Getting to Know... | Hollywood Yesterday

Getting to Know… Ann Sheridan

March 11, 2020 By Joi

Ann Sheridan, Thank Your Lucky Stars

Ann Sheridan was Clara Lou Sheridan on February 21, 1915 in Denton, Texas. Nicknamed the “Oomph Girl,” Ann’s beautiful sultry looks may have helped her break into movies (she won the “Search for Beauty” contest which awarded her a Paramount screen test) but her undeniable talent kept her there.

She was signed to a contract at the young age of 18. While she was racked up a number of small roles under her real name of Clara Lou Sheridan, in 1945, her name was changed to Ann.

In 1936, after several dozen films, she went to Warner Brothers. It was here when she received her nickname the “Oomph Girl” – a name she absolutely despised.

She was dropped by Warner Bros. in 1948, but came back in Howard Hawks’ hilarious comedy I Was a Male War Bride (1949) with Cary Grant.

“I used to go to Grauman’s Chinese or Pantages and sit there waiting to see my faceless body on the screen. Texas began to look awfully near and awfully good, and “Clara Lou” had a sweet sound to my ears.” ~ Ann Sheridan

Fast Facts About Ann Sheridan

Height: 5′ 5½”
Was named Max Factor’s Girl of the Year in 1939.
While at Paramount, she was used as a body double (hands, legs, shoulders).
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7024 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
After making San Quentin (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, the two became friends and began referring to each other as “Sister Annie” and “Brother Bogie”.
According to an article in The Newark Evening News, she spent her off-time during the 1941 strike from Warner Brothers rebuilding abandoned cars at a friend’s garage!
She had a noticeable gap between her front teeth, so she wore a porcelain cap when having her picture taken.
Ann Sheridan passed away on January 21, 1967, a month away from what would have been her 52nd birthday on February 21.
She was considered for the role of Isla (Casablanca) and Scarlett (Gone with the Wind).

Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Raft – They Drive by Night

A Few Recommended Ann Sheridan Movies

Nora Prentiss (DVD on Amazon)

Woman on the Run (Movie on Prime)

King’s Row (Movie on Prime)

Pistols and Petticoats (Movie on Prime)

It All Came True (Movie on Prime)

Castle on the Hudson (Movie on Prime)

They Drive by Night (DVD on Amazon) or Prime

Thank Your Lucky Stars (Blu-Ray on Amazon)

Judy Garland: Fast Facts About a Beautiful Legend

April 24, 2018 By Joi

Frances Ethel Gumm was born on June 10, 1922 in Minnesota. She was the youngest daughter of vaudevillians Ethel Marion (Milne) and Francis Avent Gumm. Frances would, of course, go on to take the world by storm as Judy Garland.

Below are some fast facts about a truly remarkable actress, singer, and woman.

I strive (always) to focus only on the positive when it comes to my beloved Old Hollywood Actors and Actresses, however, I feel that there are times when understanding their battles helps us understand them more. People often cast stones at these stars without fully realizing what they often went through. This is CERTAINLY the case with Judy Garland. According to her biography on the A&E channel, in her early acting career (when she was very, very young) producers were sending her to SIX different doctors for prescription drugs – all without these doctors knowing about the others. She meant money for these people and they used her in the worst possible way. The fact that, in spite of all the demons she was battling, she was able to perform at such a high level will always blow me away.
Her iconic “Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (1939) claimed the #1 spot on June 22, 2004, in The American Film Institute’s list of “The 100 Years of The Greatest Songs”.
She performed with her sisters at the 1933-34 World’s Fair in Chicago on the infamous midway (the one where Sally Rand was the main attraction!), more specifically in the Old Mexico Club, where they sold out every night.
She was one of the few actresses to have danced in films with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Other actresses that have this distinction are Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds, and Leslie Caron.
Was considered for the role of Careen O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. When the role was given to Ann Rutherford, Judy immediately began working on The Wizard of Oz.
Returned to work just 11 months after giving birth to daughter Lorna Luft to work on A Star Is Born (1954).
Apparently, on the day Judy Garland died, there was a tornado in Kansas.
According to Mel Tormé, she had a powerful gift of retention. She could view a piece of music once and have the entire thing memorized! I’ve also read that (though it wasn’t tested), she was believed to have a very, very high IQ.
Judy was first cousin three times removed of US President Ulysses S. Grant.
When Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli married, Louis B. Mayer gave her away.
The character of Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island was based on Judy’s Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
Groucho Marx said that her not winning an Oscar for A Star Is Born was “the biggest robbery since Brink’s.”
Was replaced by Ginger Rogers in the film The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) after being suspended from MGM for her tardiness. In Ginger’s biography, she wrote that Fred Astaire was disappointed because he’d wanted to work with Judy (who he’d co-starred with in Easter Parade) again.
In 1997 she was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Judy Garland was very active politically for most of her adult life.
She returned to work nine months after giving birth to her daughter Liza Minnelli in order to film The Pirate (1948) with Gene Kelly.
Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe were good friends.
Another close friend was Katharine Hepburn. Judy would often stay with Katharine during her worst bouts of depression.
Won five Grammys during her career.
Starred in two Best Picture Oscar nominated films: The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).

