Sinatra and his rat pack always seemed to be like a lot of over grown school boys, I liked him as a performer, but didn't admire the man.

Class is never the word that comes to mind when I think of Liz Taylor. I can never decide between her and Elton John on who was the most vulgar. They could both be decked out in diamonds worth millions of dollars and still look as cheap as Woolworths.
They certainly contributed to my realisation that the Golden Age of Hollywood was well and truly dead and gone forever.

I understand that there was a friendship of "sorts" between Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Margaret.I dont know if Elizabeth smoked but they both certainly liked their booze!

Where any other hollywood stars of this era friendly with British Royalty?

Princess Margaret probably recognises a kindred spirit when she met Liz, badly dressed, thoroughly spoiled, over indulged and immoral. They weren't friend, but when she saw Liz wearing the flashy Krupp diamond ring she said, "I've never seen anything so vulgar" to which Liz replied, "would you like to try it on?" which of course she couldn't resist.

Danny Kaye was a big favourite of Margaret, but possibly the biggest favourite with all the Royal's was Noel Coward. It was also rumoured that he had an affair with the Duke of Kent who was killed in an air crash in 1941.

Would Princess Margaret have likely played a role in getting Elizabeth Taylor her dameship in 1999/2000?Or indeed would the royals per se try and use their influence to get their showbiz favs a royal honour of somekind?

Where the rumours about Princess Margaret and Peter Sellers ever "confirmed" ?

Wow Danny Kaye thats going back a while-I suspect the Queen Mother had quite a few showbiz favourites too-John Gielgud perhaps?

I think I've read somewhere that Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Prince Philip were friends years ago.

I shouldn't think that Margaret had any influence in her last few years, she became practically a recluse, and was looked upon as a very minor Royal.

Sellars son wrote a book about his father which stated that he and Margaret did have an affair, and I am sure it is true.

I have never heard of John Gielgud being a favourite of the Queen Mother, but Frankie Howerd was.

Walter Can you please recall the hollywood stars who have passed away on christmas day?I know Dean Martin did in 1995 but I cant recall the rest but I know there are some.

Charlie Chaplin - 1977

Joan Blondell - 1979

Lee Bowman - 1979

Denver Pyle - 1997

Eartha Kitt - 2008

Peter Lawford - Rat Pack member and JFK's brother in law died Christmas Eve 1984, and so did British actor Ian Hendry.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthu...%28producer%29

Thank you Walter

One of the last people in the Hollywood community of Barbaras generation has died-Producer Arthur Gardner 104 who worked with Barbara on her tv series The Big Valley.

He was the oldest voter on the academy.

Wow! you have told me something connected with Barbara that I didn't know !

Shame that we can't add photo's to our messages, I have a great shot of them together at a Hollywood function in the 1960's. You can see it in the album, "Barbara With Friends and Colleagues."

I suspect such occasions will be rareties!

Yep once Ive got christmas and new year out of the way if I still havent retrieved my password for your Barbara Stanwyck site I will find a way to rejoin again if thats ok.

In terms of Hollywood what are your thoughts on Burt Lancaster-his best film,who he had the best onscreen chemistry with in terms of a leading lady and whether or not you consider him under or overrated?
Is there a role he WASNT cast in that you think hed have been perfect for?

I really liked Burt Lancaster and probably my three favourites of his are Seven Days In May, Elmer Gantry and Atlantic City.

Walter will probably come up with a fuller and more informed answer to your question.

If you send me a private message with your email address I will send you an invite to my Group, that might be easier.

I LOVED Burt Lancaster, and I have just finished re-reading a marvellous and probably the best biography on him, "Burt Lancaster - An American Life" by Kate Buford.

Burt was the first Hollywood Star that I saw in the flesh, this was at the annual Sunday Pictorial Film Garden Party at Morden Hall Park in 1951, and for a star struck 13 year old it was like seeing a God, I will always remember that day.

He had great chemistry with Barbara in her last Oscar Nominated film, Sorry, Wrong Number, and he spoke very warmly of her when they both received Awards at the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards in 1981. I am lucky enough to have the complete ceremony on DVD.

He was only 39 when he played Shirley Booth's drunken middle aged husband in Come Back Little Sheba in 1952. Shirley won a well deserved Best Actress Oscar for brilliantly recreating her successful stage role, but Burt was overlooked.

