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In Classic Hollywood, when a star’s career was on the wane, he or she often found themselves at Republic Studios, one of the colony’s lesser-ranked production factories. But, interestingly enough, often that mid-level studio would produce an “A” movie and surround that star with a great supporting cast. Case in point is director Nicholas Ray’s […]
Who indeed? Every once in awhile we like to resurrect lesser known actors from Hollywood’s Golden Era. One actor, who had the good looks to be a leading man, but who never made it (perhaps he should have changed that name) — was William Ching. Certainly, classic Hollywood was no stranger to name changes — […]
So, how much did you know about her career and personal life? Above is one of the few photos of Jane Wyman projecting the sex appeal she so conspicuously lacks in most of the roles she plays at her peak as one of Hollywood’s most lauded female stars of the Forties and Fifties. Viewing this […]
One of our very favorite actresses, Rhonda Fleming, died last Wednesday in Santa Monica, Cal. She was 97. We’ve delayed the answers to our Jane Wyman Quiz one day in Rhonda’s honor. This gorgeous redhead, who graced a broad range of pictures in the late Forties and Fifties, was often presented as an unnervingly beautiful, […]
She had a decades long career and was an Oscar winner. She’ll be a footnote in history books as the first wife of the first divorced president of the United States. Yes, many people would say Jane Wyman is famous because she was Ronald Reagan’s first wife. Wyman would have said HE was famous for […]
She was between studios and with her third husband. Here’s Donald Gordon, who whenever he could joined his famous Forties Hollywood friends in an informal snapshot. This one (above) concludes a week of photos from our DG Collection. Can you guess with whom he is posing here? Yes, they were married at the time. Joan Crawford, […]
Donald’s Gordon’s collection — which we have been sampling this week –contains photos of some European stars who came to Hollywood during World War II. Can you name the one pictured above? (Note the informal quality of the shot, unusual for a depiction of a glossy foreign film star. That was typical of DG’s stills, […]
Ok, this informal shot from the Donald Gordon Collection looks a bit off. Who belongs to what appears to be an elbow on the left almost obscuring our man, who is engaged in earnest conversation with a close pal? Donald was a stand in and bit player. And no question that he made friends with […]
In the 1940s she loved signing autographs. We’ve written lots about Judy Garland, and one point of fascination is that at first her qualities — especially her engagement with fans — were not fully recognized by the studio brass. But after MGM decided what to do with Judy Garland’s immense talents there was no stopping […]
Let’s begin with one of Donald Gordon and his favorite star. Know Her? (Hint — She was renowned in her time as the “Mexican spitfire,” and for her affair with Gary Cooper plus her six-year marriage to Johnny Weissmuller.) Check the conclusion of this blog for our mystery woman’s identity. First, let’s re-introduce our real […]