Dorothy Dandridge: A Beautiful Star Who Out-Shined the Ugliness Around Her

March 26, 2018 By Joi

Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Poster

I began Hollywood Yesterday in 2005 (13 years ago!) as a means of keeping the wonderful, glamorous stars of The Golden Age of Hollywood or “Old Hollywood” alive and shining bright. I’ve always loved old movies – even as a child, I preferred watching Shirley Temple and Abbott and Costello reruns to the newer movies and I’d rather have spent an afternoon watching Westerns with my dad than doing just about anything.

Over the years, my personal list of favorites has grown – but, make no mistake about it, my earliest favorites (Audrey, Barbara, James Stewart, Dean & Lewis, Abbott & Costello, Rita) are still among my absolute favorites.

The frustrating thing is, I can’t whittle my list down!

I see so many people say their favorite actress is Ginger Rogers or Ava Gardner and their favorite actor is Cary Grant or James Dean…. then when they ask my favorite actor/actress, I feel like telling them, “Well, sit down, this will take a hot minute!”

The thing is, when you love old movies and watch them with the vigor I do, you meet new favorites along the way. I only recently became really acquainted with Joan Crawford, for example. See, here’s the thing.. .to really appreciate a star, you have to have seen them in several roles and several movies. After my second Joan Crawford movie, she charged firmly into place among my favorites.

And looked downright elegant doing so!

The same thing happened years ago with one of my favorite actors, Glenn Ford. I’d seen him in The Violent men and, although I really liked him, I wasn’t ready to call him a favorite. Then I saw him in Gilda… and there he went – flying into place.

Rita? Heck, she’s always been there.

I recently had a particularly gorgeous actress/singer land firmly among the promised land – Dorothy Dandridge. I had, of course, heard of Dorothy (who hasn’t?!) and most certainly knew that she was a ridiculously beautiful lady. I, somehow, had never seen her in a single film she was in. Not one.

Now that I have, she has found a home among others who have a special place in my heart.

{Continued Below….}

Dorothy Dandridge was born November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother was an entertainer and her father was a minister. Her family moved to California, where they had hopes of more opportunities – perhaps even in film.

Sadly (hello, understatement), this was during a time in history when people of color didn’t receive the respect or kindness they deserved. As both an avid Old Movie fan and History Buff, I despise reading about racism or the struggles men and women went through and the nastiness they endured. However, it is a part of history, so it has to be faced… even if it’s with a tear-stained face.

What I try to concentrate on is the drive, determination, faith, and inner beauty that these men and women had that saw them through unspeakable ignorance. The fact that names like Dorothy Dandridge, Jackie Robinson, Butterfly McQueen, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Potier, Harriet Tubman (and so many more!) are fondly remembered when the vast majority of people who were ugly to them are long forgotten makes me smile -and I’m not even sorry if that sounds ugly.

In 1954, Dorothy appeared in the movie and role she is most associated with – Carmen Jones. She was so fantastic in this role, that even in a society still trying to find its humanity, she earned an Academy Award nomination. Unfortunately she lost out to Grace Kelly for her role in The Country Girl. You’ll get arguments from people on both sides of the fence on this one, but as someone who has seen both movies, and as someone who very much likes BOTH actresses, I have to say that I believe the Award should have gone to Dorothy. Grace Kelly was wonderful in The Country Girl but Dorothy was on a whole other level in Carmen Jones.

Yes, it was phenomenal to have been nominated but she could have (and in my opinion should have) won.

Ironically, in spite of this nomination, she didn’t get another role until Tamango (an Italian film) in 1958. She went on to make six more motion pictures, including standouts Island in the Sun in 1957 and Porgy and Bess in 1959.

