I didn't realise that he was that old, and I always thought that he made his film debut in The Haunting in 1963, when in fact it was four years earlier in Never So Few.

I'm very confident about you reaching your 100th! I wonder if Charles will keep up the tradition of the Queen and send you a handwritten birthday card? Yes I hope so too and moreso I hope thatsome of the thousands who've viewed these threads would lose their shyness and please post!


Do ww know why the Oscars was moved from the Hollywood Roosevelt or was it only ever meant to be a temporary home for the event?
I guess possibly in the early days -Was it 1927 or 1929 the first Oscars? -That they couldn't be sure how successful or long lasting a tradition the Oscars could become?

Did Betty Barker have any juicy gossipy insider info that she shared especially on Joan?! 😉

The Queen Bee sounds very camp so right up my Street so I will put it on my to see list thanks .

The first year of the Oscar's was May 16th 1929, when just 270 distinguished guests attended a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt. The president of the Acadamy Douglas Fairbanks senior hosted the event, the tickets cost 5 dollars, and the presentation lasted just 15 minutes. It was the only Acadamy Awards not to be broadcast on the radio or T.V. Every year there were more guests and so it moved to a larger venue. Between 1930 and 1943 they were presented at the Biltmore and Ambassador Hotel. From 1944 to 1946 they were at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, right opposite the Hollywood Roosevelt. In 1947 and 1948 they moved to the Shrine Auditorium. 1949 was the only year the ceremony was held at the Acadamy Award Theatre. From 1950 to 1960 they were held at the Pantages Theatre near Hollywood and Vine. From 1961 to 1968 they moved to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. From 1969 to 1987 they were at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. From 1988 to 2001 they alternated between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and The Shrine Auditorium. I believe that they have been shown at the Kodak theatre for the past few years, I am not sure because I have no interest in it these days.

The 1930's, and '40's were always banquets, and were very dignified and glamorous, unlike todays annual freak shows. The actresses were always beautifully gowned, and the men wore white tie and tails. Now many of the women look like hookers, and the men unshaven slobs. I just wish that the Acadamy would release DVD's of those glamorous early ceremony's, I am sure that there would be lot of interest.

It is ironic that for the past few years the whole grisly ceremony is shown on TV, while when I was young we were lucky if we saw it briefly on the newsreels at the local cinema. When they did show them on TV they were always cut, and when Barbara was presented with her Honorary Oscar on 1981 part of her speech and most of her film clips were cut, thankfully I now have the full presentation on DVD.

Betty Barker was always very loyal to Joan and never had a bad word to say about her. She did say that the woman she had worked so happily for for more than 40 years was nothing like the monster that daughter Christina described in Mommie Dearest.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pe...-10313305.html

Awe Walter another cinema legend has died and he's one who will be known to many younger members of the audience due to his recent work in The Lord of the rings.

The number of British actors in particular from this era who were successful in Hollywood and film is sadly depleted to very low levels

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33094914

British actor Ron Moody best known for his role as Fagin in the film adaptation of Oliver has sadly passed away

Very sad, but great age, and he had a marvellously successful career.

I have one of his earliest film appearances, along with Roger Moore, he played a Stage Door Johnny, by the name of The Hon, Bongo Icklesham in Jean Kent's, Trottie True.

My favourite of all his performances was in The Devil Rides Out, in which for once, he was the good guy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...032_story.html

I'm probably illustrating my ignorance here Walter but I must confess I've never heard of Monica Lewis?
Whatever her precise status/role in this era it's sadly another link to and of golden era Hollywood's landscape gone

Are you /anyone familiar with her especially via the Frank Sinatra link?

In terms of Christopher Lee he seems to have been tremendously popular with his acting peers and was linked with a phenomenonal number of successful film franchises while still being associated by many with a previous classical era of film. Quite a rare feat to crossover anew with so many different generations of filmgoers like that.

I had vaguely heard of her, but had to Google the name to remind myself just who she was.

