GENE KELLY
(Best Known for: Singing in the Rain)
Date of Birth: 23 August 1912, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of Death: 2 February 1996, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. (complications from two strokes)
Birth Name: Eugene Curran Kelly
Height: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Trade Mark: Known for his innovative, athletic style of dancing
Trivia:
Had a half-moon shaped scar on his left cheek caused by a bicycle accident he had as a young boy; Singin' in the Rain (1952) was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 for Outstanding Musical Production, with choreography by Kelly; He wore a hairpiece (toupee); Martial arts stars Jackie Chan and David Carradine both cite him as an influence; Working on an autobiography at the time of his death; He was awarded the National Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 1994; During World War II he was a sailor stationed at the U S Naval Photographic Center in Anacostia, DC (where the documentary "Victory at Sea" (1952) was later assembled for NBC-TV). He starred in several Navy films while on active duty there and in "civilian" films while on leave; In the famous dance routine in which Gene Kelly sings the title song while twirling an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the skin, he was actually dancing in water with a little bit of milk added, so that the water puddles and raindrops would show up in the filming. Kelly became sick with a 103-degree fever and had to rest for a few days before continuing the film; Kelly taught Frank Sinatra how to dance by using Baseball techniques.
Mini Biography
M-G-M was the largest and most powerful studio in Hollywood when Gene Kelly arrived in town in 1941. He came direct from the hit 1940 original Broadway production of "Pal Joey" and planned to return to the Broadway stage after making the one film required by his contract. His first picture for M-G-M was For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. What kept Kelly in Hollywood were "the kindred creative spirits" he found behind the scenes at M-G-M. The talent pool was especially large during World War II, when Hollywood was a refuge for many musicians and others in the performing arts of Europe who were forced to flee the Nazis. After the war, a new generation was coming of age. Those who saw An American in Paris (1951) would try to make real life as romantic as the reel life they saw portrayed in that musical, and the first time they saw Paris, they were seeing again in memory the seventeen-minute ballet sequence set to the title song written by George Gershwin and choreographed by Kelly. The sequence cost a half million dollars (U.S.) to make in 1951 dollars. Another Kelly musical of the era, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry. Kelly was in the same league as Fred Astaire, but instead of a top hat and tails Kelly wore work clothes that went with his masculine, athletic dance style.
FRED ASTAIRE
Date of Birth: 10 May 1899, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Date of Death: 22 June 1987, Los Angeles, California, USA. (pneumonia)
Birth Name: Frederic Austerlitz Jr.
Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Trade Mark: Top Hat and Tails, His dancing
Trivia: The evaluation of Astaire's first screen test: "Can't act. Can't sing. Balding. Can dance a little." Astaire disguised his very large hands by curling his middle two fingers while dancing; First met lifelong best friend Irving Berlin on the set of Top Hat (1935); The only time he and Gene Kelly ever danced together on screen (other than the compilation 1974 movie, _That's Entertainment (1974)_ ) was in one routine, titled "The Babbitt and the Bromide" in the 1946 movie Ziegfeld Follies (1946); His legs were insured for one million dollars, Famously wore a necktie around his waist instead of a belt, an affectation he picked up from his friendship with actor Douglas Fairbanks but often mistakenly attributed to Astaire alone; While all music and songs were known to be dubbed (recorded before filming), his tap dancing was dubbed also. He "over-dubbed" his taps - recording them live as he danced to the previously recorded taps.
Mini Biography
The son of an Austrian immigrant, Fred Astaire entered show business at age 5. He was successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele Astaire. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in Dancing Lady (1933) before starting work on RKO's Flying Down to Rio (1933). In the latter film, he began his highly successful partnership with Ginger Rogers, with whom he danced in 9 RKO pictures. During these years, he was also active in recording and radio. On film, Astaire later appeared opposite a number of partners through various studios. After a temporary retirement in 1945-7, during which he opened Fred Astaire Dance Studios, Astaire returned to film to star in more musicals through 1957. He subsequently performed a number of straight dramatic roles in film and TV.
DONALD O'CONNOR
(Best known for Make 'Em Laugh dance routine in Singing in the Rain)
Birth Name: Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor
Trade Mark: His ability to do somersault against walls during a musical number in films
Trivia:
Had to have three days bed rest after the "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence in Singin' in the Rain (1952); Hospitalized with pneumonia [31 January 1999]; From a vaudeville family act, his father John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor" was an acrobat with Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Baily Circus as a "leaper." His mother was a circus bareback rider and dancer named Effie. One of seven children, three died in infancy, but the rest were incorporated into show business. His mother kept the family going with extended family members despite many deaths (including her husband) until 1941; Suffered a heart attack in 1971; Was suppose to co-star with Bing Crosby in the perennial film classic White Christmas (1954) in 1954 but was sidelined with pneumonia and replaced by Danny Kaye; Judy Garland, whom he knew as a child, was one of his best friends; In 1994, he and his wife, Gloria Noble, had a close brush with death. It was about four in the morning and he had just finished reading something in bed. All at once, the house started to shake (earthquake). The house started sliding off its foundation. Luckily, the house wedged up against a big tree and that kept it from crashing into a canyon; Allegedly didn't enjoy working with Gene Kelly while filming Singin' in the Rain (1952), because he found him to be a bit of a tyrant on set; While he's hesitant to select a favorite film, he's quick to single out his favorite performance: "Call Me Madam (1953) - my favorite number is in there with Vera-Ellen. It's the number I do out in the garden with her to "It's a Lovely Day Today". It's a beautiful lyrical number. I think she was the best dancer outside of Peggy Ryan I ever danced with"
Mini Biography
Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. His best-known musical work is probably Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which he did an impressive dance that culminated in a series of backflips off the wall. O'Connor was also effective in comedic lead roles, particularly as the companion to Francis the Talking Mule in that film series.
MICKEY ROONEY
Date of Birth: 23 September 1920, Brooklyn, New York, USA (Still Living)
Birth Name: Joe Yule Jr.
Nickname:The Mick, The Mickster
Height: 5' 3" (1.60 m)
Trademark: Best known in his youth for playing Andy Hardy with Judy Garland as the female lead in cheerfully naive musicals that usually ended with the characters putting on an impromptu musical show. In his senior years, he often played an cheerful old mentor with a youthful spirit.
Trivia: Loves golf and the ponies; Liza Minnelli wanted Rooney to do the eulogy at the funeral for her mother, Judy Garland in June of 1969, but decided against it because she felt that Rooney might not be able to get through it, given his and Garland's long and close friendship; Originally came to Hollywood to audition for "Our Gang" (aka "The Little Rascals" (1955)), but didn't get in; According to one story, Mickey Mouse was named for Rooney. Walt Disney saw a young Rooney while he was working on the first drawings of what was to become Mickey Mouse. He asked the child actor what he thought of the drawings and also asked what his name was. This later proved to be false; At age nineteen became the first teenager to be Oscar-nominated in a leading role for Babes in Arms (1939);
Mini Biography
With parents who were actors, it comes as no surprise that the young Joe Yule Jr. made his debut on the stage at the age of only 15 months. He became part of the family act. He became well known for a series of some 50 silent comedies between 1927 and 1933 in which he played Mickey McGuire, a comic-strip character. In 1934 he was signed to MGM. At Mrs. Lawlor's School for Professional Children he first met Judy Garland , whom he would play against in several movies in the future, including some of the 15 "Andy Hardy" films. He gave a memorable performance as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). With movies like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) and National Velvet (1944) he reached the peak of his career during WWII. He was drafted during the war, and when he returned to Hollywood his fame and box-office draw had significantly decreased. Just like other child stars, he found it difficult to get a break as an adult actor. After Summer Holiday (1948) his career went downhill and the 1950s for him became a string of not-so-successful movies. He got his own TV show, "The Mickey Rooney Show" (1954) and toured nightclubs and theatres again in the 1960s. In 1983, following 60 years as an actor, he received the "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar."
