My Life , My Blog

Trivia of Dolores del Rio (3 August 1904 - 11 April 1983) *Dolores del Rio’s family was full of celebrities.Her parents were members of the Mexican aristocracy that existed during the time of dictator Porfirio Diaz. Her maternal relatives were famed personalities. The filmmaker Julio Bracho, actors Ramón Novarro, and Andrea Palma were her cousins.On her paternal side, she was a cousin to Mexican sculptor Ignacio Asúnsolo and social activist and model Maria Asúnsolo. This is evidence that Dolores came from an artist’s family. *She was discovered by film director Edwin Carewe. He happened to be in Mexico attending a wedding of actor Bert Lytell and Clare Windsor. The filmmaker was captivated by the performance of Dolores’s tango dance at the wedding.Dolores' interest was dancing but the film director managed to convince her to also try acting as it fit her personality. He even offered Dolores a role in his film titled Joanna which was scheduled to premiere in 1925. *She contributed m

  Trivia of Jane Fonda (21 December 1937) *Her parents were Canadian-born socialite Frances Ford Seymour and American actor Henry Fonda.She was named for the third wife of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, to whom she is distantly related on her mother's side,. and because of whom, until she was in fourth grade, Fonda said she was called "Lady" (as in Lady Jane). *The suicide of her socialite mother Frances Ford Seymour was kept from her as a teenager, and she was told that she'd died of heart failure. Household newspaper and magazine subscriptions were canceled, and the staff and student body of Fonda's high school were instructed not to discuss the incident. Fonda learned the truth months later while leafing through a movie magazine in study hall. *In 1958, she met Lee Strasberg; the meeting changed the course of her life. Fonda said, "I went to the Actors Studio and Lee Strasberg told me I had talent. Real talent. It was the first time that anyone, except my fathe

Trivia of Shelley Winters (18 August 1920 - 14 January 2006) *During a nationwide search in 1939 for Gone With The Wind's Scarlett O'Hara, Shelley Winters was advised by auditioning director George Cukor to get acting lessons, which she did. *Roommates with Marilyn Monroe when they were both starting out in Hollywood.She was taught Marilyn Monroe how to "act" pretty by tilting her head back, keeping her eyes lowered and her mouth partly opened.When they were roommates, one of their favorite pastimes included making list of men they wanted to sleep with.According to Winters, Monroe had a thing for Albert Einstein, and may even have slept with him. *It was George Cukor who gave Winters her first big break in 1947’s A Double Life.Although this was not Shelley Winters' first screen role, it is considered to be the picture that launched her film career, and was the first of many films she made for Universal. Winters claimed for years afterward she thought she was nomin

Trivia of Deanna Durbin (4 December 1921 - 17 April 2013) *At the age of 10, her parents recognized that she had definite talent of singing and enrolled her in voice lessons at the Ralph Thomas Academy. Durbin soon became Thomas's prize pupil, and he showcased her talent at various local clubs and churches.MGM casting director Rufus LeMaire heard about a talented young soloist performing with the Ralph Thomas Academy and called her in for an audition. Durbin sang "Il Bacio" for the studio's vocal coach, who was stunned by her "mature soprano" voice. She sang the number again for Louis B. Mayer, who signed her to a six-month contract. *In the mid-1930s, MGM had both Durbin and fellow adolescent singer Judy Garland under contract. To test which of them had greater popular appeal, the studio cast them side-by-side in the musical short Every Sunday (1936). When studio head Louis B. Mayer saw the short, he insisted one of them would need to be dropped. When Durbi

Trivia of Ann Sheridan ( 21 February 1915 - 21 January 1967) *Her sister entered Sheridan's photograph into a beauty contest in 1933.Sheridan won the prize of a bit part in an upcoming Paramount film, Search for Beauty.Paramount put the 19-year-old Sheridan under contract at a starting salary of $75 a week , where she played mostly uncredited bit parts for the next two years. *She had a noticeable gap between her front teeth, so she wore a porcelain cap when having her picture taken. *After making San Quentin (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, the two became friends and began referring to each other as “Sister Annie” and “Brother Bogie”.They made 6 films together : San Quentin (1937) , Black Legion (1937), The Great O'Malley (1937), It All Came True (1940), They Drive by Night (1940) , City for Conquest (1940). *In March 1939, Warner Bros. announced Sheridan had been voted by a committee of 25 men as the actress with the most "oomph" in America. "Oomph" was descri

