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Two of the biggest film stars to arrive to our shores from their roots in the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico are both Oscar winners. Ferrer was born in 1912, with this imposing moniker — Jose Vincente Ferrer de Otero y Cintron. Wow! He is, in fact, the first Hispanic-American to win an Oscar. He […]
If you haven’t heard the term filabuster recently you haven’t been listening to the news. So we have a suggestion. Why not take another look at director Frank Capra’s 1939 classic, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, There you will witness how a 24-hour filibuster is used by Jimmy Stewart’s character — a naive, idealist appointed […]
How much did you know about one of the most famous producers of Hollywood’s Golden Age? Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing a producer at the time was to be equally successful working for a studio — which Hunt Stromberg did at MGM from 1925 to 1941 — and working independently. That’s our man on the […]
You’ve heard his name. You’ve seen him billed on screen. But who was he? With a name like that he must have been an actor. Yes? Well, let’s put it this way. The opening credits for movies in the classic Hollywood period — nowhere near as elaborate as they are today — concisely provided the […]
Some musicals are truly timeless, and 1951’s An American In Paris, starring Gene Kelley and Leslie Caron, is one of them. Happy 70th to this classic tuner which cemented Kelly’s reputation as a star-director-choreographer and Caron’s as an international star. Given the musical’s near iconic status today, it is refreshing to learn how casually Caron […]
He was already a star in his native country when Hollywood beckoned. After Ricardo Montalban made such a hit, MGM imported another Latin Lover for its roster. He was Fernando Lamas, the Argentine-born actor-athlete who was Esther Williams’ third husband to whom she was married for nearly 13 years until his death in 1982 of cancer. (He […]
She took the movies by storm! The incomparable Carmen Miranda, still the biggest star to ever emerge from Brazil. Carmen had been a huge star in Brazil, but knew she had to come to the States if she ever wanted to be truly internationally known. Hollywood called her “The Brazilian Bombshell” and later, “Lady With […]
How much did you know about one of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the 1930s and 40s? From the silents to character roles in the 1950s– what a career. And, by the way, can you identify he woman to the left above? If not, be sure to check out the following answers to our Monday William […]
Can you imagine a leading man today as middle aged, dumpy and only mildly handsome as William Powell? He WASN’T The Thin Man. He was Nick Charles, the detective in all the Thin Man movies. He appeared onscreen pretty much as you see him above, sophisticated with a touch of the supercilious — or as […]
There is no doubt that the most famous Hungarian immigrants to the U. S. to conquer Hollywood were Magda, Eva. and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Shepherded by mother Jolie, the trio invaded Hollywood after World War II, leading the late tv talk show host Merv Griffin to write: They burst onto the society pages and into […]