HOWARD KEEL
Date of Birth: 13 April 1919, Gillespie, Illinois, USA
Date of Death: 7 November 2004, Palm Desert, California, USA. (colon cancer)
Birth Name: Harry Clifford Keel
Height: 6' 3" (1.91 m)
Trade Mark: During his UK concert tours in the 1980s and 90s, had a habit of checking his watch (wrist or pocket) during his performances to ensure he was on schedule, Performing a medley of songs from Oklahoma! in concert and TV appearances
Trivia:
Worked as a representative for the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Southern California before embarking on his singing and acting career; Enjoyed golf; Lost the film lead in South Pacific (1958) because he couldn't get out of his MGM contract; During the shooting of Annie Get Your Gun (1950), he broke his leg when his horse fell on him. He was laid up for six weeks; Portrayed Curly in the original London cast of "Oklahoma", Fred Graham in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953), and Hajj in "Kismet" (1955). Baritone Alfred Drake originated all three roles on Broadway; Has some Irish heritage. A lot of his distant family reside in Ireland; The producers of "Kiss Me Kate" signed Kathryn Grayson immediately for the female lead but actually wanted Laurence Olivier in the Petruchio role with plans to dub his singing voice. Director George Sidney, however, was able to promote Howard enough for him to get the part; Due to his huge size, many of his petite leading ladies had to stand on boxes to be in the same frame; Was the original choice to play the lead in Singin' in the Rain (1952). The part went to Gene Kelly instead.
Mini Biography
He was the John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of movie musicals. With his barrel-chested swagger and cocky, confident air, not to mention his lusty handsomeness and obvious athleticism, 6'3" brawny baritone Howard Keel had MGM's finest songbirds swooning helplessly for over a decade in what would be the finest musicals cinema ever produced. Born Harold Clifford Keel in Gillespie, IL, in 1919, his childhood was admittedly unhappy, his father being a hard-drinking coal miner and his mother a stern, repressed Methodist homemaker. When Keel was 11 his father died, and the family moved to California. He later earned his living as a car mechanic, then found work during WWII at Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles. His naturally untrained voice was discovered by the staff of his aircraft company and soon he was performing at various entertainments for the company's clients. He was inspired to sing professionally one day while attending a Hollywood Bowl concert. He quickly advanced through the musical ranks from singing waiter to music festival contest winner to guest recitalist. In 1946 Oscar Hammerstein II "discovered" him during John Raitt's understudy auditions for the role of Billy Bigelow in Broadway's "Carousel." He was cast on sight and the die was cast. Keel managed to understudy Alfred Drake as Curly in "Oklahoma!" as well, and in 1947 took over the rustic lead in the London production, with great success. British audiences took to the charismatic singer and he remained there as a concertist while making his non-singing film debut in the British crime drama The Small Voice (1948) (aka "Hideout"). MGM, which was looking for an answer to Warner Bros.' Gordon MacRae, clamored for him, and he returned to the US. Changing his stage moniker to Howard Keel, he became a star with his first role, as sharpshooter Frank Butler opposite Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in the popular tunefest Annie Get Your Gun (1950). From then on he would be showcased in many of MGM's biggest and most classic extravaganzas, such as Show Boat (1951), Calamity Jane (1953), Kiss Me Kate (1953) and (his favorite) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) at the top of the list. Kismet (1955) opposite Ann Blyth would be his last, as the passion for movie musicals ran its course. The robust Keel moved effortlessly into rugged (if routine) action fare and appeared in such films as Armored Command (1961), Waco (1966), Red Tomahawk (1967) and The War Wagon (1967), the last one starring John Wayne and featuring Keel as a wisecracking Indian, of all things. In the 1970s he kept his singing voice alive by returning full force to his musical roots. Some of his summer stock and tour productions, which included "Camelot," "South Pacific," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Man of La Mancha," and "Show Boat," reunited him often with such former MGM leading ladies as Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. He also worked up a Las Vegas nightclub act with Grayson in the 1970s. Keel became an unexpected TV household name when he replaced Jim Davis as the upstanding family patriarch of the nighttime soap drama "Dallas" (1978) after Davis' untimely death. As Clayton Farlow, Miss Ellie's second husband, he enjoyed a decade of steady work. In later years he continued to appear in concerts. As a result of this renewed fame, he landed his first solo recording contract with "And I Love You So" in 1983. Married three times, he died in 2004 of colon cancer, survived by his third wife, three daughters and one son.
CARY GRANT
Date of Birth: 18 January 1904, Horfield, Bristol, England, UK
Date of Death: November 29, 1986, Davenport, Iowa, USA
(cerebral hemorrhage)
Birth Name: Archibald Alexander Leach
Height: 6' 1½" (1.87 m)
Trade Mark: Mid-Atlantic accent. Often played a handsome bachelor.
Trivia:
Ian Fleming modeled the James Bond character partially with Grant in mind. Suffered a major stroke prior to performing in his one man show "An Evening With Cary Grant" at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, on November 28, 1986. Died later that night at St. Luke's Hospital at 11:22 p.m. He once phoned hotel mogul Conrad Hilton in Istanbul, Turkey, to find out why his breakfast order at the Plaza Hotel, which called for muffins, came with only one and a half English muffins instead of two. When Grant insisted that the explanation (a hotel efficiency report had found that most people ate only three of the four halves brought to them) still resulted in being cheated out of a half, the Plaza Hotel changed its policy and began serving two complete muffins with breakfast. From then on, Grant often spoke of forming an English Muffin-Lovers Society, members of which would be required to report any hotel or restaurant that listed muffins on the menu and then served fewer than two. Turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), believing himself to be too old at 58 to play the character. Donated his entire salary for Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) ($100,000) to the U.S. War Relief Fund. Was a great fan of Elvis Presley, and attended his Las Vegas shows. Grant, who was 59 at the time he filmed the romantic thriller Charade (1963), felt he was too old to play the love interest for Audrey Hepburn, who was 25 years younger. He demanded that the script make clear that it was Audrey pursuing him, not vice versa. He also added a number of wry jokes denoting the difference in age. Turned down roles opposite Audrey Hepburn in both Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954); later he starred with her in Charade (1963). In Roman Holiday (1953), the offered role ended up going to Gregory Peck, and the role in Sabrina (1954) went to Humphrey Bogart. Although he became a Paramount contract player early in his film career, when the contract was up, he made an unusual decision for the time: he decided to freelance. Because his films were so successful at the box office, he was able to work at any studio he chose for the majority of his career. Thanks mainly to the strength and physical dexterity he gained as an acrobat when he was young, he did a majority of his own stunts during his film career (far more than people would think). Douglas Fairbanks was his boyhood idol, with Fairbanks' "healthy" tan being the inspiration for Grant's constantly dark skin. Paramount Studios named him Cary Grant while he began his film career, because the similarity of the name to Gary Cooper, their biggest male star, (C.G. being an inversion of G.C.) and possibly because Clark Gable had the same initials. Gable and Cooper were born with their last names, however, with Grant having been born Archibald Leach. According to his will (dated 26th November 1984), his body was to be cremated and no funeral service held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. The late Christopher Reeve said that he based his portrayal of Clark Kent in the Superman films on Grant in the early part of his career. In His Girl Friday (1940), his character remarks, "The last man who messed with me was Archie Leach," a reference to his real name. Was hyperopic or "far-sighted." That is why in many publicity stills, he is seen holding a pair of glasses. John Cleese's character in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) was named "Archie Leach" after Grant's real name. Was largely self-educated as he had dropped out of school at age 14. He was, however, a voracious reader throughout life. Maintained a year-round suntan to avoid wearing make up. Alfred Hitchcock once toyed with the idea of casting him as Hamlet (in what would have been a modern-dress film version of Shakespeare's play), but he never got around to it. On April 18, 1947, King George VI awarded Grant the