BOTD | Hollywood Yesterday

Lee Meriwether, Frank Gorshin, and Burgess Meredith: Batman the movie (In Honor of Burgess Meredith, BOTD in 1907)

November 16, 2022 By Joi

Lee Meriwether, Frank Gorshin, and Burgess Meredith: Batman (1966)

The wonderful, talented, and ALWAYS deliciously entertaining Burgess Meredith was BOTD in Cleveland, Ohio in 1907 and those of us who adore classic television and films are awfully happy he was!

Whether it was in a great classic drama like Castle on the Hudson, in iconic roles such as Mickey (in the Rocky franchise) or the Penquin (Batman, film and tv), in hilarious comedies (the Grumpy Old Men films), or in cult favorites like Clash of the Titans… the man was simply one of the most versatile and entertaining stars we’ve ever had.

When I watch Burgess Meredith in one of his many phenomenal role, I always think the same thing, “He relished this role and gave his ALL to entertain his audience.” Truly, he never gave anything less than 110 percent and, in my opinion, that sets him apart from most other stars.

Ironically, this same type of thing can be said about many of his co-stars… Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Sylvester Stallone, and just about everyone associated with the series Batman and the movie as well. I like to think he inspired those around him.

How could he not have?

You can find the insanely FUN 1966 movie Batman on dvd (Amazon link) or watch it on Prime Video.

STUNNING Pandora’s Box Lobby Card with Louise Brooks (BOTD in 1906)

November 14, 2022 By Joi

Louise Brooks, Pandora’s Box

You know how it is, fellow film fanatics… you’re humming along in life, content and happy with your “top 10 favorite” actresses and your “top 10 favorite” actors, when seemingly out of the blue, a star comes on the scenes and shakes things up. Maybe it’s seeing them in just the right role, seeing them in just the right number of films, or reading about them and seeing them in a new light… whatever the reason(s), this star all but INSISTS on a single-digit number among your favorites.

That’s exactly what two stars have done to me this year… Louise Brooks and Marlene Dietrich. Both of these actresses have basically charged up my list of favorites, leaving madness and chaos in their wake.

And I love it!

In both cases, it was simply a matter of finally seeing several of their films. For whatever reasons, neither lady had popped up much in the films I’ve watched over the years until I searched their work out personally this year. That’s all it took to become smitten with each one… seeing them in action!

Ironically, the two legendary actress’s share a bit of trivia – Marlene Dietrich was replaced (at the last minute, for extra drama!) by Louise Brooks in one of Brooks’ most popular roles/films, Lulu in Pandora’s Box (1929). While I ADORE Louise Brooks in the role and wouldn’t have the film any other way, my mind does often go to… “I wonder what Marlene Dietrich would have been like as Lulu?!?”

You can find Pandora’s Box on dvd (Amazon link). It’s a film I very much need for my own collection and it can, at times, be pricey. I’ve linked you to the best deal I can find.

Grace Kelly, BOTD in Philadelphia in 1929

November 12, 2022 By Joi

Grace Kelly on the set of The Country Girl

Grace Kelly was BOTD in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1929. Not counting made for TV movies, the legendary actress made only 11 films. In spite of the relatively small number, her lovely fingerprints are all over Classic film and she’s an iconic star to this day.

She left Hollywood in 1956 to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco. They had three children and were married until her death in 1982 at the age of 52.

Her one Academy Award was for Best Actress in a Lead Role for The Country Girl. She was also nominated for her role in Mogambo (in the category of Supporting Actress). She won the Golden Globe for each of these roles.

You can find The Country Girl on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the film on Prime Video.

Grace Kelly, The Country Girl

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Hedy Lamarr!

November 9, 2022 By Joi

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was born on this date in 1914 in Vienna. The Austrian beauty is known by most for her brains as much as she is her beauty. She was a very, very bright woman.

How bright? She received an award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 1997 for her pioneering work in spread-spectrum technology. THAT’S how bright!

Fast Facts About Hedy Lamarr:

Believed Delilah to be her best performance of her career, with Samson and Delilah being her favorite of her films.
She was married six times. Sometimes Mr. Right is impossible to find even when you look like a goddess!
Sued Mel Brooks for mocking her name in the film Blazing Saddles by naming a character “Hedley Lamarr.” They settled out of court. She absolutely had a point, in my opinion because the name “Hedley Lamarr” as followed her since.
She was introduced to one of her husbands by Bette Davis.

Hedy Lamarr led a fascinating life, filled with as much drama, mystery, and intrigue as any movie she appeared in. The highs of her life – including her children, brains, beauty, and films – are wonderful to celebrate. She’s a very inspiring lady to read about! The lows of her life show that absolutely anyone – no matter how bright or beautiful – can fall prey to desperation and hard luck. Everyone is capable of making mistakes in life. The really, really horrible thing is they often come one after another – one mistake leading to the next and to the next. When you’re up against it and nothing is going right, you get desperate and do things you normally wouldn’t even dream of.

As a fan of Hedy Lamarr’s I dearly wish she had had people around her to support her and help her when she needed it most. Like another lovely actress, Veronica Lake, her life didn’t end as beautifully as it should have and, maybe it’s because I’m a fan of these actresses, but I think a great deal of fault lies in the fact they didn’t have a strong support system. They were left to fend for themselves in a world that suddenly had turned cruel and unkind to them.

