Two tragic Hollywood beauties.

September 13, 2016 Alan Royle 10

  Ava Gardner (1922-90) Mickey Rooney took one look at Ava Gardner when she arrived in Hollywood and was hooked. He pursued her, wooed her and did his utmost to bed her, but the 18 year-old virgin made it clear that any man who wanted to alter that status was […]

Greg Bautzer – Hollywood lawyer/playboy.

August 22, 2016 Alan Royle 7

  The story goes that renowned Hollywood lawyer Greg Bautzer set his sights on Hollywood from the moment he earned his law degree, borrowed $5,000 from someone (we know not whom), and used it to purchase a fine wardrobe and to get himself the best table at the Brown Derby […]

Feminine allure in the movies – 50 of the best

July 13, 2016 Alan Royle 4

  These days if a man mentions that a woman looks ‘hot’ or ‘desirable’, he runs a very good chance of being labeled a ‘sexist’ by that annoying, nameless bunch that take it upon themselves to decide for the rest of us what is politically correct and what is not. […]

Did you know? (D)

June 27, 2016 Alan Royle 3

    Recently I watched a British WW2 drama made in 1953 called Appointment in London (aka Raiders in the Sky). It was pretty good, too, although the final segment (a bomber raid on Germany) was drawn out far too long. The cast was first class with Dirk Bogarde, Ian […]

Johnny Stompanato – Stud to the Stars.

June 9, 2016 Alan Royle 14

    The quaint little town of Woodstock, Illinois has produced several interesting individuals, prominent among them actors Orson Welles and Jessica Biel, cartoonist Chester Gould the creator of Dick Tracy, and gangster, mob enforcer Johnny Stompanato. It was also the location for the 1993 film Groundhog Day that starred […]

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 […]

The enigma that was Howard Hughes

March 23, 2016 admin 14

   Howard Hughes was a Texan, a maverick movie tycoon who hit the movie industry like a whirlwind in the Roaring Twenties and remained a force for a couple of decades. At the age of 19 he inherited 75% of his family’s fortune. His father had patented the two-cone roller […]

The exquisite Grace Kelly.

March 13, 2016 admin 19

  Fans of Grace Kelly (and I am one of them, believe it or not) are probably going to jump up and down if they read this, and accuse me of ‘muck-raking’ or, at best, sensationalising her track record (or should I say ‘sack’ record) with members of the opposite […]

My Top 10 screen beauties.

February 3, 2016 admin 7

        Of course, everyone’s idea of what constitutes real beauty varies. I guess that is why we have so many pretty girls walking about with tattoos and bolts through their noses; why a large portion of the male population shave their heads or prefer to go unshaven […]