King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom, citing his "outstanding service to the British War Relief Society." His favorite after-shave was Aqua DePalma. When his daughter Jennifer was born, he gave wife Dyan Cannon a diamond and sapphire bracelet as a keepsake. He was a big baseball fan, originally supporting the New York Giants and then the L.A. Dodgers. At one time, he owned a Sealyham terrier called Archie Leach. He became an American Citizen on June 26, 1942. As a child, he had a fear of knives and a fear of heights. He always wore a gold chain around his neck with three charms attached. The three charms represented the religions of each of his former wives: a St. Christopher for Virginia Cherrill (Roman Catholic), a small cross for Barbara Hutton and Betsy Drake (Protestants), and a Star of David for Dyan Cannon (Jewish. (Donaldson). Was considered one of the best-dressed men in the United States of America. George Francis Frazier, Jr., in "The Art of Wearing Clothes" (published in 'Esquire' magazine, September 1960), wrote "Although Grant, who is fifty-six, favors such abominations as large tie knots and claims to have originated the square-style breast-pocket handkerchief, he is so extraordinarily attractive that he looks good in practically anything. He insists upon tight armholes in his suit jackets, finds the most comfortable (and functional) of all underwear to be women's nylon panties." If you look closely at his teeth, you'll find that he only has one incisor (front tooth). Apparently when he was a boy he knocked out a tooth while ice skating. Rather than get into trouble with his father, he opted to go to a nearby dental college and have them gradually push his other teeth together to fill in the gap. Only one person (an eagle-eyed cinematographer) ever noticed and mentioned it to him. It's described in depth in the book "Evenings with Cary Grant". Hated his performance in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), saying it was way too over the top and that it was his least favorite film. Initially accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with. After she went and married someone else, Cary, heartbroken, wanted to back out. He couldn't, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one. Initially refused Stanley Donen's offer to appear in Charade (1963), but-realizing that it was a great part-accepted it after a while. He made one stipulation: Audrey Hepburn had to chase him, not visa-versa. Was very hurt when he lost his two Academy Award nominations, particularly None But the Lonely Heart (1944), which he thought was his best performance. This is why he was so excited when he accepted his Honarary Academy Award in 1970. Said Indiscreet (1958), to be his personal favorite film. Maintained good physical health until becoming ill with high blood pressure in the late 1970s. In October 1984 he suffered a minor stroke, which limited his appearances thereafter. His final appearance at the Academy Awards was in 1985 to present James Stewart with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. Although fifty when To Catch a Thief (1955) was filmed, Grant was still playing a character of thirty-five. He never played a villain. After being widely criticized for playing the romantic lead in Charade (1963) opposite the much younger Audrey Hepburn, Grant resolved never to play such a part again. He turned down Gregory Peck's role in Arabesque (1966) opposite Sophia Loren. Emerged as a major supporter of Richard Nixon in the late 1960s. Smoked 60 cigarettes a day until 1952, when his third wife Betsy made him give up in order to protect his voice. However, she recalled occasionally catching him smoking outside the house, so he probably never stopped completely. He was director Howard Hawks's first choice to play the lead in Man's Favorite Sport? (1964), but he turned it down because he was 59 and leading lady Paula Prentiss was 25 years old. Was very close friends with Ingrid Bergman, his co-star in both Indiscreet (1958) and Notorious (1946). Grant was one of the few who supported her throughout her notorious affair with Rossellini, and while Bergman was in exile in Italy he accepted her Best Actress Oscar in 1958. Always cited his To Catch a Thief (1955) co-star Grace Kelly as his favorite leading lady. He attended her state funeral in 1982 and wept throughout the televised service. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $60 million. Underwent a hernia operation in the spring of 1977. Had a benign tumor removed from his forehead in 1957. Became seriously ill with infectious hepatitis and jaundice in 1948, and doctors gave him a less than ten per cent chance of survival. The problem was the damage that years of heavy drinking had done to his liver. Grant took more than six months to recover. Turned down James Mason's role in A Star Is Born (1954). Turned down James Mason's role in Lolita (1962) because he considered the film "depraved". He turned down the role of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964) because he felt he would either not be as good as Rex Harrison, who had originated the part on the London stage and on Broadway, or he would be accused of imitating Harrison. He told producer Jack L. Warner that unless Harrison was cast, he would not even go to see the film. In later years he always said the character he played in Father Goose (1964) came closest to his real self. He and his fifth wife Barbara Harris renewed their wedding vows on 11 April 1986, the fifth anniversary of their marriage. In 1999 he was named the second Greatest Male Star of All Time of American cinema, after Humphrey Bogart, by the American Film Institute. For a scene in The Grass Is Greener (1960), he refused to wear a smoking jacket, fearing he would immediately lose the support of the audience if he were seen dressed like that. The director later recalled that an old-fashioned kind of comedy had died that day, and it never came back. He initially decided to end his 1953 retirement just to make To Catch a Thief (1955). When the film proved to be a huge success he agreed to make further films. In March 1968 he was involved in a serious car crash in New York, but fortunately escaped with only minor injuries. For several years he had toyed with the idea of playing Hamlet in an attempt to prove to his critics that he could act. This idea was finally scuppered by Laurence Olivier's film Hamlet (1948). He actively sought James Stewart's role in Bell Book and Candle (1958).
Mini Biography
Once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant," Grant is said to have replied, "So would I." His early years in Bristol, England, would have been an ordinary lower-middle-class childhood except for one extraordinary event. At age nine, he came home from school one day and was told his mother had gone off to a seaside resort. The real truth, however, was that she had been placed in a mental institution, where she would remain for years, and he was never told about it (he never saw his mother again until he was in his late 20s). He left school at 14, lying about his age and forging his father's signature on a letter to join Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians. He learned pantomime as well as acrobatics as he toured with the Pender troupe in the English provinces, picked up a Cockney accent in the music halls in London, and then in July 1920, was one of the eight Pender boys selected to go to the US. Their show on Broadway, "Good Times," ran for 456 performances, giving Grant time to acclimatize. He would stay in America. Mae West wanted Grant for She Done Him Wrong (1933) because she saw his combination of virility, sexuality and the aura and bearing of a gentleman. Grant was young enough to begin the new career of fatherhood when he stopped making movies at age 62. One biographer said Grant was alienated by the new realism in the film industry. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he had invented a man-of-the-world persona and a style--"high comedy with polished words." In To Catch a Thief (1955), he and Grace Kelly were allowed to improvise some of the dialogue. They knew what the director, Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to do with a scene, they rehearsed it, put in some clever double entendres that got past the censors, and then the scene was filmed. His biggest box-office success was another Hitchcock 1950s film, North by Northwest (1959) made with Eva Marie Saint since Kelly was by that time Princess of Monaco. |
GINGER ROGERS
(Best Known for: Dancing with Fred Astaire)
Birth Name: Virginia Katherine McMath
Nickname: Feathers
Height: 5' 4½" (1.64 m)
Trade Mark: Often starred with Fred Astaire
Trivia:
Was a Christian Scientist; Was given the name "Ginger" by her little cousin who couldn't pronounce "Virginia" correctly; She didn't drink: she had her very own ice cream soda fountain; Was fashion consultant for the J.C. Penney chain from 1972-75; A keen artist, Ginger did many paintings, sculptures and sketches in her free time but could never bring herself to sell any of them; Was Hollywood's highest paid star of 1942; Was a life-long Republican; A distant cousin of Lucille Ball, according to Lucie Arnaz; She was of Welsh and Scottish heritage; One of the celebrities whose picture Anne Frank placed on the wall of her bedroom in the "Secret Annex" while in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.
