Yvonne de Carlo – A rare beauty.

April 18, 2016 admin 13

  The ravishing (and ravenous) Yvonne de Carlo was at the height of her beauty when Robert Wagner spotted her in her car alongside his at a drive-in restaurant called ‘Jack’s at the Beach’. She nodded for him to come on over, which he duly did, and she invited him […]

The loves in the life of Marilyn Monroe Pt 4.

April 16, 2016 admin 5

  Before moving on to 1953 it is worth taking the time to deal with the name Robert Slatzer. Several biographies about Marilyn Monroe speak of him not only seducing her in 1952, but of marrying her as well. They even give a date, (October 3), for their wedding day […]

The loves in the life of Marilyn Monroe Pt.3

April 14, 2016 admin 3

  In 1955 the director of On the Waterfront and Gentleman’s Agreement, Elia Kazan, wrote a letter of confession to his wife, apologizing for having an affair with Marilyn Monroe in 1950, just after her agent Johnny Hyde had passed away. Kazan came across her when she was distraught and […]

The loves in the life of Marilyn Monroe Pt.2

April 12, 2016 admin 0

  Marilyn met actor John Carroll and his wife Lucille Ryman in December 1947. Lucille was a talent scout for MGM. The three hit it off right away and their friendship resulted in Marilyn moving into their home for a while. Lucille even got her to sign a contract with […]

The loves in the life of Marilyn Monroe Pt 1.

April 10, 2016 admin 12

  Jim Dougherty was Marilyn’s first husband back when she was known simply as Norma Jean Mortenson, and long before her transformation into the iconic sex symbol that was Marilyn Monroe. ‘I never knew Marilyn Monroe’, he told United Press International in 1990. ‘I knew and loved Norma Jean.’ They […]

Five short stories Pt 1.

April 8, 2016 admin 2

  Canadian-born Florence Lawrence became the first movie star to be identified by name. Before that she was simply ‘The Biograph Girl’, and that suited her just fine, as it did all the other featured players in other companies. Nobody wanted to be named because it might jeopardize their stage […]

Frank Sinatra and the Mob.

April 6, 2016 admin 6

  It would most likely surprise fans of Frank Sinatra to learn that at his birth in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915 he weighed an enormous 13.5 lbs! He would, however, grow up to be a very slight 5’7” (1.7m). His forceps delivery left a permanent scar on his face […]

Victor Mature – catnip to the ladies.

April 4, 2016 admin 13

    From 1939 until 1984 Victor Mature appeared in 55 movies and one TV series, The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1966). He wasn’t very good in many of them, and no-one was more aware of that than him. My Darling Clementine (1946) and Kiss of Death […]

Esther Williams – the Million Dollar Mermaid.

April 2, 2016 admin 0

  If World war Two had not intervened and caused the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, Esther Williams would have, in all probability, represented the USA as a swimmer in both meets. In 1940 she was just 18 years old and already the holder of three National Swimming […]

7 actors who recorded #1hit singles.

March 31, 2016 admin 0

  Ever since Billboard has been used to assess the popularity of single recordings there have been a few actors who have unexpectedly surprised us by recording songs that went all the way to the top of the charts. There were two in 1957, one in 1958, one in 1962, […]