
Lucy: “You don’t give me enough money?”
Old Hollywood: Movies, Actresses, and Actors
By Joi
By Joi
Three!
It seems like her beautiful face and remarkable voice were around for a lot more. That’s the beauty of syndication.. 3 seems to be 30.
Sadly, Eartha Kitt passed away yesterday – on Christmas Day.
The 5′ 4″ beauty was born in South Carolina. Her birth was the result of a white plantation owner raping a sharecropper mother of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. I wasn’t going to include that bit of ugliness in this article, but the fact that Eartha came from such unremarkable beginnings, yet ended her life known the world over strikes me as spectacular.
I also wanted to be clear about why her mother would even think about giving her baby girl away – which she did. By the age of 9, Eartha was living in Harlem. She dropped out of school by the age of 15. Eartha was too busy just trying to survive – school didn’t rank up there with finding a place to sleep and something to eat. During this time, she slept at friends houses and on the subway.
While Eartha Kitt was born with a lot of burdens to bear, she was also born with a lot of talent, grit, and determination. She literally sang and danced her way to a better life. Eartha performed with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe on a European tour, and she performed as a soloist at a Paris night club, where she became a very big deal.
Get this, the infamous Orson Welles called her “the most exciting girl in the world.”
Eartha Kitt never shied away from speaking her mind. I guess when you’ve already seen life’s ugliest, you throw caution aside – sort of like, “What do I need with you?!” She was all but booted from the country after making anti-war statements during a White House luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson in 1968. It wasn’t until 1977, under Jimmy Carter’s administration, that she was welcomed back to the White House.
Eartha Kitt Quotes:
“I have a great need for affection from an audience. I don’t know whether this is because I had such a tough life when I was a child.”
At the White House, 1968: “I am a mother and I know the feeling of having a baby come out of my gut. I have a baby and then you send him off to war. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot.”
“I don’t carry myself as a black person, but as a woman that belongs to everybody”
“Jamie and I were like brother and sister. He told me in fact he thought of me as a sister. Our relationship was strictly platonic and spiritual.” (About her friendship with James Dean.)
Eartha Kitt was 81 when she passed away, but (again) thanks to syndication, she’ll forever live on just as we remembered her.
Rest in Peace, Eartha.
My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!
Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!
Wait. What did I just admit to??
Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!
There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.
Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)
We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)
The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)
The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)
The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)
Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)
El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)
Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)
Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)
The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)
Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)
To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)
Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)
Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)
The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)
More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews
Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…
Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures. Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).
Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.
When you click through an affiliate (product, book, dvds..) link, I earn a small portion of the money you spend IF you purchase anything. This does not cost you any extra money, of course. This is how I am able to work from home and support my cats! – Joi (“Joy”)