Hayworth married Prince Aly Khan, the son of the Aga Khan in May 1949. Her daughter Princess Yasmin Khan became her carer when she was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 1980

The first star was laid on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 28th 1960, and director Stanley Kramer was the first to be honoured.

Thank you for that Information.

Do you know whose original idea the Hollywood walk of fame was?What I'm driving at is were did the impetus come from for its creation and who pays for /is responsible for its upkeep?
Is it owned at least in part by the academy?Or is it paid for by the whole industry or an artistic charity?
I don't like the thought of its existence being in peril on the whim of a company who can't be bothered to pay for its upkeep? I would like to go one day!

The man credited with the idea of creating the Walk of Fame was E.M. Stuart, who served in 1953 as the volunteer President of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. In that year, according to a Chamber press release, he proposed the walk as a means to "maintain the glory of an industry who's name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world."

Where the original idea came from is not certain, however, the ceiling of the historic Hollywood Hotel once had stars painted on the ceiling with the names of celebrities, and that may have been a precursor of the idea to place stars on the sidewalk.

It wasn't until 1955 that the basic idea of the proposal was agreed upon, and the plans were submitted to the Los Angeles City council in January 1956.

It was not until August 15th 1958 that the first eight stars were unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland Avenue, and what a curious mixture of names. Olive Borden, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrance, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, and Joanne Woodward.

On February 8th 1960 construction actually began on the long planned walk, and as mentioned in an earlier post, the first star to be laid on the new walk was director Stanley Kramer on March 28th 1960. By May 21st 1975, when Carol Burnett received her honour, a total of 99 stars had been laid on the walk. When constructed the walk was designed to accommodate 2.518 stars, by the 1990's, space in the most popular areas was getting difficult to find, to solve that problem a second row of stars was created.

On February 1st 1994, the walk was extended one block to the west of Sycamore to LaBrea on Hollywood Boulevard as part of the revitalization by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. Thirty stars were added to the block to attract instant attraction, and Sophia Loren became the 2.000th star on the Walk of Fame.

Today, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce continues to add stars to the Walk as a representative of the city of Los Angeles. An average of two stars are added on a monthly basis, so it looks like it is in very safe hands.

Thank you for that Information Walter.Are there lots of attractions cafes etc near the Hollywood walk of fame which is how they pull in revenue or is there a fee for entering the walk and looking at the stars?Do you have any sense of whether the stars of the really old era golden stars still are the biggest draw for visitors or more recent stars? For me the golden era stars are the biggest pull factor.

I know that when a star dies often the news will show people laying flowers,candles or just gathering near the actor/directors star on the walk.

I wonder if some diehard American fans in significant numbers visit the star the walk of fame on anniversaries of the stars birth,death etc?

PS has Zsa Zsa Gabor got a star on there?

I only went there once, and that was back in 1979, so I can't honestly answer your question in detail. You don't enter the walk, it is all part of the sidewalk, or pavement as we call it. I was certainly only interested in seeing the stars of the Golden Era.

In 1986 Zsa Zsa was one of the first celebrities on the Walk of Fame to approve that her Star and name could be used in the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's marketing programme to help restore the walk to it's original beauty.

I look forward to hopefully going one day

Moving on Who are your favourite screenwriters from the golden era and were any of your favourite writers damaged by the McCarthy witchhunts and blacklistings?

My three favourite screenwriters were Preston Sturges who was responsible for both Remember the Night and The Lady Eve.

Billy Wilder who wrote the screenplay for Ball of Fire before directing his first film a year later. Wilder also collaborated with Raymond Chandler on the screenplay of Double Indemnity, as well as directing it.

Billy later worked with Charles Bracket and I.A.L Diamond on some of his greatest hits like To Each His Own, A Foreign Affair, Sunset Boulevard, and Some Like it Hot.

Last, but certainly not least. the brilliant Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who was responsible for two of my all time favourite films, A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve.

I can't say that any of my favourite screenwriters were affected by the McCarthy witchhunts.

Some excellent choices there although it's Billy Wilder who I'm most familiar with workwise.

Am I right in thinking that as a director he had a very tense and strained working relationship with Marilyn Monroe?He appreciated her talent but she was especially hardwork?

I haven't read all the pages to this thread but love this era too. It used to be that you could catch a classic film on BBC1/2 at the weekends. Sadly it is hit and miss nowadays.

I also love All About Eve and one of my fav Doris Day films is Love Me Or Leave Me with James Cagney. Also Young At Heart with Frank Sinatra plus the classic Gone With The Wind. I'm also partial to a Western or two .. Wyatt Earp and Magnificent Seven. So many more too but I will leave it there. Great thread

Thank you very much! the golden era really is a special treasure trove

Arrange your a Doris Day fan one of the few stars left from this era. What's youreally other favourite films of hers?

