‘Hollywood – The Skeletons Are Out’ – a sampling

October 19, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  My latest book is titled Hollywood: The Skeletons Are Out. It contains 1,200 direct quotes by actors and directors about themselves, their colleagues and their films. Here is a random two dozen of them:   Young Joan Collins When Joan Collins was asked if she was ever unfaithful, she […]

Did you know? (I)

July 9, 2016 Alan Royle 2

      Dina Merrill Born in New York in 1927, Dina Merrill has oozed class all her life. Her pedigree demanded it. She is one of that rare breed born with a silver spoon in their mouths who managed to remain unspoiled throughout their privileged lives. Her father was […]

Did you know? (F)

July 1, 2016 Alan Royle 4

    Tony Curtis circa 1948 ‘I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948’, Tony Curtis stated in a 2002 interview with gay magazine, attitude. ‘I had more action than Mount Vesuvius – men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated where I wanted to and didn’t […]

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.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 […]

A few snippets from Frank Langella.

July 20, 2015 admin 2

  Oscar-nominated actor Frank Langella published his most entertaining biography titled, Dropped Names: Famous Men & Women as I Knew Them, in 2013. It is a scathing one that pulls few, if any, punches. Here are a few snippets from it, some of his observations down the decades, along with […]

The Best Movie Music?

May 4, 2015 admin 0

  Brief Note: At last, the day has arrived! After years of research, and months of hard work from my son Peter setting up this site and connecting with Amazon and Kindle, today we launch book two, ‘Movies Based on True Stories’. It is 626 pages in length (on Kindle), covers […]

MAMIE VAN DOREN – Sex siren survivor.

March 20, 2015 admin 0

  The totally unfair label ‘blonde bimbo’ evolved in the 1950s, probably because of the antics of a trio of blonde actresses known to the media as ‘the three ‘M’s’. I refer to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie van Doren. Two of these women, Marilyn and Jayne, died young […]

Marilyn Monroe – a gorgeous tramp?

February 24, 2015 admin 7

    Marilyn Monroe in the unfinished Something’s Got to Give ( 1962) Marilyn Monroe’s first appearance in a movie was in the 1948 picture Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!  She uttered just two words, ‘Hi, Rad’, as she walked down some church steps behind eight year-old Natalie Wood. Two years earlier she […]