My favourite of all his performances was "The Sweet Smell of Success with Tony Curtis, who was also excellent in this film. A big flop when it was first shown in 1959, it has since become a huge Cult favourite.

He was also unforgettable in Elmer Gantry, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar for 1961. You can see him being presented with his Oscar by the ever lovely Greer Garson on YouTube.

Burt turned down the Broadway role in A Streetcar Named Desire, and it went to an unknown, Marlon Brando. Years later he would lose the role of The Godfather to Brando, which for me was a tragedy, but then I never was a Brando fan. Burt also turned down Ben Hur, for which he was physically perfect, and would for me have been better than the pompous Heston.

I thought that Burt was very underrated, he deserved Oscars for The Birdman of Alcatraz and From Here to Eternity, and like all true stars, there was nobody quite like him, definitely a one off!

Oh yes looks wise Burt Lancaster would have been PERFECT for Ben Hur -especially in comparision to Charlton Heston These "missed" opportunities are such a shame and Hollywood has its fair share of them.
Was Burt rated highly as a screen hearthrob in his heyday,somebody who was popular with the ladies crushing on him as he enticed them into buying cinema tickets?I mainly asked about Burt as Ive seen photos of him and oh my I thought he was so dreamyWas he a heartbreaker/ladiesman offscreen?

Elmer Gantry needs to go on my must watch list.

Im daring to hope that we wont lose anymore legendary names this year but as past experience shows the years not over until its over so I wont count my chickens before they hatch.

I dont think he was on your Hollywood golden era/legend list but Jack Nicholson seems to have been quiet of late even in terms of appearing in the press-I appreciate that hes getting older but has there been any chatter/talk/rumours about his health do you know?

With regards to your Yahoo group I think that will be the best course of action so I will DM you after christmas and New Year is done and dusted .Thanks

Thank you for your reply.
I wasnt sure if Burt Lancaster was or wasnt a minor/medium/major star/player in Old Hollywood but it seems at least going by this thread and the information in it that Burt Lancaster was certainly pretty major!

Yep Walters information is wonderful and extensive.Theres so much Id like to ask him but Im pacing myself as I dont wanna be a nuisance and overload him!

Oh yes, Burt was a BIG heartthrob, especially in swashbuckling films like The Crimson Pirate, The Flame and the Arrow, and His Majesty O'Keefe. What made his action films even more exciting was that as a former circus performer and acrobat, we knew that he did all of his own stunts, except the triple somersault in Trapeze.

Offscreen, he was married to his second wife from 1946 to 1969, and all five of his children were from that marriage. His last marriage in 1990 lasted till his death in 1994.

He was rumoured to have been romantically involved with Deborah Kerr while filming From Here to Eternity. He DID have an affair with Joan Blondell, and Shelley Winters said in her autobiography that they had a long affair.

Sadly we lost another great actress on Sunday, Billie Whitelaw who died on Sunday at the age of 82. I well remember seeing Billie and Tom Bell in "Progress to the Park" at the Saville Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue on my 24th birthday in 1961.

I don't know anything about Jack Nicholson, apart from the fact that he is exactly two weeks older than me.
I began losing interest in modern films around the time he became a star.

Incidentally, I began my 18 week training for the London Marathon yesterday morning at 7.45. Luckily, I am training with my best friend who has just qualified as a Personal Trainer. He could charge me £50 an hour, and I am getting all the training for free.

We did six laps round our local Recreation ground and will increase it by two laps every week. By April we will be running 40 laps which is 26 miles, and a full Marathon distance.

Wow Walter your unstoppable-you put some of us younger ones to shame!Best of luck with that ,Im truly impressed!

Yep in her heyday Shelley Winters was quite curvaceous and shapely,people tend to forget that and just think of her as an older overweight women who was often ridiculed for this in the popular media.I recall a fair few gags at Shelleys expense on sitcom Will and Grace who basically pegged her as a female Marlon Brando because of her weight.

Have you read the claims that Burt Lancaster was bisexual made after his death?

It seems he was an actors actor and truly had a passion for alternative/independent films and did a lot for that sector much like Robert Redford did.

Where there any other good titbits of gossip or anecdotes from Shelley Winters autobiography that youd like to share?

PS Sad news about Billie Whitelaw-not a household name but all the same a sad loss

There were suggestions in Burt's biography that he dabbled, as I am sure many of them did, but his friends said that he loved women.

