You are browsing archives for
Her part might be small, or large, the lead, or the comic relief. She was a pro. And best of all, she turned on its head the old and too-often-true observation that nice guys finish last. This ‘nice guy’ finished in 1971 at age 84 at the top of her profession as a thoroughly sympathetic […]
She was cast, her hair was “cropped” for the part, but then she was replaced. It all but finished her film career. Who was she and who replaced her? What was the film? (And, of course, you recognize its leading man.) Hints: — Our mystery actress was born in Germany in 1917, and commenced a […]
So, how much did you really know about a woman who acted — sang and danced — in comedies and dramas in movies, and then went on to big hits on television after her film career waned? We’re talking Ann Sothern here, the subject of this week’s Monday Quiz. A veteran of roles as deceptively […]
Long before her television career Ann Sothern was a top film star. (In this she is much like another recent Quiz subject, Red Skelton, with whom she appeared on the tube in 1953.) In fact, Sothern started making movies in Hollywood as an extra in 1927, before sound came in. In the ensuing years she […]
He was billed as “King of the Cowboys,” but here’s a look at Roy Rogers off the set. And look at the background. It gives you a sense of what Hollywood looked like back then. John Wayne once badmouthed Rogers, saying he wasn’t a “real” cowboy. Then again, Wayne wasn’t a real soldier — he […]
Clues. There’s a golf motif on the cake. It’s signed from Hal, and his contract stars are on hand to help celebrate (and get some free publicity.) Who are these three? Answers tomorrow. Did you like this? Share it:Tweet
Who are the Most durable stars? No, not Joan Crawford, Bette Davis,Katherine Hepburn. And forget about Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Tyrone Power. Well, then, just who are the most popular stars? Madison Avenue knows. It’s about which deceased celebrities sell the most merchandise — the toughest standard by which movie star longevity can be measured. Sure, stars from […]
How much did you remember about the lovable on screen but often-disliked off screen personality, the subject of our Monday Quiz? That’s our man, Red Skelton, above with Ann Rutherford (left) and Virginia Grey, his costars in 1941’s Whistling in the Dark. As you can tell by our opening remark, Skelton was much different […]
Although today most people think of Red Skelton as a star of Television, he was, in fact a big Film star. No question that the comedian reached vast audiences via his radio and tv shows — the latter forming the mainstay of CBS’ Tuesday night prime time schedules from 1953 to 1970. Skelton was often […]
As we’ve seen from viewing the many informal photos in the Collection of the late Donald Gordon, Hollywood classic stars often look different onscreen and off. Not necessarily better but somehow different – slicker, more polished, fully made-up and primed for box office consumption. That‘s not to say the raw material isn’t pretty good. […]