There has been a great series on the Sky Arts Channel called, British Legends of Stage and Screen, and I recently watched the excellent programme on Christopher Lee. Among his many talents he spoke fluent Italian, Spanish, German, and Mandarin Chinese, and he also had an impressively strong Operatic voice.

Do you recall the biography channel that used to be on SKY? Not sure when it ceased airing but I think it was very active between 1998 and 2004 and covered lots of stars from Hollywood's golden era often with interviews from within the stars close circle or family. None of them seemed to be hatchet jobs either.
I'm pretty sure there was one for Barbara, Joan and Bette as well as Marlene Dietrich, Dean Martin, Glenn Ford, John Wayne etc.
I'd love to see some of those documentaries again but alas I have no idea who has the copyright but they covered a fair few b listers from the era as well as the top cream a listers.

I'm not sure if I've ever asked you if your a fan of the Duke John Wayne?

I certainly do remember it, and yes, I have the Barbara, Bette, Joan and Marlene biography's, as well as Susan Hayward, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Tyrone Power, and many other favourites. It is a great shame that they stopped showing them, I am sure that there is still an audience for stories about the stars of the Golden Age.

I wasn't exactly a fan of John Wayne, but I did enjoy some of his films, and I always thought it a shame that he and Barbara didn't star together in a Western. He did appear briefly in her marvellous pre code Baby Face in which he played an office boy who she discarded on her way up the ladder. As described in the ads, "She climbed the ladder of love, man by man" and "She climbed the ladder of success, wrong by wrong"

Was there some feud or animosity between Barbara and John Wayne is that why it never happened or was it just logistics, the way the cookie crumbled kind of thing why they never made a western together?

Was John Wayne one for feuds, ego and refusing to work with actors he didn't like -ie a male diva?
I feel sure there must have been 1 or 2 male divas from this era although not necessarily John Wayne!

I never heard of a feud, and they both shared the same political views, slightly to the right of Attila the Hun.

There are photo's in our group album of him presented Barbara with the "Star of Stars Award" and of Barbara presenting him with the "Silver Spurs Award" and they both look very happy and friendly.

http://www.papermag.com/2015/06/10_h...d_movie_da.php

Wow Walter take a peek at this brand new article on some of the lesser well known handsome Hollywood actors from the golden era Some of them are absolutely gorgeous!

I'm sure you'll recognise some of them but do you know much about any of them?

With regards to Barbara and Mr Wayne -it really does seem a shame that they didn't get around to making a film together
I wonder whether Westerns will ever come back into vogue in Hollywood or whether their a genre of their time and unlikely to ever be revisited?
I found on the whole that they were a good way to tell simple morality tales about loyalty, honour, community etc in an extremely straight forward but engrossing way.

I know them all apart from Fred Williamson, but I can't imagine what Dennis O'Keefe is doing in a gallery of hunks, he was never a sex symbol, not even in his youth. .

There were some notable omissions, look up Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, John Saxon, Robert Fuller, and Hugh O'Brien, (also known as Huge for a very good reason)

Vivien Leigh turned down Alain Delon as her leading man in The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, because as she said, "He's much too pretty, he's prettier than I am!"

Tom Tryon got his big chance in "Something's Gotta Give," sadly that was the film that Marilyn never finished. Watching the uncompleted film, there are so many reasons to be sad, Marilyn was never more stunning, and there are some eye popping shots of Tom in his swimming trunks.

Ty Hardin played Joan Crawford's unlikely young lover in Berserk, a nasty cheapie that she made over here. There is one hilarious scene where 37 year old Ty gazes with unbridled lust at 63 year old Joan wearing a really hideous long red wig, that gives the impression that she has no neck, and he mumbles unconvincingly, "I'm crazy about you Monica!"

I'm going to spend the rest of the evening googling these names and pictures! Thanks for the tip Walter! 😁

Who would you say was the most unconventional handsome sex symbol from the golden era ?

