written Loy’s praises before — and her autobiography, “Being And Becoming,” is a must for anyone interested in classic Hollywood — so this time, we’ll supply you with some tidbits regarding Myrna’s magnificent career:* By the time of “The Thin Man,” the film that firmly established the Powell-Loy team (they had worked together earlier in 1934 in “Manhattan Melodrama”), Myrma had already made 81 movies in nine years. In some years, she made as many as 12 films.* She got her break through Rudolph Valentino. She got a tryout for his film “Cobra,” and while she didn’t get the part, both he and his wife, Natalia Rambova, were supportive. Myrna’s first film, “Pretty Ladies,” came later in 1925, as she and Joan Crawford both played chorus girls.* Did you know Loy once worked with Ernst Lubitsch? It was in the mid-twenties silent “So This Is Paris,” where Myrna has a small role as a maid.
* Myrna did a lot of “exotic” roles up until 1932, as her slightly slanted eyes could be exaggerated for such parts, but she once even performed in blackface. It was for a 1927 film, “Ham And Eggs At The Front,” a World War I farce about black soldiers written by Darryl F. Zanuck! Truth be told, Loy looks more like a Native American than a black woman, and she appears nowhere as grotesque as the males made up in heavy blackface, but Myrna — who as early as the 1930s decried racial stereotyping in movies — regretted this movie for the rest of her life.
* There might have been one more Powell-Loy film — “Escapade” — but Myrna walked off the set, and it had nothing to do with Powell. Rather, it was that she believed MGM wasn’t paying her at the level it was paying other stars at the studio. The move paid off, as she soon received an improved contract. (Incidentally, Loy’s replacement in the film was Luise Rainer.)
* During the first few years of talkies, Loy was occasionally loaned out to smaller, independent studios — companies such as Gotham, Chesterfield and Sono Art that are more or less forgotten today.
* Loy was married four times, but none of them were to fellow actors. Perhaps the closest she ever came to marrying one came late in the 1950s, when she had a romance with, of all people, Montgomery Clift (who was 15 years her junior).
* Both Loy and Kay Francis were initially sought to play the mother in the Lana Turner version of “Madame X,” but both turned it down. The role instead went to Constance Bennett, who died soon after filming was completed. (When Bennett was at her peak in 1931, Loy made a film called “Consolation Marriage,” and one reviewer said it was “a bad Connie Bennett picture.”)
Anyway, a happy birthday to one of the classiest people in Hollywood.
Carole & Co. 
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