Mini Biography
Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911. Her family moved to Texas when she was a toddler because her father had found employment there. It wasn't long before Ginger's parents separated and she and her mother moved into a hotel. Her father, twice, kidnapped her, but both times she was returned to her mother. He received very little in visitation rights and Ginger only saw him sporadically thereafter. He died when she was 11 years old. She, then, moved with her mother to her grandparents in Kansas City, Missouri where Mrs. McMath managed to get Ginger in some advertising films. Now she was developing a taste for the cinema. Ginger's mother left her child in the care of her parents while she went in search of a job as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and later to New York City. Mrs. McMath found herself with an income good enough to where she could send for Ginger. Later, the two packed up and moved to Fort Worth, Texas where Ginger attended high school and appeared in the school productions, while her mother remarried. The theater became Ginger's passion. At the age of 14, she was also appearing in vaudeville acts which she did until she was 17. Now she had discovered true acting. She went to New York where she appeared in the Broadway production of "Top Speed." She did a superb job which began to encourage her to seek work in feature films. A screen test turned out well and she was off to the movies. Her first film was in 1929 in A Night in a Dormitory (1930). It was a bit part, but it was a start. Later that year, Ginger appeared, briefly in two more films, A Day of a Man of Affairs (1929) and Campus Sweethearts (1930). The following year she began to get better parts in films such as Office Blues (1930) and The Tip-Off (1931). But the movie that enamored her to the public was Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). She did not have top billing but her beauty and voice was enough to have the public want more. One song she popularized in the film was the now famous, "We're in the Money". In 1934, she starred with Dick Powell in Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934). It was a well received film about the popularity of radio. Ginger's real stardom occurred when she was teamed with Fred Astaire where they were one of the best cinematic couples ever to hit the silver screen. This is where she achieved real stardom. They were first paired in 1933's Flying Down to Rio (1933) and later in 1935's Roberta (1935) and Top Hat (1935). Ginger also appeared in some very good comedies such as Bachelor Mother (1939) and 5th Ave Girl (1939) both in 1939. Also that year she appeared with Astaire in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939). The film made money but was not anywhere successful as they had hoped. After that studio executives at RKO wanted Ginger to strike out on her own. She made several dramatic pictures but it was 1940's Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940) that allowed her to shine. Playing a young lady from the wrong side of the tracks, she played the lead role well, so well in fact, that she won an Academy Award for her portrayal. Ginger followed that project with the delightful comedy, Tom Dick and Harry (1941) the following year. It's a story where she has to choose which of three men she wants to marry. Through the rest of the 1940s and early 1950s she continued to make movies but not near the caliber before World War II. After Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) in 1957, Ginger didn't appear on the silver screen for seven years. By 1965, she had appeared for the last time in Harlow (1965/II). Afterward, she appeared on Broadway and other stage plays traveling in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. After 1984, she retired and wrote an autobiography in 1991 entitled, "Ginger, My Story" which is a very good book. On April 25, 1995, Ginger died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 83.
JUDY GARLAND
(Best known for The Wizard of Oz)
Date of Birth: 10 June 1922, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA
Date of Death: 22 June 1969, Chelsea, London, England, UK. (accidental barbiturate overdose)
Birth Name: Frances Ethel Gumm
Nickname: Baby Gumm, Miss Showbusiness
Height: 4' 11½" (1.51 m)
Trivia:
The day she died, there was a tornado in Kansas; Her portrayal of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) was the inspiration for the character of Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island" (1964). (From Kansas, pigtails, lived on a farm with an aunt and uncle...); According to singer Mel Tormé, she had a powerful gift of retention. She could view a piece of music once and have the entire thing memorized.; First cousin three times removed of President 'Ulysses S. Grant'; Wore fake teeth for The Wizard of Oz (1939); She was three-quarters Scottish and one-quarter Irish in ancestry; Has a special variety of rose named after her. The petals are yellow (Garland adored yellow roses) and the tips are bright red. It took devoted fans almost nine years after her death to find a rose company in Britain interested in naming a rose officially for her, and the Judy Garland rose didn't appear in the US until 1991. Several JG rose bushes are planted outside of her burial crypt, and at the Judy Garland museum in Grand Rapids; Had intense fears of both flying and guns; Was considered for the role of Careen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), but the role was eventually given to Ann Rutherford, so Judy instead began working on The Wizard of Oz (1939) after Shirley Temple had been dropped from the project.
Mini Biography
She immediately attracted attention in such films as Pigskin Parade (1936), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), but Judy Garland didn't truly become a star until she was cast in The Wizard of Oz (1939) (Shirley Temple had originally wanted the part of Dorothy.). Her performance as Dorothy won her a special Juvenile Oscar, and it was this role, of course, that gave her her most famous song, "Over the Rainbow." She then appeared in a long string of classic MGM musicals, including Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948) and several with her friend, Mickey Rooney. Unfortunately, the same studio that made her a star unwittingly made her a drug addict, providing her with amphetamines to keep her energy level high and her weight level down. This in turn kept her wide awake at night, unable to sleep, so she was given barbiturates to help her sleep. She soon couldn't live without these "wonder drugs." She also couldn't seem to live without a man, as she went through several affairs, often with older men, and by 1950 had been married twice, to bandleader David Rose and director Vincente Minnelli. She had a daughter, Liza Minnelli, with Vincente. All during this time her drug intake had increased dramatically, which led to increasingly erratic behavior and she often failed to show up on time at the studio. MGM eventually couldn't take it any more, and her contract was terminated in 1950. She divorced Minnelli the following year and married producer Sidney Luft. Luft, the father of her daughter Lorna Luft and son Joey Luft, took it upon himself to orchestrate her comeback with a series of very successful concert tours. He also produced the film A Star Is Born (1954), in which many feel she gave her greatest performance. By now she was concentrating on her career as a singer, which was winning her more legions of fans. She continued touring throughout the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in three more films and starring in her own television variety show in 1963, which had to be canceled after one season because the competition, "Bonanza" (1959), was too strong. She divorced Luft and married actor Mark Herron; she divorced him when she found out he was gay, and married disco manager Mickey Deans. Throughout this time, however, she still continued her dependency on prescription drugs, and finally the inevitable happened: on the night of June 22, 1969, she overdosed on barbiturates and died. Thousands mourned the world over. It was a sad way to end, but she has left a great legacy: her many films and recordings, as well as her children. Liza and Lorna are now singers as well, carrying on the family tradition.
