Diana Sands, Sidney Poitier, and Ruby Dee
Hi! Welcome to my Old Hollywood and Classic TV blog. My name is Joi (“Joy“) and I am absolutely honored that you’re here.
One of the greatest loves of my life is reading: Agatha Christie Mysteries, historical non-fiction, cookbooks, etc. But the type of book I’d walk three miles in sensible shoes to get my hands on would be a biography. I read my first biography, about a personal heroine Harriet Tubman, in Grade School, and I have been deliriously hooked on biographies and autobiographies since.
When you read about the life of someone who is no longer with us, it’s as though they are being given the chance to live again. Their voice can once again be heard and their emotions can be felt as though they were being felt for the first time. By reading about their lives, we get to walk along with them in their steps and see the world through their eyes.
Some of the most fascinating biographies and auto-biographies are the ones from Old Hollywood…. Hollywood Yesterday. A day really doesn’t seem complete to me unless I’ve spent time with someone from this period of time on the pages of a great biography and watching them in their element in a great old movie or television classic. I say “and” because each and every one of my days include old Hollywood biographies as well as movies or classic television.
Years ago, while reading a Lucille Ball biography (love her, love her, love her), I realized how many priceless stories lie within these biographies and autobiographies. These remarkable stars have given so much joy to so many of us for so many years – they deserve to be kept alive and allowed to shine as brightly today as they did then.
This is where the idea for Hollywood Yesterday was born.
In the middle of this particular Lucille Ball biography – I closed the book, opened my train of thoughts, and BOOM… the deal was sealed.
{Continued Below Katharine, Cary, and “Baby!”)
Bringing Up Baby: One of My Favorite Movies of All-Time
Hollywood Yesterday is, at its heart, my tribute to Old (or “Classic”) Hollywood, Classic TV, and old radio shows. More importantly it’s a tribute to the men and women who have, through the years, entertained us, made us laugh, made us smile, made us cry, and made us feel emotions we didn’t even know we had.
They’re the familiar faces we run to when we’ve had a bad day or life has dealt us a blow. They’re always there for us, aren’t they?! Some people talk about their comfort foods and, while I love food as much as anyone, I’m more apt to talk about my comfort stars or comfort movies.
While I began the Old Hollywood Blog with a huge emphasis on the 30s and 40s, I soon realized that I was missing out on celebrating other movies and stars that I loved just as much. I mean, I’m as big a fan of Ann-Margret, Pam Grier, and Elvis as I am absolutely anyone. I quickly realized that I’d enjoy covering more ground and began writing about ALL of my favorites. Not just those in black and white!
{Continued Below Hattie’s Beautiful Smile…}
Hattie McDaniel
I have recently started focusing just as much attention on writing about and spotlighting stars and movies from the 70s and 80s. After all, the 80s are a lot further back than they feel. Is it just me or do they feel like they were, like, 10 years ago?! Let’s not dampen our day with math right now, but they’re truly “yesterday” right now.
Besides, some movies from this time frame are as wonderful as ANY from ANY time frame. Looking at you, Murphy’s Romance and The Poseidon Adventure!
(Continued below the perfect James Garner and perfect Sally Field in the perfect Murphy’s Romance)
James Garner and Sally Field
Like everyone, I have my own particular favorites when it comes to the stars but I plan to devote time and space to everyone’s favorites, not just my own.
I will, no doubt, have to remind myself of this from time to time.
I am utterly obsessed with all movies from Old Hollywood – from Westerns to Musicals and from Barbara Stanwyck dramas to the side-splitting antics of Lucille Ball, Abbott & Costello, Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin, and Laurel & Hardy. From Georgia Hale and Mary Pickford to Dorothy Dandridge and Joan Crawford… from Maureen O’Hara and Lana Turner to Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson. From Jimmy Stewart pulling at my heartstrings to Rita Hayworth making trouble for every man in town. From Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Henry Fonda to Rock Hudson, Harry Belafonte and Humphrey Bogart.
Utterly and completely obsessed with all things “old Hollywood” – or could you tell?
{Continued below the wonderful Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte, Carmen Jones…..}
Carmen Jones: Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte (Talk about Chemistry!)
I will say this, too… I will (undoubtedly) add to the my lists of favorites on this page from time to time. There are still wonderful stars I’ve yet to truly get to know. Often I’ll see an actor or actress in one or even two films but they may not crack into my favorites until the third film. Other times, I’ll see a single scene and know that I’ll love them forever and ever, amen.
A while back (3-4 years ago), an issue with a server caused me to lose almost half of Hollywood Yesterday. So you’ll notice that many stars have few posts dedicated to them, while others fair much worse with none at all! I simply have not been able to replace all of the content yet – but I am working on it. I want as many stars as possible to be represented (and preserved).
Barbara Stanwyck
FAVORITE CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD MOVIE ACTRESSES
First of all, I’ll answer a question that may be in the back of your mind when you see my list of favorites… “Why so many?” Because there are so many to love! When you watch every genre (comedies, dramas, Westerns, musicals) and every decade (from Silents through the 1970s), you’re exposed to a great deal of actors and actresses. There are simply too many to narrow my favorites down to a neat little five or six.
