WOW geniunely sorry Walter I thought it had only been 2 days since I was on this thread last,didnt realise it was 5 days ,got sidetracked in the scottish independence debate.

I adore Sunset Boukevard and Gloria Swanson had some hard to define "star quality"-imo undoubtedly her best performance.

The file on Thelma Jordan is not a film Ive familiarised myself with I will take your esteeming of it as a pointer to seek it out at some point

Has there been any more word on how Leslie Phillips is doing after his stroke?

No problem, I noticed that you were busy discussing more serious matters.

If you have a DVD player that takes all regions you can get an imported copy of The File on Thelma Jordon from Amazon.co.uk for £11.55 plus £1.26 postage.

If you look on Amazon you will see what an eye catching cover it has. Although my equipment does take all regions, I discovered that it won't play American Blu-ray discs, so I had to return it.

I have just noticed that you can watch the complete film on YouTube, You will be hooked as soon as you see the credits; it has a stunning score by Victor Young.

I haven't read anymore about Leslie Phillips since last month when he was interviewed in hospital and cracked, "I'm too young to pop off!"

I think I will check youtube first for a taste and If I like will purchase.Thanks for the tip.

I see from your thread that another star from your list has died http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/...s-aged-84.html

Any word on what you feel about her career and best film?

When I was a kid I was a big fan of the comedy films of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. I remember Polly as a pretty 20 year old starlet in At War With the Army, That's My Boy, and The Stooge. What I didn't know until recently was that she was already an established singer.

When she was refused an audition for a Broadway revival of "Follies" in 2001, she contacted the composer Stephen Sondheim. He auditioned her, and gave her the role of the fading star who sings of her career ups and downs in the show stopping number, "I'm Still Here" She could have been singing the story of her own life, and her performance brought her a Tony Award Nomination.

Incidentally, another former screen Goddess Yvonne de Carlo sang that song in the show when it first opened on Broadway. I have the album and it is a stunning number.

I guess that these lyrics would describe any of the great ladies of the Golden Age.

"First you're another sloe-eyed vamp, then someone's mother, then you're camp.
Then you career from career to career. I'm almost through my memoirs, and I'm here.

Good times and bad times, I've seen 'em all. And my dear, I'm here.
Plush velvet sometimes, sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here.

I've run the gamut, A to Z. Three cheers and dammit, C'est la vie.
I've got through all of last year, and I'm here.
Lord knows at least I was there, and I'm here.
Look who's here, I'm still here!"

Bette Davis had hoped to star in the film version, and knew all of those lyrics, sadly, it was too much of an expensive risk, and it never happened.

I never saw Polly in War and Remembrance, but I liked her in Move Over Darling with James Garner and Doris Day, and of course, Cape Fear.

Wow Polly seems to have been much more of a player in Hollywood than Id realised!If she was in Move Over Darling then I have seen her many many times

I cant shake the feeling Walter that another big name from your list is going to leave us soon

I always dread seeing this thread bumped for that reason.

Sorry But most of the time it aint bumped because of that but I understand the nervousness and uncertainty it can cause when you iniatially see the thread bumped.

I know just what you mean, this has been a really bad year for losing so many favourites. Of course, what I have to remind myself is that even I was a kid when most of these stars were at their peak, so it is inevitable that we are going to lose them, especially as many were in their 80's and 90's.

The worst year for me was 1990, beginning on January 20th when Barbara died, followed five days later by Ava Gardner. Other favourites who died that year were, Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paulette Goddard, Terry-Thomas, Joan Bennett, Eve Arden, Robert Cummings, Joel McCrea, Sammy Davis jnr, Capucine, Gordon Jackson, Jill Bennett, Arthur Kennedy, Howard Duff, Anne Revere, Jill Ireland, Irene Dunne, and although not a favourite, Garbo also died that year.

1990 was certainly a pretty bad year as was 1995 when we lost Lana Turner,Ginger Rogers,Dean Martin and somebody else big whos right on the tip of my tongue?

I do think Olivia De Havilland going by photos looks (hopefully) robust enough to reach 100 in 2016.

