In Memorandum | Hollywood Yesterday

Lauren Bacall: Ten Fast Facts About the Legendary Beauty

August 15, 2014 By Joi

The ridiculously beautiful and talented Lauren Bacall died Tuesday at the age of 89. On the heels of Robin Williams’ death, this has been a week to remember – and not in a good way.

Hollywood Yesterday was created for this very reason – to keep the stars alive and shining brightly… the way they’re meant to.

Lauren Bacall should always be remembered for more than just her extraordinary beauty. She was as talented as any actress or actor of her time or any other time. She was also exceptionally smart and colorful. She paved the way for actresses to be as strong as they were beautiful – to more or less identify themselves, rather than allowing a studio or “boss” to carve out an identity for them.

10 Facts About Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. She originally wanted to be a dancer, but decided on acting.
She lived in the same New York apartment building as John Lennon and actually heard the shot that killed him in December, 1980. She told Twiggy in a UK television interview that she assumed the gunshot was a car tire bursting or a vehicle backfiring.
Bacall is from her mother’s maiden name, Bacal. She simply added an extra l.
Those close to her called her by her given name, Betty.
She was an only child.
Katharine Hepburn was a long-time friend of Lauren Bacall’s and is even the godmother of her son, Sam Robards.
She was married to Humphrey Bogart from 1945 to his death in 1957.
Bacall made two movies with John Wayne, Blood Alley (1955) and The Shootist (1976). During production of Blood Alley, her husband (Humphrey Bogart) was dying of throat cancer.
At Humphrey Bogart’s funeral, she put a whistle in his coffin. It was a sweet reference to her famous line to him in their first film together (To Have and Have Not) in 1944: “You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”.
Along with Veronica Lake, Julie London, and Rita Hayworth, Bacall was one of the four inspirations that helped shape the Jessica Rabbit character.

May she forever rest in peace with her beloved Humphrey Bogart.

Rest in Perfect Peace, Andy Griffith

July 3, 2012 By Joi

A lot of class, talent, and humor has left the world. Sadly, Andy Griffith has died at 86 years old. Andy Griffith, and The Andy Griffith Show are a few of the main reasons Hollywood Yesterday exists. Along with other beloved classics such as I Love Lucy and Beverly Hillbillies and other classic stars such as Audrey Hepburn and James Dean – Andy Griffith and his legendary show have been constants in my life…. for as long as I’ve lived.

It’s love for all of these that prompted me to create Hollywood Yesterday – to keep them forever alive and forever smiling.

In addition to his beloved role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in “The Andy Griffith Show” (1960 to 1968) Griffith also played another legendary television character – criminal defense lawyer Matlock from 1986 to 1995. The actor was honored with the the TV Land Legend Award in 2004, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2005.

Andy Griffith was also a very talented singer and musician. In fact, his 1996 album “I Love to Tell the Story: 24 Timeless Hymns” went platinum.

After learning of Griffith’s death, actor/director Ron Howard (“Opie”) had the following to say on Twitter: “Andy Griffith His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life I’m forever grateful RIP Andy.”

The world’s a better place because one Andy Griffith lived – and now Heaven is, without a doubt, filled with even more laughter.

Rest in Peace.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth Taylor

March 23, 2011 By Joi

One of the most celebrated actresses of all time, the impossibly beautiful Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011), died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles from complications with congestive heart failure; she was 79.

Elizabeth Taylor was one of the last remaining stars from the truly golden age of Hollywood. The legendary beauty, actress, and activist earned two Academy Awards (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8) in her career and left her mark on the entertainment industry. Many feel that she’s the actress who forced doors to open in Hollywood. Her talent proved that an actress can be both beautiful and talented, sexy and strong, romantic and mysterious.

Apparently the actress had been hospitalized for the past few weeks and even celebrated her birthday on February 27th at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with friends and family. Her four children, two sons and two daughters, were by her side when she died.

Like so many of us, I can actually remember the first time I laid eyes on the strikingly beautiful brunette. My dad was watching Cleopatra on television and, as I was walking through the living room, my eyes caught site of her in all of her Cleopatra regalia. I just thought, Whoa. She simply had an aura about her when she was on the screen – the kind that just dared you to look away.

While her millions of fans and her loving family will miss her, Elizabeth Taylor will never truly leave us. She’ll live on in her legendary roles, her beautiful perfumes, her gorgeous pictures, and – most importantly – in her tireless, passionate work she did for AIDS patients. Now, as then, she dares anyone to look away. AND now, as then, it’s absolutely impossible.

Rest in peace.

Eartha Kitt’s Lasting Legacy as Catwoman

December 26, 2008 By Joi

Wow. Talk about making a lasting impression. I never realized it until I looked into it this morning, but Eartha Kitt was actually in only 3 Batman episodes:

Catwoman’s Dressed to Kill (1967)
The Funny Feline Felonies (1967)
The Joke’s on Catwoman (1968)

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.

We Lost a Great, Great Character Actor This Week

January 20, 2008 By Joi

Phil Silvers, Harvey Lembeck, and Allan Melvin

Allan Melvin, a very talented character actor with a resume most actors would love to have, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, according to Amalia Melvin, his wife of 64 years. Happily married for 64 years – add that to Mr. Melvin’s list of admirable achievements!

As most publications are reporting, Allan Melvin is best known for playing Sam the Butcher on “The Brady Bunch.” Maybe it’s because I’m a straight-up Andy Griffith addict, but I actually remember him best from his Andy Griffith episodes, which happened to be some of the best in the entire series:

He was a Recruiting Sergeant who had to deal with Ernest T. Bass when he wanted a “un-ee-form.”
He was one of the farmers that set up business in a fruit truck. Barney told them to move along, but they ignored him.
He played an escaped prisoner that Andy tied to a tree that (of course) Barney freed with a “Poor Fella.”
He was “Myrt’s” accomplice in the episode about Barney’s first car.
He played a hotel detective when Andy and Barney went to “The Big City.”
He played a store owner who crossed Barney’s path, then promised to beat him up as soon as he caught him out of uniform.
He was also in an episode titled, “Jailbreak” – again, he was bad news.

Allan Melvin also did numerous (far too many to list) voices for the Flintstones (another of my straight-up addictions), Magilla Gorilla (he WAS Magilla, thank you very much), and other cartoons. He was on a lot of “All in the Family” (as Archie’s best friend) episodes and he was a regular on “Archie Bunker’s Place.” He played the recurring role of Sgt. Charlie Hacker on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and was on Sergeant Bilko (in the picture at the top).

I also remember him from several “Green Acres” episodes. And, of course, he was Alice’s butcher sweetheart, Sam, on The Brady Bunch.

Allan Melvin was born in 1922 in, ironically, the Show Me State of Missouri. As his resume proves, he “Showed ’em,” alright.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Melvin, and thanks for the laughs.