DORIS DAY
Date of Birth: 3 April 1924, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Still Living)
Birth Name: Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff
Nickname: Do-Do, Clara Bixby, Eunice
Height: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Trade Mark: Theme song: "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)", which she introduced in the 1956 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
Trivia:
Vegetarian; She and her son Terry Melcher (along with a partner) co-own the Cypress Inn in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, a small "Hotel California-esque" inn built in a beautiful Mediterranean motif; According to her autobiography, she got the nickname Clara Bixby when Billy De Wolfe told her, on the Tea for Two (1950) set, that she didn't look like a "Doris Day," but more like a "Clara Bixby." To this day, that remains her nickname among a close circle of old friends, such as Van Johnson; Rock Hudson called her 'Eunice' because he said that whenever he thought of her as Eunice, it made him laugh; It was during the location filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), when she saw how camels, goats and other "animal extras" in a marketplace scene were being treated, that Day began her lifelong commitment to preventing animal abuse; Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush [June 2004]. She did not attend the White House award ceremony because of her intense fear of flying; Reportedly did not like "swear words." As a recording artist, she would require anyone who said a swear word to put a quarter in a "swear jar." In addition, she does not allow her songs to be used in movies that contain swear words; Has often cited Calamity Jane (1953) as her personal favorite of the 39 films she appeared in; Her mother named her after her favorite silent film star, Doris Kenyon; She is a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, and told the press she voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election; Telephoned the White House to personally explain to President George W. Bush her reasons for not attending her award presentation in June 2004, and said she was praying hard that he would be elected to a second term of office in November;
Mini Biography
One of America's most prolific actresses was born Doris Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff on April 3, 1924, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents divorced while she was still a child and her mother gained custody. Like most little girls, Doris liked to dance. She would sometimes dance with friends and, sometimes, just by herself. She had dreamed of being a ballerina, but an automobile accident ended whatever hopes she had of dancing on stage. It was a terrible setback, but after taking singing lessons, she seemed to find a new vocation, and began singing with local local bands. It was while on one singing engagement that she met Al Jordan, whom she married in 1941. Jordan was prone to violence and they split after two years, not long after the birth of their son Terry Melcher, who later became a record producer. In 1946, Doris married George Weidler, but this union lasted less than a year. Day's agent talked her into taking a screen test at Warner Bros. The executives there liked what they saw and signed her to a contract (her early credits are often confused with that of another actress named Doris Day, who appeared mainly in B westerns in the 1930s and 1940s). Her first starring movie role was as "Georgia Garrett" in Romance on the High Seas (1948). The next year, she made two more films, My Dream Is Yours (1949) and It's a Great Feeling (1949). Audiences took to her beauty, terrific singing voice and bubbly personality, and she turned in fine performances in the movies she made for Warners (in addition to having several hit records). She made three films for the studio in 1950 and five more in 1951. In that year, she met and married Martin Melcher, who adopted her young son. In 1953, she starred in the title role in Calamity Jane (1953), which was a major hit, and several more followed: Lucky Me (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and what is probably her best-known film, Pillow Talk (1959). She began to slow down her filmmaking pace in the 1960s, even though she started out the decade in a hit, Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).
Her husband, who had also taken charge of her career, had made deals for her to star in films she didn't really care about, which led to a bout with exhaustion. The 1960s weren't to be a repeat of the previous busy decade. She didn't make as many as she had in that decade, but the ones she did make were successful: Do Not Disturb (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). Her husband died in 1968, and Doris never made another film, but she had been signed to do her own TV series, "The Doris Day Show" (1968). That show, like her movies, was also successful, lasting until 1973. After her series went off the air, she made only occasional TV appearances. Today, at 80, she runs the Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets. What else would you expect of America's sweetheart?
JANE POWELL
Date of Birth: 1 April 1929, Portland, Oregon, USA (Still Living)
Birth Name: Suzanne Lorraine Burce
Height: 5' 0½" (1.54 m)
Trivia:
Is a coloratura soprano who started her career singing on the radio before age 13; Best known as 'Milly' in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954); Was bridesmaid for Elizabeth Taylor for her first marriage. Taylor was bridesmaid for Powell's first marriage; Sang at the Inauguration Ball for Harry S. Truman, January 20, 1949; Jane replaced June Allyson and Judy Garland for the part in Royal Wedding (1951), after June became pregnant and Judy became ill; Learned and loved to cook before she was 10 years old; At the age of 12, Jane Powell was selected "Oregon Victory Girl" Her father worked for Wonder Bread for almost 2 decades, before the family moved to Oakland; Although one of the best singers of her time, Jane Powell never learned to play an instrument or read music; Her husband Patrick Nerney bought her a pair of diamond earings and due to her fear of needles, she figured the only feasible way of wearing them was to have her ears pierced under anesthetic. Upon discovering she was pregnant with her last daughter, Lindsay Averille, she explained to the doctor that he could only handle her case if he would pierce her ears whilst she was on the delivery table -- he agreed, and the operation was undertaken; One of her hobbies is gardening; Has performed before five U.S. Presidents and the Queen of England;
Mini Biography
Jane Powell was singing and dancing at an early age. She sang on the radio and performed in theaters before her screen debut in 1944. Through the 1940s and 1950s, she had a successful career in movie musicals. However, in 1957, her career in films ended, as she had outgrown her innocent girl-next-door image. She has made brief returns to acting in front of the camera -- on television, in commercials, and in a workout video. She has had a variety of roles on stage since the end of her movie career, including the musicals "South Pacific," "The Sound of Music," "Oklahoma!," "My Fair Lady," "Carousel," and a one-woman show "The Girl Next Door and How She Grew," from which she took the title of her 1988 autobiography.
KATHRYN GRAYSON
Height: 5' 2" (1.57 m)
Trivia:
On contract to MGM for 13 years; Howard Keel, her co-star in three movies, once described her in an interview as the most beautiful woman in the history of movies; (2002) Teaches voice, privately.
Mini Biography
Kathryn Grayson was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, N.C. on February 9, 1922. This pretty, petite, brunette with a heart-shaped face, was discovered by MGM talent scouts while singing on the radio. MGM quickly signed her to a contract, and was given acting lessons along with taking countless publicity photos. Kathryn, a coloratura soprano, made her first film in 1941, the movie was a B picture named Andy Hardy's Private Secretary. She soon was cast opposite some of MGM's top musical stars of the 40's, such as, Gene Kelly and Mario Lanza. She was paired with Lanza a few times, but the two never got along, mainly due to Lanza's hot temper and alcohol abuse. The pairing of Lanza and Grayson would never match the success of lyrical soprano Jeanette MacDonald and baritone, Nelson Eddy. Although, Kathryn and Jeanette MacDonald did become great friends. Jeanette became a mentor and an older sister figure for Kathryn. Kathryn's most memorable roles came in the early 1950's. They were, 'Show Boat' (1951) where she played Magnolia, opposite Ava Gardner and Howard Keeland in 'Kiss Me Kate' (1953) playing actress Katherine. In 1956, she left MGM and made a few pictures for Paramount, but soon left the movie industry. She later worked in nightclubs and on stage.
JULIE ANDREWS
(Best known for Sound of Music and Mary Poppins)
Trivia:
Was named a Dame by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on the Millenium New Year's Honours List on December 31, 1999; Underwent throat surgery. [March 1998]; Her husband reported that she would probably never sing again because the throat surgery had ruined her voice. [November 1998]; Uses the pen-name 'Julie Edwards'; Spent some time in a psychiatric clinic, to help her cope with the trauma resulting from her throat surgery; The London press reported that Miss Andrews's settlement for her botched throat surgery was nearly 21 million British pounds, or about 30 million U.S. dollars. [2001]; While she played the original Eliza Dolittle in the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady", Audrey Hepburn played the part in the movie My Fair Lady (1964). The studio executives did not want Andrews because she hadn't had any experience in film and thought Hepburn would be the better choice. However, while the film My Fair Lady took home several Oscars in 1964, it failed to win the Best Actress category. That award went to none other than Julie Andrews for her performance in Mary Poppins (1964); When Tony Walton proposed to her, he gave her a broach instead of a ring; She has a rose named after her; Has perfect pitch; Changed her last name from Wells to Andrews when her mother married her stepfather Ted Andrews; Her stepfather was an alcoholic; She adopted two children from Vietnam with Blake Edwards, Amy Edwards (b. 1974) and Joanna Edwards (b. 1975); Was passed over for the role on Eliza Dolittle in favor of Audrey Hepburn for the film My Fair Lady (1964). Unlike Andrews, however, Hepburn was not a natural singer. She took voice lessons and recorded the tracks for the movie, but the producers, without telling Audrey, dubbed her voice with that of Marni Nixon. Nixon appeared with Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965); Sings scales rather than songs in the shower; She was the youngest person ever to appear in a Royal Command Performance. She performed for King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth/Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret; Is the only actress to be nominated (and later win) for the Oscar in the Lead Actress category in a Walt Disney film (Mary Poppins (1964)); Possessed a five-octave coloratura soprano range until a vocal nodule surgery mishap ruined her singing voice; The song, "Your Crowning Glory" from The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), was the first time she had sung in public or on screen since she had throat surgery in 1997. She reportedly nailed the song on the first take, and brought tears to the eyes of the crew present; Best friends with Carol Burnett.