I can’t even imagine how jolting it had to have been to have been one of Hollywood’s most cherished princesses for a while – a beauty who had people flocking all around her, only to become all but abandoned in what must have felt like a very cold world.

I’m thankful we have Hedy Lamarr’s films and her photos to remember her by. A beautiful actress worth remembering and celebrating. I’ve read a great deal about this actress and I always come away with the same thought: “She was strong until she simply couldn’t be strong any longer.”

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Dorothy Dandridge!

November 9, 2022 By Joi

Dorothy Dandridge: Carmen Jones Lobby Card

The beautiful and talented Dorothy Dandridge was born on this date in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. I try never to think about things that can’t be changed (it does nothing but drive a person mad!) but it is such a shame that Dorothy Dandridge wasn’t given all of the films and roles she deserved. As beautiful and as talented as any, she wasn’t given the chance to shine she should have been given. While I will forever be thankful that she had the opportunity to shine in the films she had (particularly in Carmen Jones, Bright Road, and Porgy and Bess), I’ll always wish she had been awarded more films worthy of her great talent and screen presence.

I’d love to have seen her in… let’s say… a great romantic comedy, a musical (in which she could do her own singing), and a film-noir or two.

Maybe three!

She was simply phenomenal and worked under conditions that had to have been less than ideal. Trailblazers such as Dorothy leave me speechless – the courage, determination, and backbone it took to show up every day and have to fight at least twice as hard as everyone else.

Suffice to say, this lady has all of my respect and then some and I want to simply celebrate her memory today and everyday, for that matter!

Dorothy Dandridge was taken from us far too soon – dying on September 8, 1965 at the ridiculously young age of 42.

Dorothy Dandridge

Vivien Leigh: Publicity Pictures from Sidewalks of London (1938)

November 5, 2022 By Joi

Vivien Leigh, Sidewalks of London

We celebrate the life and films of one of the most remarkably beautiful and talented stars of all time today, Vivien Leigh. She was born on November 5, 1913 in Darjeeling, India.

While the gifted actress is best-remembered as Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara, her filmography is nothing short of wonderful.

A few of my favorite Vivien Leigh films (and performances) are listed below. I hope that, if you are unfamiliar with her work, you’ll seek out more of her films soon. She was truly remarkable.

Gone with the Wind
Sidewalks of London
That Hamilton Woman
Anna Karenina
A Streetcar Named Desire
Ship of Fools (her last film)

These publicity pictures of Vivien Leigh are from her 1938 film Sidewalks of London, directed by Tim Whelan.

Vivien Leigh, Sidewalks of London

Happy Rita Hayworth Day! (BOTD in 1918 in Brooklyn)

October 17, 2022 By Joi

Rita Hayworth, Cover Girl

The beautiful, talented, and ICONIC Rita Hayworth was BOTD in 1918 in Brooklyn. Born Margarita Carmen Cansino, she would one day become synonymous with great beauty and glamour.

Rita is one of those stars who it is IMPOSSIBLE to imagine classic Hollywood without. I’m also quite certain that, without her, there wouldn’t be as many of us who are completely obsessed with old Hollywood. She helped make it what it is and I hope that, in my lifetime, we can see her elevated to the same height of popularity we see Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn enjoy. I believe she and Ava Gardner deserve their rightful spots beside Marilyn and Audrey and hope with all that’s within me to see them attain it.

One of my favorite things about Rita Hayworth is this: Not only was she uncommonly beautiful and talented, you hardly ever (IF ever!) read a negative, nasty thing about her. Her weaknesses hurt her more than anyone else and she seems to have been an uncommonly sweet, gentle, and lovely person.

Happiest of Heavenly birthdays, Rita, and thanks for your beautiful legacy!

“We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.” ~ Rita Hayworth

Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, Behind the Scenes of Mary Poppins (Happy Birthday Julie Andrews!)

October 1, 2022 By Joi

Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews

I am BEYOND in love with this photo of Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews behind the scenes of Mary Poppins (1964, directed by Robert Stevenson). With today being her birthday, what better time to spotlight this joyful movie, its joyful stars, and one of the most adorable pictures ever taken?

You can (and should!) find Mary Poppins on DVD or Blu-ray (this particular Amazon link goes to the Anniversary edition, but others are available) or watch the magic on Prime Video.

Why not both?!

BOTD in Sweden in 1931, the Beautiful Anita Ekberg

September 29, 2022 By Joi

Anita Ekberg, Behind the Scenes of Artists and Models

Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg was born in Sweden on September 29, 1931. She’d go on to become known to movie fans as Anita Ekberg, a beautiful addition to many entertaining films from the 50s through the 90s.

The first movie I ever saw Anita in was Artists and Models and I thought she was one of the most beautiful actresses I’d ever seen. She struck me as a cross between Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe, with a pinch of Rita Hayworth thrown in to make things extra beautiful.

Anita passed away in 2015 at the age of 83.

Happy Birthday to the Wonderful Sophia Loren!

September 20, 2022 By Joi

Sophia Loren, Legend of the Lost

We celebrate the life, career, and radiance of Sophia Loren on her birthday. Sofia Scicolone was born in Rome, Lazio, Italy in 1934. Her career is filled with mesmerizing performances and wonderfully entertaining films.

“The two big advantages I had at birth were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty.” ~ Sophia Loren

Happiest of birthdays to a radiant light that keeps shining brightly.