Here are more celebrity deaths in 1995:

Maxene Andrews (the middle Andrews sister), Vivian Blaine, Jeremy Brett, Elisha Cook jnr, Peter Cook, Gary Crosby (Bings oldest son), Paul Eddington (Jerry in The Good Life), David Farrar, Eva Gabor, Kathleen Harrison, Harry Guardino, Larry Grayson, Phil Harris, Michael Horden, Burl Ives, Vivecca Lindfors, Ida Lupino, Doug McClure, Butterfly McQueen, Elizabeth Montgomery, Donald Pleasance, Eric Porter, Robert Stephens, David Wayne, and Mary Wickes.

I would like to think that Olivia will make a Century, and I am hoping that Kirk Douglas will too, even though he is looking frail, not that he isn't entitled to at 98.

Ida Lupino was who I couldnt remember!Thank You!

You certainly are a treasure trove of information on Hollywood.

If your able and happy to do so could you please post similar lists for 2 specific years which for personal reasons are very significant to me?A list or highlighted list of which Hollywood stars/names/directors passed away /left us in 1988 and 1994?
If you cant do it I will understand

Anglia langsbury is going alright, isn't she. I never knew she started out as a chorus girl in the 30's. What a trooper.....

Angela Lansbury is extremely versatile, but she most certainly did NOT start out as a chorus girl in the 1930's.

Born in London in 1925, she was a 15 year old refugee when she moved to New York in 1940. She studied acting for two years before moving to Hollywood in 1942 where she signed with MGM and made her film debut in 1944.
She was NEVER a chorus girl.

I could of sworn I saw a doc where she said she was.... Still, she seems to be going strong whatever.....

Yes of course, it's a pleasure!

1988: John Carradine, Divine, Roy Kinnear, Gert Frobe, Bonita Granville, Trevor Howard, Ella Raines, John Houseman, Karen Steele, John Loder, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Ralph Meeker, Leonard Frey, Jeff Donnell, Roy Orbison, Andy Gibb, Alan Cuthbertson, Olive Carey, Colleen Moore, Emeric Pressburger, Brook Benton, Billy Daniels, Mary Morris, and Mona Washbourne.

1994: Burt Lancaster, John Candy, George Peppard, Raul Julia, Telly Savalas, Woody Strode, Cesar Romero, Peter Cushing, Dick Sergeant, Jessica Tandy, Cameron Mitchell, Kurt Cobain, Joseph Cotton, Royal Dano, Noah Beery Jnr, Claude Akins, Mildred Natwick, William Conrad, Patrick O'Neal, Gilbert Roland, Dinah Shore, Rossano Brazzi, Cab Calloway, Richard Rust, Lionel Stander, Barry Sullivan, Melina Mercouri, Martha Raye, Tom Ewell, Lynne Frederick, Mai Zetterling, Stephen McNally, Harriet Hilliard, Terence Young, K.T. Stevens, Nick Cravatt, Lindsay Anderson, Bill Travers, Giuellietta Massina, Bert Freed, Dennis Morgan, Macdonald Carey, David Langton, Michael Aldridge, Iris Adrian, Don Segal, Mark Stevens, Lili Damita, Roy Castle, Henry Morgan, Gwen Watford, Janis Carter, Heather Sears, Frances Gifford, Nadia Gray, Carmen McRae, and Peter Graves.

As you can see, 1994 was a particularly bad year. The only names that I left out were those that even I hadn't heard of, and I expect some of them won't mean anything to you. Many were supporting artists who you would recognise, but wouldn't know their name.

Thank you very much Walter for your kind response and great effort.Theres certainly a great many names there for me to google and find more out about.I hadnt realised that Roy Castle had been an actor?
1994 certainly looks like a grim year
Since 2000 onwards which year would you say has been the worst for losses?

Well, 2000 and 2001 were pretty grim, there are some great names here.