Truth be told, I often find new stars to love on a regular basis. And when I do, I come HERE and add them to the family.
Do I have “absolute favorites?” Of course. A little hint… if they’re actresses and they happen to have red hair, mark it down – they’re in my top tier… for whatever reason(s), a lot of my favorite actresses tend to have flaming red hair. Maureen, Rita, Lucille, Judy, Joan… what is it with me and redheads?
In no particular order whatsoever….
- Maureen O’Hara
- Lucille Ball
- Jane Powell
- Rita Hayworth
- Lena Horne
- Audrey Hepburn
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Ruby Dee
- Ann-Margret
- Dorothy Dandridge
- Leslie Caron
- Ava Gardner
- Katharine Hepburn
- Faye Dunaway
- Ginger Rogers
- Judy Garland
- Shirley Jones
- Ingrid Bergman
- Claire Trevor
- Jeanette MacDonald
- Joan Crawford
- Bette Davis
- Gloria Grahame
- June Allyson
- Olivia de Havilland
- Hattie McDaniel
- Lauren Bacall
- Lana Turner
(Silent movie actresses are below..)
Buster Keaton and Marion Mack, The General
FAVORITE SILENT MOVIE ACTRESSES
- Georgia Hale
- Clara Bow
- Louise Brooks
- Marion Davies
- Mildred Davis
- Marceline Day
- Marion Mack
- Marion Byron
- Mary Pickford
- Zasu Pitts
FAVORITE CLASSIC TELEVISION ACTRESSES
(Some are repeated from above, but if you manage to be a star in two mediums, you deserve to make two lists!)
- Lucille Ball
- Barbara Eden
- Angela Lansbury
- Shirley Jones
- Elizabeth Montgomery
- Lindsay Wagner
- Vivian Vance
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Amanda Blake
- LaWanda Page
- Agnes Moorehead
- Irene Ryan
- Carol Burnett
- Rue McClanahan (not exactly from the “classic” era, but I adore her to distraction, so here she is… I’m not always reasonable, you should know that about me)
(My favorite actors and movies are below the beautiful redhead…)
Lucille Ball
FAVORITE CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD MOVIE ACTORS
Again, in no particular order…
- Henry Fonda
- James Stewart
- Humphrey Bogart
- Melvyn Douglas
- Buster Keaton
- Harry Belafonte
- Paul Henried
- James Garner
- Charles Laughton
- James Caan
- Robert Montgomery
- Gene Kelly
- Paul Henreid
- Spencer Tracy
- Bob Hope
- Barry Fitzgerald
- Sydney Greenstreet
- S.Z. Sakall
- Dean Martin
- Jerry Lewis
- Danny Kaye
- Sidney Poitier
- Ray Milland
- Fred Astaire
- Vincent Price
- John Wayne
- James Cagney
- Abbott & Costello
- Laurel & Hardy
- Spencer Tracy
- Steve McQueen
- Jack Lemmon
FAVORITE SILENT MOVIE ACTORS
- Buster Keaton
- Charlie Chaplin
- Harold Lloyd
- Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
- Lothar Mehnert
FAVORITE CLASSIC TELEVISION ACTORS
- Redd Foxx
- James Garner
- Andy Griffith
- Don Knotts
- Dick Van Dyke
- Desi Arnaz
- Buddy Ebsen
(Favorite Old Movies are below the gorgeous Olivia de Havilland…)
Olivia de Havilland
Personal Favorite Musicians
I have always been completely obsessed with music from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It recently occurred to me that I should celebrate these wonderful artists here on Hollywood Yesterday. I’m adding a lot of videos, photos, and information about the following musical legends and hope you will fall as deeply in love with them as I am! It’s as important, to me, to keep their names and music as alive as it is to keep the stars of Old Hollywood alive.
Lena Horne (Also listed above as an actress because she deserves to be mentioned as often as I can mention her!)
PERSONAL FAVORITE OLD MOVIES
This list is forever growing…. again, not in any particular order – the ones at the end are as dearly loved as the ones at the beginning. Links lead to the dvds, when available, on Amazon. If you’d be more interested in watching the film on Prime Video (a personal obsession in spite of the fact that I collect dvds), simply click through the link and see if it is available on Prime. Most are!
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- The Quiet Man (Maureen O’Hara, John Wayne)
- Murphy’s Romance (James Garner, Sally Field)
- Bringing Up Baby (Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant)
- An American in Paris (Gen Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Nina Foch, Georges Guetary)
- Stage Door (Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller)
- Key Largo (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Lionel Barrymore)
- Christmas in Connecticut (Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (James Stewart, Donna Reed)
- Some Like it Hot (Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis)
- Carmen Jones (Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey)
- Top Hat (Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire)
- Casablanca (Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains) – This movie is a classic for a reason! Everything about it is exceptional. Bogart is one of my absolute favorite stars, so the fact that I don’t mind him losing the girl is a huge testament to Paul Henreid. He creates his own memorable and very lovable character within a movie of larger than life characters.