Mini Biography
Born Julia Elizabeth Wells in England in 1935, she was discovered as a child to have a freakish but undeniably lovely four-octave singing voice. Her mother and stepfather, both Vaudeville performers, immediately got her into a singing career and she performed in music halls throughout her childhood and teens, always being immensely popular. Julie Andrews made her debut on Broadway in 1954 at age 19. At age 20, she performed in a London Palladium production of "Cinderella," launching her stage career.
She came to Broadway in 1954 with "The Boy Friend." It was a hit, and Julie Andrews became a bona fide star two years later in 1956, in the role of Eliza Doolittle in the unprecedented hit "My Fair Lady." Her star status continued in 1957, when she starred in the hit TV-production of Cinderella (1957) (TV) and through 1960, when she played Guenevere in "Camelot". She also starred in many TV-specials, notably one with Carol Burnett.
In 1963, Walt Disney asked if she would like to star in his upcoming production, a lavish musical fantasy that combined live-action and animation. Julie said she would do it if she did not get to play Eliza in the pending film production of My Fair Lady (1964). She didn't, and so she made an auspicious film debut in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), a huge hit which got her the Academy Award for Best Actress. (Audrey Hepburn, who played Eliza in the My Fair Lady (1964) film, wasn't even nominated.)
Now, Julie was a real star, and it was her star power that helped make her third film, The Sound of Music (1965), the highest-grossing movie of its day and one of the highest-grossing of all time. The only problem was that now audiences identified her only with singing, sugary-sweet nannies and governesses. Therefore, they could not accept her in dramatic roles (The Americanization of Emily (1964) and definitely not in an 'Alfred Hitchcock (I) thriller Torn Curtain (1966)). However, the musicals Julie subsequently made were casualties of the boom in musical film she helped to create. Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Star! (1968), and Darling Lili (1970) all bombed at the box office.
Fortunately, Julie did not let this keep her down. She did work in nightclubs and hosted a TV variety series in the 1970s. Then she made a comeback to movies with an appearance in 10 (1979), directed by husband Blake Edwards. He helped continue to keep her on the rise by directing her in subsequent roles that were entirely different from anything she had been seen in before. There was the movie star who bared her breasts on-screen in S.O.B. (1981), the woman playing a man playing a woman in Victor Victoria (1982) and the sheer novelty of seeing Julie Andrews in these roles, not to mention her brilliant performances in both of them, undoubtedly helped make them successes.
She continued acting throughout the 1980s and 1990s in movies and TV, hosting several specials and starring in a short-lived sitcom. In 1995, she returned to Broadway to star in the musical version of Victor Victoria (1982) and was again a smash. Sadly, an operation on her vocal chords left her singing voice badly damaged in 1998, but she has not let even this stop her, giving a show-stopping appearance at the 1999 Tony Awards and appearing in the TV-movie One Special Night (1999) (TV). Julie Andrews, in all her many incarnations, will no doubt keep us very entertained for years to come.
DEBBIE REYNOLDS
Date of Birth: 1 April 1932, El Paso, Texas, USA (Still Living)
Birth Name: Mary Frances Reynolds
Nickname: Princess Leia's Mom, Frannie, Aba Dabba
Height: 5' 2" (1.57 m)
Trivia:
She appeared as Dan's mother, fresh out of the mental ward, during an episode of the sitcom "Roseanne" (1988). When she later appeared on Roseanne's talk show, she revealed that during the filming of that episode, while she and Roseanne were wrestling in the back yard, Roseanne, quite unknowingly, accidentally broke one of her ribs; Won the 1948 Miss Burbank contest and was offered a screen test by Warner Bros. the day after her win. She initially entered the contest because everyone who entered received a silk scarf, blouse and free lunch; Considers herself a "movie-oholic" and has an extensive collection of memorabilia, with over 4,000 costumes from the silent screen period to the 1970s. She has been known to gather posters from her collection of 3,000 and drive to homes of actor pals for autographs. In the 1990s she turned her collection into a Las Vegas movie museum, but had to shut it down in 1997 because of financial problems. Recently she has looked into the possibility of opening up a hall of fame museum in Hollywood near Grauman's Chinese Theatre; At one particularly low point in her career, she confessed to literally living in her car, a Cadillac; April 2002: Opened the Hollywood Motion Picture Collection near the new Kodak Theatre. The collection, which was collected and preserved primarily by Reynolds herself, features over 3,000 costumes including Carmen Miranda's turbans, a pair of Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939), John Wayne's guns and Marilyn Monroe's windswept dress from The Seven Year Itch (1955); While wanting to be in show-business, Reynolds' family Nazarene church forbade acting. However, Reynolds' father saw her talent and gave his support, seeing it as a means of paying Debbie's college costs. Reynolds' mother then gave her support knowing that there is no evil going on in her movies. Reynolds' mother knew her daughter had talent, but couldn't understand why it was happening to her own daughter; Her father entered her in a beauty pageant once when she was very young. She wore a bathing suit that her mother had mended that morning and a pair of her sister's high heels.
Mini Biography
Debbie Reynolds's film career began at MGM after she won a beauty contest at age 16 impersonating Betty Hutton. Most of her film work has been in MGM musicals, as perky, wholesome young women. She continues to use her dancing skills with stage work. Nearly all the money she makes is spent toward her goal of creating a Hollywood museum. Her collection numbers more than 3000 costumes and 46,000 square-feet worth of props and equipment. Debbie Reynolds wasn't a dancer until she was selected to be Gene Kelly's partner in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Not yet twenty, she was a quick study. Twelve years later, it seemed like she had been around forever. She was only 31 when she gave an Academy Award nominated performance in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). She survived losing first husband Eddie Fisher to Elizabeth Taylor following the tragic death of Michael Todd. Her second husband, shoe magnate Harry Karl, gambled away his fortune as well as hers. With her children as well as Karl's, she had to keep working and turned to the stage. She had her own casino in Las Vegas with a home for her collection of Hollywood memorabilia until its closure in 1997. She took the time to personally write a long letter that is on display in the Judy Garland museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and to provide that museum with replicas of Garland's costumes. The originals are in her newly-opened museum in Hollywood.
MARILYN MONROE
Date of Birth
1 June 1926, Los Angeles, California, USA
Date of Death
5 August 1962, Los Angeles, California, USA (drug overdose)
Birth Name
Norma Jean Mortensen
Nickname
The Blonde Bombshell
Height
5' 5½" (1.66 m)
Trade Mark
Lisp, breathless voice
Platinum blonde hair
Voluptuous figure.