She was only 42 when she died in 1965, with her last years being anything but glamorous. Many Dorothy Dandridge biographers and fans believed the actress suffered from depression and perhaps even bipolar disorder. To have overcome this AND the racism she faced all while looking like a smiling angel from above makes her one extra special lady.

I’ve been reading a great deal about Dorothy the past few weeks, and have placed an order for two biographies to dive in even deeper. I’ll let you in on something that troubles me. She is almost always compared to Marilyn Monroe… or mentioned in some way or fashion alongside Marilyn. I understand, to a certain extent, trying to compare beauties when they resemble one another. In fact, I’ve often been intrigued by the similarities between Vivien Leigh and Hedy Lamarr and between Claudette Colbert and Helen Hayes – when they were around the same age. I can even get trying to gauge an actress’ popularity by measuring it against another star’s.

However, Dorothy Dandridge CAN and SHOULD be remembered and celebrated all on her own.

I’m excited by the number of classic movie fans I see on Twitter and Pinterest – and I love the fact that so many are very young…. with many twenty-somethings loving the Golden Age of Hollywood. I hope to see all of us listing Dorothy Dandridge in her rightful place, among the other beautiful and talented stars of her time. I certainly plan to do my part to help make it happen.

After all, she fits perfectly among the list of other first-name basis ladies: Audrey, Rita, Barbara, Dorothy, Ava, Joan, Marilyn… just where she belongs – among the stars.

George Sanders: Living Life by His Own Rules (For Better or Worse)

March 12, 2018 By Joi

George Sanders and Anne Baxter, All About Eve

I have actually put off writing about one of my favorite actors (George Sanders) for years, now, simply because I did NOT want to come across like I was judging him or making light of anything he did, said, or was involved in. Far, far, far from it. I believe that, like many stars, George Sanders battled his own private demons. He was, as they say, quite a character, but we’d be wrong to quickly judge the man without knowing what he, himself, dealt with on a daily basis.

He has long been one of my favorite actors, even though his body of work is less acclaimed than, say, household-name actors such as Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, John Wayne, and Glenn Ford. In fact, if we’re being honest, only those of us who are fairly familiar with old movies can put a face to George Sander’s name or vice versa.

The Golden Age of Hollywood was a very trying time for actors and actresses – even more so than today, in my opinion. The pressure to succeed was intense and each star knew that the success or failure of one film could also mean their own success or failure. What’s more, if someone during that time suffered from mental or emotional illnesses, they did just that SUFFER. Often in silence, for fear of losing roles. Today, help and understanding would be available – but back then, either would have been hard to come by. Trying to cope with a mental or emotional disorder would be about like trying to handle asthma or diabetes without medication.

Can you say impossible?!

I’m not saying, one way or another, that George Sanders suffered from any such issues. I’m one of his biggest fans in the world and even I can admit that he may have just been a bona fide rascal!

George Sanders and Gene Tierney, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

George Sanders was born in 1906 to British parents in St. Petersburgh Russia. His U.S. film debut was in 1936 with Twentieth Century-Fox. He portrayed Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd’s of London.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar (The Saint) and as Gay Lawrence, (The Falcon). If you’ve never seen these fun oldies, try to catch them when you can. They’re just pure old fashioned fun and Sanders ad The Saint is particularly entertaining. His portrayal is very different from the way Vincent Price played The Saint on the classic radio show by the same name. Price’s version was perfect for radio and Sanders’ version was perfect for film.

Like most people, I always remember the first film I ever saw my favorites in. With George Sanders it was as “Robert Fleming” in Lured. His co-star was another of my absolute favorites, Lucille Ball. Their chemistry helped make this an especially wonderful movie. For a movie few have even heard of, Lured is actually one of my favorites… and not just because of the leads! It’s well written and catches you off guard a couple of times.

Rage in Heaven with Robert Montgomery and Ingrid Bergman (talk about a strong cast). This 1941 film is also well-worth finding on dvd (or TCM). It’s one of Robert Montgomery’s best performances, in my opinion. He’s mesmerizing in this film… even if you find yourself wanting someone (anyone!) to just go ahead and choke him. It isn’t easy for me to say, but Mr. Montgomery is definitely the star of this film – Ingrid and George are pretty much along for the ride.

Other notable movies and roles include…

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Miles Fairley)

Confessions of a Nazi Spy (Schlager)

The Outsider (Anton Ragatzy)

All About Eve (Addison De Witt)

Allegheny Uprising (Captain Swanson)

Rebecca (Jack Favell)

The Son of Monte Cristo (Gen. Gurko Lanen)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Lord Henry Wotton)

Mr. Freeze on TV’s Batman (1966)
Sanders, very deservedly, won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in All About Eve.