I haven't read Shelley's autobiography, I am not really interested with how many Hollywood actors screwed her. I would much rather read about a star's struggle to achieve their dream, and that is why I love the biography's on Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Ida Lupino, Margaret Lockwood, and many others.

Yes, very sad about Billie, I was fortunate enough to see her on stage in 1961.

The only one of those Ive read parts of is Lauren Bacall.A totally fascinating woman and natural raconteur/storyteller.A gold standard biography if ever there waa one.

Are there any biographies from this era that are on your must read/try list but still havent got around to reading yet?

Do you think Burt Lancaster would have made a good James Bond?

There are three biography's which I bought for a friend for Christmas, and managed to read before I wrapped them.

"Hollywood Enigma - Dana Andrews" An excellent biography on the underrated actor who starred in the brilliant 1940's film noir, "Laura." Sadly, the later part of his career was affected by alcoholism.

"The Man Who Seduced Hollywood" is the fascinating story of Greg Bautzer, the Hollywood lawyer who not only had a very successful career, but also managed to screw half of the leading ladies of the time. Joan Crawford was his longest relationship, and he said that he had been in several fights in his life but, "No man ever put a scar on my face, I've got about four scars that Joan did. She should have been on the New York Yankee's pitching team. She could throw a cocktail glass from the other side of the room, and hit you two our of three times."

Other relationships that he had were with Lana Turner, Merle Oberon, Ginger Rogers, Dorothy Lamour, and Jane Wyman. He eventually married actress Dana Wynter in the 1960's, and although they later divorced they remained friends.

The third book is the autobiography of Universal star Julie Adams, "The Lucky Southern Star - Reflections From the Black Lagoon." The title refers to her Cult film "The Creature From the Black Lagoon."

This is a really positive read, because she seems to only have lovely memories of her film, and later TV and stage career. At the age of 88 she still attends all of the special Movie Nostalgia Fairs where she gives interviews and signs posters and photo's.

She speaks fondly of the stars she worked with including James Stewart, Tyrone Power, Elvis, and Barbara who she had a spectacular fight with when she played the heavy in an episode of The Big Valley.

Burt was a versatile actor, but I can't say that I could ever imagine him as James Bond.

"Hollywood Beauty - Linda Darnell and the American Dream

I agree about Dana Andrews being an underrated actor. Laura is one of my favourites and the theme music is memorable and instantly recognisable. Great cast including Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Clifton Webb and Judith Anderson.

If you don't have the DVD, I can recommend the Special edition, not only a commentary, but excellent biography's on Gene Tierney and Vincent Price.

On the subject of Clifton Webb, did you ever see him give anything less than a brilliant performance? Apart from Laura, I love him in The Razors Edge, Sitting Pretty, Cheaper By the Dozen, Titanic, A Woman's World, and The Man Who Never Was. A marvellously gifted actor, and a fascinating personality.

I just realised that I mentioned Linda Darnell's biography at the end of my last message, but didn't finish it, I should have added that book is the next I hope to add to my collection.

It certainly sounds like Joan Crawford was fearless and could hold her own against some real tough cookies!

Out of curiosity what would you say Joan Crawford herself considered to be her best film?

Its refreshing in terms of Julie Adams to hear of someone whos so glowing and positive about their career in Hollywood as so many actors in terms of biographies have a tendency to overemphasise the woes/downsides or negatives of Hollywood .

From the golden era who by your estimation were the biggest attendion seekers?Whos antics were outrageous for the sake of being outrageous?Who revelled excessively in it all and overcraved the attendion and/or being the belle of the ball kind of thing?Weve talked about the shy ones like Barbara and Anne Bancroft but who were the type to invade their own privacy or to be blunt who was what wed call nowadays "fame whores"

http://plazajuarez.mx/media/k2/items...ee84416_XL.jpg

I also felt that as the year draws to a close it would be quiet apt to post a link to a picture of Joan Lorring in her heyday

I don't know where you found that photo, but it is not Joan, but Maria Palmer, Google both ladies images and you will see the difference.

They did have something in common though, both appeared in The Other Love. Maria was Barbara's nurse, and Joan a fellow patient and soon to be friend, who gives Barbara the pass key to the back entrance to the Sanatorium so that she could slip in and out after hours for clandestine meetings with Richard Conte.