Trivia:
Was 1947's Miss California Artichoke Queen. Her mother's maiden name was Monroe, but there is no evidence she was a descendant of the president. Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] When she died in 1962 at age 36, she left an estate valued at $1.6 million. Used the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change it until 1956. Had a dog named Tippy when she was a child. In her final, unfinished film, Something's Got to Give (1962), the dog was also named Tippy. Hundreds of items of memorabilia auctioned off in late October, 1999 by Christie's, with her infamous 'JFK' birthday-gown fetching over $1 million. Childhood photos show she was born blonde, but her hair turned "mousy" as she grew older. Died with the phone in her hand. Ex-husband Joe DiMaggio put fresh roses at her memorial site for years after her death. The character of Ginger from TV's "Gilligan's Island" (1964) was loosely based on her persona. Her first modeling job paid only five dollars. Frequently used Nivea moisturizer. During the filming of Niagara (1953), she was still under contract as a stock actor, thus, she received less salary than her make-up man. This was also the only film in which her character died. The film was reworked to highlight her after Anne Bancroft withdrew. Often carried around the book, "The Biography of Abraham Lincoln." Was an outstanding player on the Hollygrove Orphanage softball team. Because the bathing suit she wore in the movie Love Nest (1951) was so risque (for the time period) and caused such a commotion on the set, director Joseph M. Newman had to make it a closed set when she was filming. It was in her contract that she did not have to work when she was having her menstrual cycle. Fearing blemishes, she washed her face fifteen times a day. She was suggested as a possible wife for Prince Rainier of Monaco. He later married actress Grace Kelly. Thought the right side of her face was her "best" side. The first time she signed an autograph as Marilyn Monroe, she had to ask how to spell it. She didn't know where to put the "i" in "Marilyn". Born at 9:30 am, Suffered from endometriosis, a condition in which tissues of the uterus lining (endometrium) leave the uterus, attach themselves to other areas of the body, and grow, causing pain, irregular bleeding, and, in severe cases, infertility. Wore glasses. Obtained order from the City Court of the State of New York to legally change her name from Norma Jeane Mortenson to Marilyn Monroe. [23 February 1956] Married Arthur Miller twice: the 1st time in a civil ceremony, then in a Jewish (to which she had converted) ceremony 2 days later. Offered to convert to Catholism in order to marry Joe DiMaggio in a Church ceremony, but she was turned down because she was divorced. Subsequently, when the divorced DiMaggio married Marilyn in a civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, he was automatically excommunicated by the Church; this edict was struck down by Pope John XXIII's Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) in 1962. Even the origin of her name has been subject to debate. Although it's believed that her movie-crazy mother, Gladys, named her after Norma Talmadge, Gladys reportedly told her daughter, Bernice (Marilyn's half-sister), that she named Marilyn after Norma Jeane Cohen, a woman Gladys knew while she lived in Kentucky with Bernice's father. Went to Van Nuys High School (Los Angeles) in the early 1940s but never graduated. Elton John (British Pop/Rock Star) recorded a tribute to her entitled "Candle in the Wind". In 1997 this was re-recorded with updated lyrics in memory of Princess Diana, an equally troubled person who also met an untimely death. Coincidentally, both legends died at age 36. Her behavior on the unfinished Something's Got to Give (1962) dimmed her reputation in the industry, but she was still big box office at the time of her death, slated to appear in (among other projects) the splashy musical What a Way to Go! (1964) and the stark drama The Stripper (1963). When told she was not the star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Marilyn was quoted "Well whatever I am, I'm still the blonde." Formed her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, with Milton H. Greene (31 December 1955). Appears on sleeve of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. Batman writer/artist Bob Kane used Marilyn's likeness as a reference when he drew Vicki Vale. She is mentioned in the song "Lady Nina" by rock band Marillion. Her USO Entertainer Identification Card listed her name as "Norma Jean DiMaggio". She was "discovered" by press photographers during a WWII photo shoot at the Radioplane plant in California (a manufacturer of military drone targets), owned by actor Reginald Denny. She was one of the plant's employees, and her attractive looks and natural charm made her a "magnet" for the photographers. She had an American mother of Scottish heritage and a Norwegian father. Her father, Martin Edward Mortensen, emigrated from Haugesund, Norway. Today the town has a statue of Marilyn sitting on the docks with her back to the ocean, created by legendary Norwegian artist Nils Aas (1933-2004). When she wasn't working she preferred wearing nothing but a bathrobe. The punk band 'The Misfits' got their name from her last movie, The Misfits (1961). The punk band 'The Misfits' recorded a song called "Who Killed Marilyn?" inspired by lead singer Glenn Danzig's belief that she had been murdered. The very popular version of "Santa Baby" (also found in the film, Party Monster (2003)) thought to be sung by her was instead recorded by Cynthia Basinet for Jack Nicholson as a Christmas gift. On May 19, 1962 she performed for president John F. Kennedy at his 45th birthday tribute in his honor at Madison Square Garden. She sang "Happy Birthday". Discovering her dress was torn at the 1950 Academy Awards, she burst into tears; The dress Marilyn wore to serenade John F. Kennedy at his birthday celebration was so tight she had to be sewn into it. In 1999, a make-up kit that she had owned sold for $266,500. One of the first Los Angeles natives to become a major movie star. Aside from her birth name of Norma Jean Mortensen, she was baptized and mainly known throughout her life as Norma Jeane Baker. During her modeling days she was also known as Norma Jeane Dougherty (her first marriage name), and also as Jean Norman. When she signed with 20th Century-Fox, studio liaison Ben Lyon had first chosen the name Carol Lind as her stage name, although she disliked that. Eventually she chose her mother's maiden name of Monroe. Three names were drawn up as possible stage names. The first was Norma Jeane Monroe, although that sounded awkward; the second was Jean Monroe, and the third was Marilyn Monroe, the latter first name being chosen by Lyons who thought Norma Jeane resembled famed stage actress Marilyn Miller. Norma Jeane liked Jean Monroe, for it preserved some of her name, but Lyon convinced her that Marilyn Monroe sounded more alliterative and so it was chosen. The ADR stage at Twentieth Century Fox is named after her. In 1972, actress Veronica Hamel and her husband became the new owners of Marilyn's Brentwood home. Was good friends with Dorothy Dandridge and Ava Gardner when they were all young, struggling actresses in Hollywood. When budding actresses Shelley Winters and Marilyn were roommates in the late 1940s in Hollywood, Shelley said that one day she had to step out and asked Marilyn to "wash the lettuce" for a salad they were to share for dinner. When she got back to the apartment, Marilyn (aparently new to the art of cooking) had the leaves of lettuce in a small tub of soapy water and was scrubbing them clean. In How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), her character Pola is reading a book called "Murder By Strangulation" on the plane. Coincidentally, this is how her character was murdered in Niagara (1953). In Italy, her films were dubbed at the beginning of her career by Miranda Bonansea. As she matured she was dubbed by the marvelous and prolific Rosetta Calavetta with immense success, particularly in Some Like It Hot (1959). Zoe Incrocci lent her voice to Monroe once: in All About Eve (1950). Her lifelong bouts with depression and self-destruction took their toll during filming The Seven Year Itch (1955). She frequently muffed scenes and forgot her lines, leading to sometimes as many as 40 takes of a scene before a satisfactory result was produced. Her constant tardiness and behavioral problems made the budget of the film swell to $1.8 million, a high price for the time. The film still managed to make a nice profit. The classic shot of her dress blowing up around her legs as she stands over a subway grating in this film was originally shot on Manhattan's Lexington Avenue at 52nd St. on 15th September 1954 at 1:00 a.m. Five thousand onlookers whistled and cheered through take after take as Marilyn repeatedly missed her lines. The original footage shot on that night in New York never made it to the screen; the noise of the crowd had made it unusable. Director Billy Wilder reshot the scene on the 20th Century-Fox lot, on a set replicating Lexington Avenue, and got a more satisfactory result. However, it took another 40 takes for Marilyn to achieve the famous scene. Amazingly, her very narrow spike heels don't get stuck or break in the subway grating, although this was a universal problem at the time for the countless women wearing that very popular style heel in New York City in that era. Was originally set to play Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), but Audrey Hepburn played the role instead. What a Way to Go! (1964) initially intended as a vehicle for her, Shirley MacLaine played Louisa May Foster instead. She resided at the Hollywood Roosevelt while she was breaking into the acting business. Her "Happy Birthday Mr. President" dress sold for $1,267,500.00, a world record for the most expensive piece of clothing ever sold, and is in the Guinness Book of World Records. She left Hollywood to pursue serious acting by studying under Lee Strasberg at his Actors' Studio in New York City. Her classic shape, according to her dressmaker, is actually measured at 37-23-36. In 1946, she signed her first studio contract with 20th Century Fox and dyed her hair. Spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages because her mother was committed to a mental institution. At 16, when a family friend could no longer take care of her, she got married to avoid returning to the orphanage. Producer Keya Morgan owns her bible. Tried 9 different shades of blond hair color before settling on platinum. Her personal library contained over 400 books on topics ranging from art to history, psychology, philosophy, literature, religion, poetry, and gardening. Many of the volumes, auctioned in 1999, bore her pencil notations in the margins. There are over 600 books written about her.