Trivia of Gina Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 - 16 January 2023) *Young Gina did some modeling went on to participate successfully in several beauty contests. In 1947, she entered a beauty competition for Miss Italy, and came in third place. *In 1950, Howard Hughes signed Lollobrigida on a preliminary seven-year contract to make three pictures a year. She refused the final terms of the contract, preferring to remain in Europe and Hughes suspended her. Despite selling RKO Pictures in 1955, Hughes retained Lollobrigida's contract. The dispute prevented her from working in American movies filmed in the U.S. until 1959, though not from working in American productions shot in Europe, although Hughes often threatened legal action against the producers. *Her first widely seen English-language film, Beat the Devil (1953), was shot in Italy. In this film, directed by John Huston, she played the wife of Humphrey Bogart.Humphrey Bogart described Gina Lollobrigida as "the most woman I've s

Dazzling blonde Mary Beth Hughes in publicity for RIDE ON VAQUERO (1941). Hughes was born in Alton, Illinois on November 13, 1919. After graduating from high school in 1937 she returned to Brown's theatre company, where she continued to appear in various stage productions until the summer of 1938, when she relocated to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue a film career. She soon landed a small, uncredited role in the MGM musical “Broadway Serenade” (1939). She also appeared in other bit parts in films such as “The Women” with Norma Shearer, “Dancing Co-Ed” with Lana Turner, and the Busby Berkeley film “Fast and Furious” (all 1939). In 1940 Hughes was offered a contract with 20th Century-Fox. Later that year she landed a role opposite John Barrymore in “The Great Profile”, a part she later noted as one of her favourites. Her most famous role was as Henry Fonda's former girlfriend in “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943). She also appeared in the cult classic “I Accuse My Parents” (1944

Trivia of Anita Ekberg (29 September 1931 - 11 January 2015) *While in her teens, Anita worked as a fashion model and even entered the Miss Malmö competition in 1950 at her mother’s urging. This ultimately led to the Miss Sweden contest which she actually won. Because of this achievement, she went on to the U.S. to compete for the 1951 Miss Universe title despite speaking very little English. She however did not win this pageant.Even though Ekberg did not win the Miss Universe pageant, as one of six finalists, she did manage to earn a contract with Universal Studios. While there, she received lessons in drama, horseback riding, dancing and even fencing. *After trying her hand at so many modelling jobs, Anita finally got a break in the film industry by appearing as a guest star in a TV series that was a bit short-lived, Casablanca and Private Secretary.Anita Ekberg soon started appearing in movies, mostly in minor roles. Her first credited role was in the sci-fi comedy film ‘Abbott and

Dazzling Yvonne de Carlo in publicity for the 1945 Technicolor western FRONTIER GAL. She was born Margaret Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 1937, when Yvonne was 15, her mother took her to Hollywood to try for fame and fortune, but nothing came of it and they returned to Canada. They came back to Hollywood in 1940, where Yvonne would dance in chorus lines at night while she checked in at the studios by day in search of film work. After appearing in unbilled parts in three short films, she finally got a part in a feature “Here I Come!” (1941). Yvonne glowed in her brief appearance as a bathing beauty. The rest of 1942 and 1943 saw her in more uncredited roles such as “The Deerslayer” (1943). She trudged on. The next year, started out the same, with mostly bit parts, but later that year, she landed the title role in “Salome, Where She Danced” (1945). It was at long last her big break, and the film was a success for Universal. Her next film

  "Wist je dat er in 1954 een spannende aflevering van vriendschap en overwinnen was in de gouden tijd van Hollywood en de wereld van de jazz? " Twee legendes, Marilyn Monroe en Ella Fitzgerald, kruisten onverwacht en lieten een onuitwisbaar teken achter Marilyn Monroe, een geciteerde en glamoureuze Hollywoodster, bewonderde Ella Fitzgerald diep en had haar platen bestudeerd om haar zang en dictie Ondertussen bleef Ella optreden in kleine jazzclubs en verlangde naar de mogelijkheid om op te treden op de exclusieve podia van Los Angeles, die destijds vooral voorbehouden waren aan blanke artiesten. De beroemde club Mocambo, die andere zwarte artiesten aan boord had, aarzelde om Fitzgerald de kans te geven die hij verdiende. Ze vonden dat hij ondanks zijn onbetwistbare talent "te plus size" was om publiek aan te trekken. Maar alles veranderde toen Marilyn erachter kwam van deze situatie. Vastbesloten om haar bewonderaar Ella te helpen, nam Marilyn contact op met de eig