2000 - Loretta Young, Alec Guinness, Julie London, Walter Matthau, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Larry Linville (Mash), Richard Farnsworth, Marie Windsor, John Gielgud, Richard Mulligan, Charles Gray, Vittorio Gassman, David Dukes, Ann Doran, Jean Peters, Steve Reeves, Max Showalter, Nicholas Clay, Steve Allen, Beah Richards, Craig Stevens, Gwen Verdon, George Montgomery, Doris Hare, Lila Kedrova, Shelagh Fraser, Rick Jason, Peter Jones, Patricia Owens, Francis Lederer, Gary Olsen, Michael Ripper, Susan Stephen, and Jess Barker.

2001 - Jack Lemmon, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Quinn, Carroll O'Connor, Ray Walston, George Harrison, Imogene Coca, Kathleen Freeman, Troy Donohue, Nigel Hawthorne, Charlotte Coleman, Ann Sothern Jane Greer, Eileen Heckart, Joan Sims, Stanley Kramer, Virginia O'Brien, Dale Evans, Michael Williams, Rosemary De Camp, Kim Stanley, Jean Pierre-Aumont, Deborah Walley, Perry Como, Julie Bishop, Scott Marlowe, Anthony Dexter, Peggy Mount, Michael Ansara, Harry Secombe, Anthoy Steel, Arlene Francis, Nyree Dawn Porter, Jean Anderson, Rachel Gurney, Alex Nicol, Corinne Calvert, Dorothy Tutin, Lance Fuller, Roy Boulting, Helen Cherry, Norman Rodway, Connie Marshall, Eleanor Summerfield, Linden Travers, Jack Watling, Toby Wing, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, and Baby Leroy.

On a brighter note, we must be getting some interest in our modest little thread, we have now reached 12.000 viewers.

I think Claire Trevor died in 2000 as well if my memory serves me correctly?Ive a feeling in years to come we will both be citing 2014 as a pretty bad year too

Yes Im really pleased with how many times this thread has been viewed I just wish more people would post too!

Celebrity Deaths in 2002:

Billy Wilder, James Coburn, Richard Harris, Rod Steiger, Robert Ulrich, Kim Hunter, Dudley Moore, Rosemary Clooney, Linda Lovelace, Milton Berle, Lawrence Tierney, John Thaw, Leo McKern, John Frankenheimer, Peggy Lee, Eddie Bracken, Jeff Corey, James Gregory, George Roy Hill, Katy Jurado, Jack Kruschen, Brad Dexter, Guy Stockwell, John Agar, Michael Elphink, Kenneth Tobey, Raf Vallone, J.Lee Thompson, James Hazeldine, Harold Russell, Barry Foster, Daniel Gelin, Hildegard Kneff, Cliff Gorman, George Nader, Spike Milligan, Carmen Silvera (Allo, Allo), Maria Felix, Barbara Lott, Andre de Toth, Maurice Denham, Dolores Gray, Ray Stricklyn, George Sidney, Tony Anholt, Phyllis Calvert, Signe Hasso, Stratford Johns, John Justin, Pat Coombs, Peter Miles, Marina Berti, Adele Jergens, Dermot Walsh, Irene Worth, Dave King, Sandor Eles,

Not forgetting, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.

2003: Katharine Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Charles Bronson, John Ritter, Richard Crenna, Buddy Ebsen, Alan Bates, Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, Elia Kazan, Gregory Hines, Jack Elam, David Hemmings, Donald O'Connor, Buddy Hackett, Robert Stack, Hope Lange, Jeanne Crain, Horst Bucholtz, Hume Cronyn, Art Carney, Madlyn Rhue, John Schlesinger, Janis Wilson, Janice Rule, Karen Morley, Gene Anthony Ray, Wendy Hiller, Martha Scott, Rand Brooks, Ellen Drew, Suzy Parker, Lyle Bettger, Anthony Caruso, Penny Singleton, Thora Hird, Maurice Gibb, Alberto Sordi, Paula Raymond, Andrea King, Guy Rolfe, Rachel Kempson, Vera Ralston, Bob Monkhouse, Andrew Ray, Dinsdale Landen, Adam Faith, Jinx Falconberg, Robert Ivers, David Lodge, Alfred Lynch, Denis Quilley, Constance Smith, Dorothy Loudan, and George Axelrod (screen writer, The Seven Year Itch)