It is a shame that many of these films aren't shown more on mainstream channels

This was a famous quote from Billy Wilder after working with Marilyn on Some Like it Hot.

"I have discussed this with my doctor, psychiatrist, and accountant, and they tell me that I am too old and too rich to go through this again."

Years later he could look back at her more fondly saying, "She was an absolute genius as a comedy actress, it was a God given gift. Believe me, in the last 15 years there were ten projects that came to me, and I'd start working on them, and I'd think it's not going to work, it needs Marilyn Monroe. Nobody else is in that orbit, everyone else is earthbound in comparison."

Two other Doris Day favs are Move Over Darling and By The Light of the Silvery Moon.

It is a shame, as you say, that they aren't shown on main stream channels. I usually find around Christmas time there are a few on. It seems you have to subscribe to Sky Movies now to get the classic channels as some are shown there.

It would be nice if cinemas did a classic night once or twice a month too but sadly I can't see that happening.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...-10128828.html

Not a big name star but another link to this special era gone 😞

It seems that some of the biggest irreplaceable stars can only be thought of fondly with the passing of time!I suspect her insecure neurotic nature was very difficult to work with but if utilised right created impossible to bottle cinema magic.

The fact that she is still loved and remembered 53 years after her untimely death proves just how unique and irreplaceable she was.

In contrast, Jean Harlow died one month after I was born, but I have never had the slightest feeling of nostalgia for her.

Coincidentally, looking at your profile, I see that you were born two weeks before Barbara died, and you have certainly shown a great interest in her, and her career.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...Hollywood.html

Walter I hadn't realised there was a separate thing were stars immortalised their handprints? How long has this been going?
Also surprised that Christopher Plummer of The Sound of Music fame hasn't got a star on the Hollywood walk of fame?

Didn't Jean Harlow die very young too? Do we know how?

Marilyn was simply magic on camera. I imagine that due to her issues, she was difficult to work with but was was caught on camera was just spellbinding.

I have never seen a camera love someone so much.

I thought she killed herself or some medical issues due to an illegal abortion. I could be wrong though.

Jean Harlow's death is very sad to read about - it seems to have been kidney failure. There's a pretty thorough post about it here. By all accounts she was much missed by everyone at MGM.

The area where the hand and foot prints are is outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The actual area is quite small and only a few people have their hand and foot prints there compared to the stars on Hollywood Boulevard.
I don't know for sure but have a feeling that once your fame has faded they dig up your prints to make way for new ones as there are contempary stars who have their prints there as well.
I was amazed at how tiny everyone's foot prints were even the men. Olivia de Haviland has tiny feet the size of a child's. This coming from someone with quite small feet myself.
Surprisingly the one with the biggest footprints was Tom Cruise, if I was of that frame of mind I could speculate that he was wearing someone else's shoes.
My foot fitted perfectly in Marilyn's prints.

It seems that the first footprint was silent star Norma Talmage who accidentally stepped into wet cement outside the theatre in September 1937. The owner realised that this would be a great crowd puller and it went on from then.

Barbara and her husband Robert Taylor added their hand and footprints over the entrance in June 1941. When I went there in 1979 there was a crack across their names. It was removed to be repaired and was replaced, and as far as I know it is still there.

Pandora has supplied all the information on her death, it seems that she could have been saved if a doctor had been called earlier, but her mother was a Christian Scientist and they think that prayers can cure any ailment.

Oh I agree fully.It's wonderful we live in a digital era of niche channels but that's of no use to those golden era lovers without sky.
I don't think the cinemas will do that anytime soon but the future for cinema is uncertain with the emergence of on demand viewing of films on the horizon etc and many not developing the habit of visiting cinemas as often cinemas are already having to try novel things like live event broadcasting from theatres or sports events as well as hiring theatres out for special groups eg religious,community campaign groups etc to screen their own stuff as part of a social event -in order to make up their income in different ways. So I'd have thought themed nights of screening of Hollywood golden era films would be perfect for cinemas especially as part of a film club.Hopefully this transpires in the future.


Deeply 😔

Thank you for the information and link Pandora. Very very sad.How many films that she starred in were considered "Big " I wonder?


WOW Youve been there! Would you recommend it and how far away is it from the Hollywood walk of fame in terms of walking? When a star dies do you know if it's here or the walk of fame that attracts all the fans placing flowers,tributes candles etc?

Perhaps it's a sign of some kind of sign and you and Marilyn have a deep karma/spiritual connection?! 😉