Mini Biography
Her mother was a film-cutter at RKO who, widowed and insane, abandoned her to sequence of foster homes. She was almost smothered to death at two, nearly raped at six. At nine the LA Orphans' Home paid her a nickel a month for kitchen work while taking back a penny every Sunday for church. At sixteen she worked in an aircraft plant and married a man she called Daddy; he went into the military, she modeled, they divorced in 1946. She owned 200 books (including Tolstoy, Whitman, Milton), listened to Beethoven records, studied acting at the Actors' lab in Hollywood, and took literature courses at UCLA downtown. 20th Century Fox gave her a contract but let it lapse a year later. In 1948 Columbia gave her a six-month contract, turned her over to coach Natasha Lytess and featured her in the B movie "Ladies of the Chorus" for which she sang two numbers. Joseph Mankiewicz saw her in a small part in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and put her in "All About Eve", because of which 20th Century re-signed her to a seven-year contract. Niagara (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) launched her as a sex symbol superstar. When she went to a supper honoring her The Seven Year Itch (1955) she arrived in a red chiffon gown borrowed from the studio (she had never owned a gown). The same year she married and divorced baseball great 'Joe Dimaggio' (their wedding night was spent in Paso Robles CA). After "Itch" she wanted serious acting to replace the sexpot image and went to New York's Actors Studio. She worked with director Lee Strasberg and also underwent psychoanalysis to learn more about herself. Critics praised her transformation in Bus Stop (1956) and the press was stunned by her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller. True to form, she had no veil to match her beige wedding dress so she dyed one in coffee; he wore one of the two suits he owned. They went to England that fall where she made "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Lawrence Olivier, fighting with him and falling further prey to alcohol and pills. Two miscarriages and gynecological surgery followed. So did an affair with Yves Montand. Work on her last picture The Misfits (1961), written for her by departing husband Miller) was interrupted by exhaustion. She was dropped from "Something's Got to Give" due to chronic lateness and drug dependency. Four months later she was found dead in her Brentwood home of a drug overdose, adjudged suicide.
Probably the most celebrated of all actresses, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortenson on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles General Hospital. Prior to her birth, Marilyn's father bought a motorcycle and headed north to San Francisco, abandoning the family in Los Angeles. Marilyn grew up not knowing for sure who her father really was. Her mother, Gladys, had entered into several relationships, further confusing her daughter as to who it was who fathered her. Afterward, Gladys gave Norma Jean (Marilyn) the name of Baker, a boyfriend she had before Mortenson. Poverty was a constant companion to Gladys and Norma. Gladys, who was extremely attractive and worked for RKO Studios as a film cutter, suffered from mental illness and was in and out of mental institutions for the rest of her life, and because of that Norma Jean spent time in foster homes. When she was nine she was placed in an orphanage where she was to stay for the next two years. Upon being released from the orphanage, she went to yet another foster home. In 1942, at the age of 16, Norma Jean married 21-year-old aircraft plant worker James Dougherty. The marriage only lasted four years, and they divorced in 1946. By this time Marilyn began to model swimsuits and bleached her hair blonde. Various shots made their way into the public eye, where some were eventually seen by RKO Pictures head Howard Hughes. He offered Marilyn a screen test, but an agent suggested that 20th Century-Fox would be the better choice for her, since it was a much bigger and more prestigious studio. She was signed to a contract at $125 per week for a six-month period and that was increased by $25 per week at the end of that time when her contract was lengthened.
Her first film was in 1947 with a bit part in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947). Her next production was not much better, a bit in the eminently forgettable Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948). Two of the three brief scenes she appeared wound up on the cutting room floor. Later that same year she was given a somewhat better role as Evie in Dangerous Years (1947). However, Fox declined to renew her contract, so she went back to modeling and acting school.
Columbia Pictures then picked her up to play Peggy Martin in Ladies of the Chorus (1948), where she sang two numbers. Notices from the critics were favorable for her, if not the film, but Columbia dropped her. Once again Marilyn returned to modeling. In 1949 she appeared in United Artists' Love Happy (1949). It was also that same year she posed nude for the now famous calendar shot which was later to appear in Playboy magazine in 1953 and further boost her career. She would be the first centerfold in that magazine's long and illustrious history. The next year proved to be a good year for Marilyn. She appeared in five films, but the good news was that she received very good notices for her roles in two of them, The Asphalt Jungle (1950) from MGM and All About Eve (1950) from Fox. Even though both roles were basically not much mor than bit parts, movie fans remembered her ditzy but very sexy blonde performance.
In 1951, Marilyn got a fairly sizable role in Love Nest (1951). The public was now getting to know her and liked what it saw. She had an intoxicating quality of volcanic sexuality wrapped in an aura of almost childlike innocence. In 1952, Marilyn appeared in Don't Bother to Knock (1952), in which she played a somewhat mentally unbalanced babysitter. Critics didn't particularly care for her work in this picture, but she made a much more favorable impression later in the year in Monkey Business (1952), where she was seen for the first time as a platinum blonde, a look that became her trademark. The next year she appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Lorelei Lee. It was also the same year she began dating the baseball great Joe DiMaggio.
Marilyn was now a genuine box-office drawing card. Later, she appeared with Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and Rory Calhoun in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Although her co-stars got the rave reviews, it was the sight of Marilyn that really excited the audience, especially the male members. On January 14, 1954, Marilyn wed DiMaggio, then proceeded to film There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). That was quickly followed by The Seven Year Itch (1955), which showcased her considerable comedic talent and contained what is arguably one of the most memorable moments in cinema history: Marilyn standing above a subway grating and the wind from a passing subway blowing her white dress up.
By October of 1954, Marilyn announced her divorce from DiMaggio. The union lasted only eight months. In 1955 she was suspended by Fox for not reporting for work on How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955). It was her second suspension, the first being for not reporting for the production of "The Girl In Pink Tights". Both roles went to others. Her work was slowing down, due to her habit of being continually late to the set, her illnesses (whether real or imagined) and generally being unwilling to cooperate with her producers, directors, and fellow actors.
In Bus Stop (1956), however, Marilyn finally showed critics that she could play a straight dramatic role. It was also the same year she married playwright, Arthur Miller (they divorced in 1960). In 1957 Marilyn flew to Britain to film The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) which proved less than impressive critically and financially. It made money, but many critics panned it for being slow-moving. After a year off in 1958, Marilyn returned to the screen the next year for the delightful comedy, Some Like It Hot (1959) with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The film was an absolute smash hit, with Curtis and Lemmon pretending to be females in an all-girl band, so they can get work. This was to be Marilyn's only film for the year.
In 1960 Marilyn appeared in George Cukor's Let's Make Love (1960), with Tony Randall and Yves Montand. Again, while it made money, it was critically panned as stodgy and slow-moving. The following year Marilyn made what was to be her final film. The Misfits (1961), which also proved to be the final film for the legendary Clark Gable, who died later that year of a heart attack. The film was popular with critics and the public alike.
In 1962 Marilyn was chosen to star in Fox's Something's Got to Give (1962). Again, her absenteeism caused delay after delay in production, resulting in her being fired from the production in June of that year. It looked as though her career was finished. Studios just didn't want to take a chance on her because it would cost them thousands of dollars in delays. She was only 36.
Marilyn made only 30 films in her lifetime, but her legendary status and mysticism will remain with film history forever. |
