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Rumors about Cary Grant’s sexual preferences did and still do swirl about the life of this classic of all classic movie actors. Was he strictly heterosexual? Was he bisexual? Was he a closeted gay man? Given the pleasure Grant has provided so many over a 34-year career comprising 77 movies, should we care? We don’t […]
It’s always fun to learn that actresses who played blowzy blonde bimbos in films were often born to well to do families, and were highly educated. Such was the case with Jan Sterling. Perhaps best known for her the roles in 1951’s Ace In the Hole and 1954’s The High and the Mighty, Sterling had a checkered […]
There was and still is a swift business in Hollywood built around the busing of visiting tourists past a selection of movie star homes. Now we see the driveway to Jayne Mansfield’s home, now the Beverly Hills Tudor-style residence of Jimmy Stewart, there’s Dolores del Rio’s old house…. that sort of thing. Frank remembers in the […]
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Errol Flynn was one Warner Brothers biggest stars in the Thirties and early Forties. Who do you think inspired the World War II-era expression, In Like Flynn? He didn’t live long (dying at age 50 in 1959) but managed to pack 65 movie and tv credits over a 26-year career. Today, he […]
In his time he was considered heroic, athletic, amorous and carefree. In reality he was something else, an irritable drunk with brittle bones … dogged by his reputation as a lecher, according to British critic David Thomson. So you pays your money and takes your choice. We ask the question: how much do you really […]
Time to dip into our e-mail bag once again, a ritual we do regularly with great enthusiasm. We love hearing from you, and very much enjoy your contributions to our daily “chats.” Must say that our skepticism about James Dean’s acting abilities — we think they are over-rated — has engendered a lot of feedback […]
We join the outpouring of final farewells to a pair of show business phenomena — one the biggest child star in Hollywood history, the other the finest television comedian of the 20th century. She died on Feb. 10 at age 85. He outlived her by six years, and died two days later. Both held American […]
To err is human. To forgive, divine. Maximilian Schell, the Austrian born/Swiss actor died at 83 in Innsbruck, Austria on Feb. 1. Joe knew him decades ago, and had interviewed him for a major story. In the piece Joe stated that Schell had won an Academy Award several years earlier for Best Supporting Actor in 1961’s Judgement […]
Are you ready for the answers to our Monday Quiz — Maureen O’Hara? We realize you’ve probably got many things going on this Tuesday. Nonetheless, we urge you take a moment to see if your guesses to our 10 queries are correct (to review the questions, just scroll down to yesterday’s blog). As mentioned, O’Hara logged […]
Ok, a confession. Frank actually recalls seeing Maureen O’Hara movies as an early adolescent on first runs — when they first landed in movie theaters. He remembers how stirred he was by the actress’ mixture of aggression and beauty, a sexy combination to a libidinous teenager. She says that powerful Hollywood stars and directors were drawn to […]