Vintage Inspiration July 29th

Ruth Chatterton made her mark in Hollywood in the 1930s

For a bio check out: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=32754&apid=136763&category=filmography&action=more

While her career was relatively short, she made some great films including: Dodsworth (1936), Frisco Jenny (1933) and Madame X (1929)

Ruth Chatterton's Home today (704 N. Palm Drive, Beverly Hills, CA) from Google Maps

Vintage Inspiration July 28th

Today would have been silent screen star Barbara La Marr's (1896-1926) birthday

Her beauty was so beloved by Louis B. Mayer, that she became the inspiration for Hedy Lamarr's name

Known as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful", she partied a little too hard and passed away at 29 of tuberculosis

For a bio, check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_La_Marr

Vintage Inspiration July 26th

Wish I could spend my Sundays like this instead of cleaning. Sigh . . .

Vintage Inspiration July 25th

My pumpkin plant is starting to flower. Gorgeouos! Since I have such bad luck with plants, I'm surprised the pumpkin made it.

Vintage Inspiration July 24th

I love Constance Bennett. I know most people only remember Joan, but Constance was just as good an actress. Very intelligent.

She was also a very devoted mother, of course

She also had some major drama in her life including:

• Accepted the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934), but later turned it down when Columbia Pictures would not allow her to produce the film herself.

• Her 1931 contract with Warner Brothers, $300,000 for 2 films. At the time this made her the highest paid actress.

Constance was considered one of the best poker players in Hollywood

• As a colonel's wife and in recognition of her work for the Berlin Airlift, she is buried in Arlington National Cemetery

• Bennett eloped with millionaire socialite Philip Morgan Plant (died 1941) in 1925, they divorced in 1929. In 1932, Bennett brought back from Europe a three-year-old child, whom she claimed to have adopted and named Peter Bennett Plant. In 1942, however, during a battle over a large trust fund established to benefit any descendants of her former husband, Bennett announced that her adopted son actually was her natural child by Plant, born after the divorce and kept hidden in order to ensure that the child's biological father did not get custody. During the court hearings, the actress told her former mother-in-law and her husband's widow that "if she got to the witness stand she would give a complete account of her life with Plant. The matter was settled out of court (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Bennett)

And last but not least, one of my favorite beauty routines. I love when they play this on TCM. Not only does it give a window into the life of one of my favorite stars, but her house is gorgeous and it is wonderful to view true beauty in real time

And so, as Constance Bennett says, "To be Beautiful and Natural is the Birthright of Every Woman"

Have a Beautiful day Ladies and Gents!

Vintage Inspiration July 23

Today or tomorrow (depending on which bio you look at) is Arthur Treacher's birthday

He was in many of Shirley Temple movies including two of my absolute favorites, Heidi and Little Princess

He was also seen as the perfect butler, so he played that role in many of his films

Here are a few pictures from Life taken in 1966 with caricatures of himself from his early films and demonstrating how to be the perfect butler

Bio of Arthur Treacher:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871546/bio

Vintage Inspiration July 22nd

TCM had a bunch of Saint movies on this afternoon, so of coarse I was glued to my set. George Sanders has such a different way of portraying the Saint from Vincent Price (The Saint on the radio). I have to admit, I still prefer Price. That voice . . .

Anyway, one of the films was Saint in London from 1939. It naturally contained espionage and counterfeiters. The "Girl Friday" to George Sanders' Saint was Penelope Parker, played by Sally Gray.

I had never heard of her. With B pictures, that is only natural I suppose. It turns out she was not in films that long.

For a Bio, check out:

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=75611&apid=137622

She ended up marrying a Lord and retiring

As a side note, her stepson inspired a part of The Beatles song "A Day in the Life". He was the lad who crashed his car.

Dillinger 75th Anniversary

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the death of John Dillinger

He was shot down July 22, 1934 in front of the Biograph Theater







Newsreel with the body. WARNING - GRAPHIC



This is a fabulous book written by local Crime History God Paul Maccabee. It covers Dillinger's time hiding out in the corrupt St Paul of the bootlegger days when the law was on the take. Every once in a while he hosts tours of the sites. Unfortunately it always seems like I have to work those days. Sigh...

Vintage Inspiration July 20

The lovely Carole Landis getting ready to retire for the night. I wish I looked that fabulous getting ready for bed!

Vintage Inspiration July 19th

Since it's my wedding anniversary today (Six fabulous years). I took the hint and have bunch of wedding pics as inspiration.

Bogie and Bacall


Joan Fontaine



Jimmy Stewart







And of coarse, Shirley Temple

And congrats to Solanah from one of my favorite blogs:

Solanah's Vixen Vintage

http://vixenvintage.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-kiss.html