I would say Clark Gable, with his big ears and dentures, yet from the later '30's until the day he died in 1960 he was quite rightly called "The King."

Although there was a big search for Scarlet O'Hara when Selznick bought Gone With the Wind, there was only one actor seriously considered for Rhett Butler, and that was Gable, and who could honestly imagine anyone else in the role?

One of his first films was as a heavy in Warner's Night Nurse, with Barbara in the starring role. I have a taped interview that she did with Ben Lyon in 1964 when they reminisced about working on the film. She said that he had so much sex appeal that all the girls on the set practically fainted when he made his entrance. She added that he was very quiet and well mannered, and when she worked with him years later in MGM's To Please a Lady, he hadn't changed a bit, he was the same modest, unassuming man.

All the ladies loved him, and Joan Crawford who had a steamy affair with him until the MGM bosses broke it up, put it bluntly when asked what was his appeal, BALLS! He had 'em!

I loved what his wife Carole Lombard said about him before her tragic death in an air crash in 1942. "God knows I love Clark, but he's the worst lay in town, and if he had one inch less, he's be called "The Queen of Hollywood!"

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/n...pgmm6GqHQ75SPy

Starred in a film alongside Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s.


With regards to Clark Gable-hes definitely unconventional sexy and the stories/anecdotes you've told about him in your previous post caused me to chuckle quite a lot!

Am I right in thinking he found Marilyn Monroe difficult to work with?

Very sad about George, he was hilarious with Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, especially when he croaked, "I'm old enough to appreciate a good looking woman!" he was also with her and Cary Grant in Monkey Business.

Marilyn was in a bad way when she did The Misfits, but Gable was his usual professional self, and if he disapproved of her behaviour, he never showed it. Instead he coped with his frustration by doing a lot of his own stunts, which probably caused his heart attack soon after they finished shooting the film. Sadly, it was the last film for both of them.

http://www.680news.com/2015/06/23/ce...une-28-july-4/

I think your prediction Walter that Olivia De Havilland will live to 100 seem definitely very much on track!

One of the few females from this era to reach such a grand age apart from Luise Rainer -fingers crossed!

Leslie Canon is still with us too turning 84 in this next week.

Let's hope so, and Kirk Douglas who has survived a stroke and a helicopter crash will be 99 in December.

Leslie Caron made her debut with Barbara in The Man With a Cloak, but An American in Paris was released first.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2083734/la...burn-were-gay/


Thought you might be interested in this new article featuring claims by Hollywood screenwriter Larry Kramer Walter although not necessarily best pleased.
Makes a number of claims including some on Katherine Hepburn and Barbara Stanwyck.

As for Olivia De Havilland and Kirk Douglas (surviving so much) both reaching their 100th in 2016. I await next year with both anxiety and hope.

I am so bored with these creeps and their so called "revelations", it's easy to slander a corpse, you can't get sued. These rumours have been around for years, I neither know or care, all that matters is that these stars gave me a lot of pleasure for as long as I can remember, and that is all that really matters.

On a happier note, Happy Birthday to Olivia who is 99 today, I am confident that she will make the century.

I wouldn't be at all surprised or shocked if his "revelations " are financially motivated because the question of why now after all of these years is highly relevant.


I will be googling Olivia later in the hope that her birthday hasn't gone unnoticed and If I'm really lucky there may even be some up to date pictures.

Apparently she's still working on her autobiography!!

Perhaps her plan is for it to only be published after she's deceased? Such stipulations aren't unheard of.

I am pretty sure that it won't be published in her lifetime, she has been working on it for years, so maybe there will be some revelations.

I suspect your right! Definitely an autobiography I intend to purchase!

Walter Could you please tell me what you know/your opinion /insight about an actress called Ann Sheridan? She piqued my interest especially after I saw some beautiful pictures of her on instagram?

Also I've only just clicked that Barbara Stanwyck used to do some work for Max Factor! Very prestigious and I'm showing my age and ignorance here by saying I thought Max Factor was a much more recent invention!