Vivien Leigh was een geprezen Britse actrice geboren op 5 november 1913 en overleden op 8 juli 1967. Ze is vooral bekend van haar iconische rol als Scarlett O'Hara in de film Gone with the Wind uit 1939, waarvoor ze de Academy Award voor Beste Actrice won. Leigh had ook een succesvolle theatercarrière, met hoofdrol in werken als "A Streetcar Named Desire", waarin ze Blanche DuBois speelde, een rol waarvoor ze ook een Academy Award won. Haar persoonlijke leven trok ook de publieke aandacht vanwege haar relatie met ook-acteur Laurence Olivier. Vivien Leigh wordt beschouwd als een van de grootste sterren uit de gouden tijd van Hollywood en liet een blijvende nalatenschap na in de bioscoopgeschiedenis.

Trivia of Christopher Plummer (13 December 1929 - 5 February 2021) *Plummer comes from a family with a rich history in the arts. His parents were both musicians, and his great-grandfather was Sir John Abbott, the third Prime Minister of Canada.His parents split soon after he was born.He claims to have been raised by a dog—because he has no memory of any interaction with his parents during his formative years. *Trained to become a concert pianist before turning his attention to acting.He was schoolmates with jazz piano master Oscar Peterson. *He took up acting after watching Laurence Olivier's film Henry V (1944).In 1954, Plummer made his Broadway debut in “The Starcross Story,” which earned him critical acclaim.The show was a massive flop which closed on its opening night, which only goes to show that you shouldn't get downhearted by early setbacks.After appearing on stage, Plummer made his film debut in Stage Struck (1958), co-starring with Henry Fonda. *Though his role as Cap

Trivia of Elizabeth Taylor *Taylor had “Violet” eyes and a double set of eyelashes.Taylor’s eyes are typically credited as violet, they were more likely a deep blue with an uncommon amount of melanin in the irises, which made them appear violet when she wore specific colors. This inspired her to often wear black eyeliner with blue, purple, or dark brown eyeshadow to bring out her trademark color.When she was filming Lassie Come Home (1943) at the age of 9, Taylor was accused of wearing too much mascara, and when production members tried to clean it off, they realized the dark shade was her own eyelashes. As Taylor’s Lassie co-star Roddy McDowall remembered, “Who has double eyelashes except a girl who was absolutely born to be on the big screen?”. *In her early career, MGM studio wanted to make sure she looked and was named a star. First, they had two baby teeth pulled out, then ensured she wore braces to correct her teeth. Although the studio wished to shape her eyebrows, dye her hair

Trivia of Vivien Leigh *When Leigh was 19, she married a wealthy barrister named Leigh Holman. Her new position as wife didn’t deter her acting ambition one bit.Her agent wanted her to pick a stage name and made several suggestions, including “April Morn.” Instead, she settled on Leigh, her husband’s name, and changed the spelling of her first name from Vivian to the more feminine Vivien. *In the late 1930s and early 1940s, she and Joan Bennett were often considered look-alikes of Hedy Lamarr, who brought the dark-haired, blue-eyed type of beauty to Hollywood. The three actresses appear on the cover of the May 1939 issue of Picture Play Magazine. *Was the first British actress to receive an Academy Award. She won the Best Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939) in February 1940. *Her most favorite role not Scarlett O'Hara, but was that of Myra Lester, which she played in Waterloo Bridge (1940) with Robert Taylor. *Most Vivien Leigh fans already know that That Hamilton Woman (19

Trivia of Katharine Hepburn *Her maternal grandfather; her father's brother, Charlie; and her older brother, Tom, all committed suicide. These tragedies were never talked about in her family. Hepburn said of her parents, "There was nothing to be done about these matters and [my parents] simply did not believe in moaning about anything." *She once dumped a cup of water on co-star Ginger Rogers.On the set of Stage Door (1937), Ginger Rogers was flaunting a new mink coat when Hepburn appeared and poured her cup of water on it, explaining that if the coat was, in fact, real mink, it wouldn't shrink. The media speculated that the behavior was brought on by jealousy, since Hepburn’s then-beau Howard Hughes had reportedly shown interest in Rogers. But Rogers herself wouldn’t play into the rumors. “Don’t ask me, I haven’t the foggiest notion why [she did it],” Rogers later said in an interview. *Hepburn wed Philadelphia businessman Ludlow Ogden Smith soon after graduating fro