Continued Below….

George Sanders in The Ghost and Mrs Muir

His personal life was nearly as interesting as his movies. His second wife was none other than the beautiful Zsa Zsa Gabor. They were married from 1949-1954. His third wife was actress Benita Hume. They were married from 1959 to her death, from bone cancer, in 1967. His fourth and final marriage was to Magda Gabor. They lasted one year…. and, yes, she was Wife #2’s sister.

From everything I’ve read, Benita was the love of his life and he never fully got over losing her. He lost three loved ones (his mother, his brother Tom Conway, and Benita) in 1967.

Sanders once said that he loathed giving interviews because he did not get paid for them. He also apparently loathed the idea of giving autographs, since it’s something he never did. He actually seemed to relish in the role of being perceived as a rude, haughty, snobbish, and downright disagreeable person!

In 1937, Sanders told David Niven that he intended to commit suicide when he got older. Tragically, in 1972 he did just that.

He left the following note: “Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.”

So. There you have it. While some may argue that he had simply created a persona, I’d have to disagree – and quickly, at that. He was simply a bit of a cad and there’s no need to try to hide it. It takes all kinds in life and it’s futile to try to make someone into something we want them to be.

I’m much more comfortable with accepting them for what they are or were – celebrating the good and accepting the bad, neither glossing over it or hovering over it. I prefer to celebrate all that he brought to his movies and his roles.

Before closing with a few of his “genuinely George” quotes, I want to encourage you to see all of this talented actor’s movies – especially Lured, Rebecca, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Rage in Heaven, Lured, The Son of Monte Cristo, and all of the “Saint” and “Falcon” movies.

Just be sure to only expect “fun” with the Saint and Falcon movies. They aren’t very deep, to be sure… but FUN? They absolutely are that!

A Few George Sanders Quotes….

I don’t ask questions. I just take their money and use it for things that really interest me.

I was beastly but never coarse. A high-class sort of heel.

Where on the screen I am invariably a son-of-a-bitch, in life I am a dear, dear boy.

(When asked how he felt after his divorce from Zsa Zsa Gabor) Like a squeezed lemon.

On July 3, 1906, the world was at peace. Nothing of any consequence seemed to be happening in the capital cities of any of its countries. Nothing disturbed the summer lethargy of its population. Everywhere, people dozed contentedly, unaware that an event of major importance was taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia. At Number 6, Petroffski Ostroff, to Margaret and Henry Sanders, a son of dazzling beauty and infinite charm was being born. It was I.

Things You May Not Have Known About Abbott and Costello

March 12, 2018 By Joi

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff

You are looking at a picture of one of my greatest obsessions – Abbott and Costello. I could watch their movies and/or routines daily and laugh as though it were the first time EACH time. As someone who loves few things as much as laughing, I guess it’s only expected that they’d float my boat so perfectly.

There was a lot more to Bud Abbott and Lou Costello than most of us realize. They were much more intellectual (and certainly more serious) than we envision them. In fact, off screen, the men barely resembled the characters they played.

Below are a few fast facts about these brilliant men.

Facts about Bud Abbott

William Alexander Abbott was born in 1895.
Both of his parents (Rae and Harry) at one time worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Bud worked in carnivals, as a child, and dropped out of school in 1909.
In 1931, he stood in for comic Lou Costello’s straight-man who was ill. The two clicked almost immediately and… the rest is history!
In 1940 he made his film debut in One Night in the Tropics, which was also his first film pairing with his partner Lou Costello.
Bud has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio (6333 Hollywood Boulevard), Motion Pictures (1611 Vine Street), and Television (6740 Hollywood Boulevard).
Bud Abbott was a lifelong epileptic.
His twin sister, Olive Victoria Abbott, was in vaudeville and lived to be 101 years old!
He was an avid gun collector and once owned an Adolf Hitler shotgun.
One story has it that, at Lou Costello’s insistence, the monies earned from the their act were split 60/40, favoring Bud Abbott. Lou Costello reasoned that “…comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find.”
After Abbott and Costello broke up, Bud Abbott said, “I never understood Lou.”
Married Betty Smith in 1918. They adopted two children.
A favorite Bud Abbott Quote was, “You never heard of a comedy team that didn’t fight, did you?“
Died in 1974 (prostate cancer).