2004 : Christopher Reeve, Janet Leigh, Marlon Brando, Ray Charles, Ronald Reagan, Jerry Orbach, Peter Ustinov, Fay Wray, Ann Miller, Howard Keel, Richard Ney, Tony Randall, Carrie Snodgrass, Mercedes McCambridge, John Drew Barrymore, Anna Lee, Elmer Bernstein, Virginia Grey, Alan King, Jan Sterling, Doris Dowling, Ingrid Thulin, Frances Dee, Peter Woodthorpe, Peggy Ryan, and Uta Hagen.

2005 : Anne Bancroft, John Mills, Kay Walsh, Richard Pryor, Sandra Dee, Ronnie Barker, Teresa Wright, Effie Albert, Johnny Carson, Frank Gorshin, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Wise, Sheila Gish, Virginia Mayo, Dan O'Herlihy, Arthur Miller, Sheree North, John Larch, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Marc Lawrence, Ursula Howells, Maria Schell, Harold J Stone, Lloyd Bochner, Ruth Warwick, Ruth Hussey, Jocelyn Brando, James Booth, Simone Simon, John Bennett, Geoffrey Keen, Keith Andes, Constance Cummings, Patsy Rowlands, Jean Parker, John Bromfield, Frances Langford, Argentina Brunnetti, Elizabeth Fraser, June Haver, Margaretta Scott, John Raitt, Ismail Merchant, Lon McCallister, Dave Allen, Ron Randell, Terence Morgan, Long John Baldry, David Kossoff, Carl Mohner, Jan Holden, Gretchen Franklin, Avril Angers, and Sid Luft (producer of A Star is Born, and Judy's ex)

Claire was one of my all time favourites and she is in the top row.

My eyesight apologiesI did scan each line but it didnt register

Are you aware of any health news/situations regarding current aged stars?Arlene Dahl,Jane Powell,Robert Wagner,Sophia Loren,Martin Landau etc

Just spotted your furthur lists!Thank You Very Much Walter!My I feel old knowing its more than a decade since the Queen Mother died.

Celebrity Deaths 2006 :

Jack Palance, Robert Altman, Glenn Ford, Sally Gray, Don Knotts, Shelley Winters, Chris Penn, Jack Warden, Peter Boyle, Mickey Hargitay, June Allyson, Jack Wild, Dennis Weaver, Darren McGavin, Alida Valli. Jane Wyatt, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Maureen Stapleton, Tony Franciosa, Kasey Rogers, Tom Bell, Marian Marsh, Arthur Hill, Richard Fleischer, Arthur Franz, Moira Shearer, Phyllis Kirk, Peter Barkworth, Kenneth Griffith, Robert Sterling, Diana Coupland, Vincent Sherman, John Junkin, Gene Pitney, Charlie Drake, Frances Bergen, Kurt Krueger, Moira Redman, Derek Bond, and Lynne Perrie.

2007 : Jane Wyman, Deborah Kerr, Yvonne de Carlo, Ingmar Bergman, Alice Ghostley, Lois Maxwell, Ian Richardson, Kerwin Matthews, Betty Hutton, Carlo Ponti, Kitty Carlisle, Charles Lane, Laraine Day, Frankie Laine, Barry Nelson, Robert Goulet, John Inman, Gareth Hunt, Calvin Lockhart, Joey Bishop, Janet Blair, Jean Pierre-Cassel, Bruce Bennett, Mala Powers, Anton Rodgers, Gordon Scott, Kieron Moore, Moira Lister, Lee Patterson, Griffith Jones, and Teresa Brewer.

You feel old!! how do you think I feel? I remember Humphrey Bogart dying in 1957, and I was nearly 20.

No, I can't say that I have heard of any of them recently, I guess that they are doing OK considering their age.

Incidentally, I ran in the local 10K on Sunday, and was presented with my third Trophy in three years for being the oldest runner. I feel like some of the old stars, the older they get the more awards they receive for surviving for so long.