- Lured (Lucille Ball, George Sanders)
- Lone Star (Clark Gable, Ava Gardner)
- It Happened One Night (Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert)
- You Were Never Lovelier (Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire)
- Gilda (Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford)
- Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ricky Nelson)
- The Undefeated (John Wayne, Rock Hudson)
- Stagecoach (John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine)
- The Lady Eve (Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn)
- The Stooge (Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Polly Bergen)
- El Dorado (John Wayne, James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Charlene Hole, Michele Carey, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ed Asner)
- Miracle on 34th Street (Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, William Frawley)
- My Fair Lady (Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison)
- The Big Sleep (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers)
- Autumn Leaves (Joan Crawford) Admittedly not a movie you see pop up on favorite movie lists, but I love, love, love, love this one. Joan is so wonderful and vulnerable – she’s mesmerizing in this role.
- The Major and the Minor (Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland)
- Lilies of the Field (Sidney Poitier)
- The Lost Weekend (Ray Milland, Jane Wyman) – The acting in this rather dark movie is exceptional. You find yourself glued to both Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. Wonderful film, directing, and acting.
- The Pirate (Judy Garland, Gene Kelly) – Not a film you hear much about when people talk about Judy Garland or Gene Kelly, but I love it. It’s zany, off beat, colorful, a little crazy… and I adore it.
- Speed (James Stewart, Wendy Barrie, Una Merkel) – An underrated, wildly fun and entertaining movie.
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders)
- Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell) – I cannot find this wonderful movie on DVD anywhere!
- Yours, Mine, and Ours (Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda)
- The Passionate Plumber (Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Polly Moran)
- Steamboat Bill, Jr (Buster Keaton, Marion Byron)
- The Cameraman (Buster Keaton, Marceline Day)
- The Strawberry Blonde (James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth)
- Gone With the Wind (Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen
- The Big Clock (Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan)
- ALL Charlie Chaplin Movies
- ALL Buster Keaton Movies
- ALL Abbott and Costello movies
- ALL Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies
- ALL Laurel and Hardy movies
- ALL Elvis movies… except for the one where he plays identical cousins (Kissin’ Cousins)! I’d rather eat glass than watch that one.
(Continued Below the Wonderful Shirley Jones…)
Hollywood Yesterday’s “Vibe”
I do not have any intention of publishing anything ugly, gossip-y, or in any way overly personal or unduly negative. For one thing, I’m a ridiculously positive person (to the tune of being an annoyingly Mary Poppins type, by nature). For another, it isn’t remotely fair to speak negatively of someone who is no longer here to defend or explain themselves.
When we haven’t walked in another’s shoes, who are we to judge where they stepped?
Mostly, however, if I’m going to do my part to keep these beautiful stars’ shining brightly, I want them to do so at their very best. With each post I publish on this blog, I keep and old quote by Rita Hayworth in the back of my mind. She once told someone, “Whatever you write about me, don’t make it sad.”
I have no intention of casting a sad or negative shadow on Rita or any of the rest. They wouldn’t want it that way and neither would I.
I hope you enjoy walking down Memory Lane on Hollywood Yesterday as much as I enjoy it from this side of the words.
Joi (“Joy”)
Contact information below Mr. Stewart….
James Stewart photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934
Contact Me
If you’d like to contact me – whether it’s in regard to Old Hollywood book reviews (an obsession!), information or photos you’d like to share, or simply to say, “Hi!” – please feel free to e-mail me any time. The best e-mail to reach me at is actually my personal e-mail – joitsigers@gmail.com.
Hollywood Yesterday Twitter: You can also find me (OFTEN) on Twitter – a Twitter page entirely for Old Hollywood, https://twitter.com/HollywoodYeste1, where you’ll find all of my favorite classic actresses, actors, and movies and (hopefully) your favorites as well!
Personal Twitter: I also have a personal account @JoiTaniaSigers where I’m almost always talking about my other favorite things in life – my family (which includes more than a few cats – in addition to the many humans who make my world go around), baseball, cooking, coffee, animals, children, chocolate…
People and things that make my heart skip a beat.
Thank you so much for visiting Hollywood Yesterday and for doing your part to keep these magical stars, films, and television classics alive and shining as brightly as ever!
Instagram: I am also on Instagram (joi_sigers). More family, cats, food, coffee, and old Hollywood!
E-mail: joisigers@aim.com
DISCLAIMER: I do not own all of the celebrity pictures I use on Hollywood Yesterday. I find them through searches for “Public Domain” images of celebrities. I also use photographs that fall under the “Fair Use” heading. Many come from Wikimedia Commons. I also take photographs of pictures, collector’s cards, lobby cards, and photos I buy on eBay.
I exercise extreme caution when using pictures I feel are free to use – however, if any picture of an actress or actor slips in that is not free to use, please, please, please let me know and I’ll remove it immediately. Also, if you are a photographer (or a family member of a photographer) and have taken any of these wonderful pictures and would like credit for them, let me know! I’d love to be able to give the photographers the credit they richly deserve. The contributions photographers have made to keeping these stars alive and well cannot be stated enough – I am grateful for their talents every single day of my life.
I use these photos for one reason and one reason alone – to promote these stars (along with their films) and keep them with us for generations to come.