Facts About Lou Costello

Born in 1906 in New Jersey.
His parents were Helen and Sebastiano Cristillo. His father was from Calabria, Italy, and his mother was an American of Italian, French, and Irish ancestry.
Before teaming with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello worked as a stuntman.
Lou Costello was married to Anne Battler from January 1934 – March 1959 (his death)
Lou mentioned his hometown (Paterson, New Jersey) in virtually every episode of his TV show and in many of his films – listen for it, it’s amazing (and touching) how he works it in.
Tragically, his only son, Lou Jr., drowned in the family’s swimming pool just days before his first birthday.
Lou Costello simply took home any prop or furniture from a set that he took a liking to. Once, during filming of Hit The Ice, the director was reshooting a scene when he noticed all the furniture was gone! Sure enough, Lou had hauled it off to his place – so an arrangement was made for him to bring it back just long enough to reshoot the scenes.
Costello wanted to change the name of the duo to “Costello and Abbott.” Naturally, Universal Pictures wasn’t for the idea. The result was a “permanent chill” between the partners that lasted until their split in the late 1950s.
After the death of his son, Lou Costello Jr., he somehow performed the “Who’s On First” routine as usual, but with tears running down his face.
Lou was an amateur boxer.
He was awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Motion Pictures at 6438 Hollywood Blvd., for Radio at 6780 Hollywood Blvd. and for Television at 6276 Hollywood Blvd.
In 1943, Lou developed rheumatic fever. The disease damaged his heart and led to the heart attack that killed him – three days before his 53rd birthday.
Bud’s one starring role in a feature film, without Bud Abbott, was in The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959). He died before it was released.

Facts About the Team…

Abbott and Costello are known in Italy as “Gianni and Pinotto”, Abbott being Gianni and Costello being Pinotto.
Abbott and Costello are the only two non-sportsmen honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, for their “Who’s On First” routine. They aren’t, of course, members of the Hall of Fame, but the fact that their wonderful routine is so appreciated is priceless.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were so popular that there was an “Abbott and Costello” comic book that was published for about ten years until their partnership ended in 1956.
They performed the “Who’s on first” routine for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection

16 Fast Facts About Vera-Ellen

December 11, 2017 By Joi

Adorable Vera-Ellen

Getting to Know Vera-Ellen:

Vera-Ellen (an only child )was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1921.
Her nickname was “Bunny.”
Vera was painfully shy as a child and, by nine, had developed health problems.
Went to the same Cincinnati ballroom dance studio as a child as Doris Day. Their parents even carpooled together to the dance studio.
When asked about causing a sensation when she wore a form-fitting gold lame sheath to the Oscars in 1958, Vera-Ellen perfectly replied, “Why not? It’s the way Oscar dresses.”
She was a Radio City Rockette (and one of the youngest) but was fired after two weeks because she showed too much individuality on stage.
The beautiful star silently battled anorexia before doctors even understood the condition, let alone how to treat it.
Vera-Ellen co-starred with Donald O’Connor in Call Me Madam (1953). One of her all-time personal favorite dances was in this film. She and the wonderful O’Connor danced to “Something to Dance About,” choreographed by the renowned Robert Alton.
When studios (sadly) began making fewer musicals (in the 1950s), Vera-Ellen began to fade from the public eye.
One of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire AND Gene Kelly onscreen. Other actresses that are in this exclusive little club include Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Debbie Reynolds, and Leslie Caron.
Fred Astaire said about her, “She was a real accomplished dancer, that girl. Ballet, tap dancing, anything you wanted to do.“
During the filming of White Christmas, the costumes were made to cover Vera-Ellen’s neck because, due to anorexia, it appeared much older than her face.
Once said, “Fred Astaire will never say, though he’s always asked, which of his dancing ladies was his favorite partner. If you ask me, he preferred the solo turns.”
The beloved classic White Christmas (1954) is the movie Vera-Ellen is most remembered for. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney were her costars in this iconic Christmas film.
Vera-Ellen apparently was a bit of a bookworm as a child! In her own words, “I was called a bookish child. Mother sent me to a ballet teacher in Cincinnati when I was nine years old. I guess I was an awkward child and the family wanted me to be graceful. When I found out I liked to dance and people seemed to like to watch me, I was determined to go places.”
She enjoys a lasting legacy as one of Hollywood’s finest dancing stars from Musicals’ cherished glory days.